Train accidents, while not common, happen more often than many people realize. A derailment in New Jersey illustrates, a train’s cargo can pose a serious risk of personal injury to anyone in the vicinity of an accident. 

According to a news report, the train was traveling from Camden when it derailed on a swing-style rail bridge in Paulsboro, in the same spot where another train derailed just three years ago. Four tanker cars partially came to rest in a nearby creek. The tanker cars were carrying vinyl chlorine, a gas used to make the common plastic PVC. During the derailment, one of the cars ruptured, sending the toxic gas into the air and causing dozens of people to become sick.

Inhaling vinyl chloride can cause dizziness, sleepiness and nausea. Eventually, it can result in loss of consciousness and even death at high levels. Although the area was evacuated, at least 70 people who live or work near the crash were treated at nearby hospitals as a result of the chemical fumes that were released in the derailment.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were called to the scene to handle the containment and cleanup of the hazardous materials. At last report, officials were concerned about how to get thousands of gallons of chemicals, which had entered a solid state, out of the damaged tanker. They were planning to use a crane to lift the tanker cars.

The bridge where the derailment occurred was rebuilt after the 2009 accident, for which bridge misalignment was blamed. The NTSB was not speculating on the cause of the more recent accident.

Here at Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., we provide high-caliber representation to New York / New Jersey personal injury victims and their families. Contact our office at 1 (888) GINARTE for free consultation and we will make sure your rights are not lost. You can also use our online contact form.