Norfolk Southern Forced to Pay for Deadly South Carolina Chlorine ...

From a strictly business perspective, it makes sense that NS would not want to continue paying for its mistake, even though the rail operator has been consistently reporting strong to record quarterly profits over the past few years. I’ve written more than once about the railroad’s preference for profits over people’s safety .

What bears particular mention in regards to the South Carolina chemical spill is the risks rail workers and people living and working close to train tracks face from poisonous and harmful fumes. Some of this risk is inherent in transporting ingredients required for everything from fertilizing farm fields and treating drinking water to producing plastics and other consumer goods. Because of that, however, rail operators must take every precaution against accidentally spilling or releasing chemicals. The companies should be even more protective of their employees who often cannot avoid exposure to chemicals that can damage their lungs, eyes and skin .

Norfolk Southern continues to learn an expensive lesson in how failing to haul chemicals safely can impact the bottom line. Too many people in South Carolina learned the more important lesson about the human cost of chemical spills. In a better world, NS would convert its dollars into sense , willingly pay fair compensation to the families they harmed, and spend whatever time and money it needed to in order to prevent future tragedies.

EJL

is an injury law firm with a long history of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers hold licenses in VA, NC, SC, WV, KY and DC and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including One of nineteen children injured when a school bus headed to Deep Creek High School on July 17, 2010, has received a $16,000 settlement from the Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) School Board. The money will cover medical bills related to the treatment of neck and back injuries the girl suffered when the bus ran off the road and into a ditch near the intersection of Jarvis Road and Gruen Street. In his latest post to our firm’s Chesapeake, VA Car & Truck accident Injury Lawyers blog, [URL to come] my colleague Kevin Duffan reports that a teen who suffered neck and back injuries when the school bus in which she was riding ran off the road and rolled over has received a settlement from the Chesapeake School Board to cover her medical treatments. Kevin notes that bus accidents deservedly make headlines because it is newsworthy when passengers are put at risk for injury or death.