FRA Announces New Report Guidelines for Train Accidents in New York and Nationwide

On May 23, 2011, the Federal Railroad Administration published a new FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports. The changes will go into effect on July 1, 2011.

For more than a century railroads have been required to report accidents to the federal government. Over the course of the last 100 years, the requirements for reporting have changed from time to time.

The latest changes to the reporting requirements, found in the FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports, have been enacted to comply with the law and, in part, to:

• Require the reporting of certain suicide data.
• Require railroads to contact highway users involved in highway rail grade crossing accidents to obtain information about the accident.
• Clarify certain definitions and regulations, update text and otherwise make the rules for reporting accidents and injuries more straightforward.
• Enhance the quality of the information provided to FRA to make railroad accident analysis better.

FRA plays an important part in investigating railroad accidents. However, New York FELA attorneys also play an essential role for people who have been hurt, or those who have lost loved ones, in New York train accidents. It is a New York FELA attorney who can represent the interests of an injured railroad worker or train passenger and zealously advocate for the injured party's full recovery.

If you have been hurt in a New York train accident, then please contact a New York FELA lawyer today at 1-800-362-9329 for a free consultation.

*Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Railroad Safety, FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports, Published May 23, 2011 Effective July 1, 2011