Railroad Accident Involving Transport Of Oil

Recently, there have been several significant railroad accidents involving the transportation of oil by rail. Increased domestic production and importation of oil from Canada account for the dramatic increase in the use of railroad transportation of oil and petroleum products. Transportation of hazardous chemicals by rail has always been an area where there is the potential for some type of disaster. A good example of the extreme hazards that can be posed by a chemical spill due to a railroad accident is what happened to the small South Carolina town of Graniteville some years ago. A train derailed and chlorine gas escaped from a tank car. The town was devastated and several people died. The recent disaster in Canada involving exploding rail cars was just as disastrous. Such incidents are not once in a century disasters and if one were to happen in a larger metropolitan area, the consequences will be dire. Oil and chemical cars routinely travel through major metropolitan areas. A chlorine gas leak in Richmond, Virginia would be a Graniteville disaster times one hundred. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, , Hampton, Newport News