Michigan Train and Railroad Crossing Accident Lawyer

A loaded freight train can take more than a mile to stop, so a crossing collision is rarely minor. It leaves catastrophic injuries or death, and the family is suddenly up against a railroad that sends its own claims team and reconstruction experts to the scene within hours, often before anyone has thought about a lawyer. By the time most people call us, the railroad has already started building its defense.

Vahdat Weisman Law auto accident attorneys represent people hurt in train and railroad crossing crashes, and families who have lost someone, in Livonia and across Michigan. These are not ordinary auto cases. A railroad case turns on knowing which claims federal law allows, which it limits, and how to preserve the railroad’s own records before they are gone.

Why Railroad Cases Are Different

Most injury cases are governed entirely by state law. Railroad crossing cases do not, because the Federal Railroad Safety Act and the regulations under it can preempt, meaning legally override, certain claims you would otherwise bring. Two points matter here. Preemption is claim-specific, not case-wide, so it knocks out particular theories rather than ending the lawsuit. And the railroad’s lawyers raise it early and aggressively. Much of the skill in these cases lies in framing claims that survive federal law and proving that the railroad violated a standard it was required to follow.

What Federal Law Limits, and What Survives

Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions set the boundaries. In CSX Transportation v. Easterwood (1993), the Court held that a claim that a train was going too fast is preempted when the train was within the federal speed limit for that class of track. In Norfolk Southern v. Shanklin (2000), the Court held that where federal funds were actually paid to install the warning devices at a crossing, and those devices were in place, state-law claims that the devices were inadequate are preempted. Railroads lean on both rulings constantly.

They do not, however, give a railroad immunity. Under the 2007 amendment to the federal preemption statute, a claim survives when the railroad failed to follow the federal standard of care or its own safety rules adopted under federal regulation. Strong, non-preempted theories include a signal or gate that malfunctioned or went unmaintained, vegetation or structures the railroad allowed to block a driver’s view, a crew that failed to sound the horn where the rules required it, and a failure to slow or stop in the face of a specific hazard the crew could see, such as a vehicle stopped on the tracks. On that last point, the Michigan Supreme Court held in Marion v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad (2024) that while a crew may at first presume a person on the tracks will move to safety, once it becomes clear the person will not or cannot, the crew has a duty to act to avoid the collision. The railroad wants every case to look like a speed or warning-device claim. Showing the court that yours is not is the heart of the work.

A note on horns: the federal train-horn rule generally requires the horn to be sounded 15 to 20 seconds before a public crossing, but in a designated quiet zone, routine horn-sounding is restricted, which changes a failure-to-warn claim entirely. Whether the crossing was public, private, or in a quiet zone is one of the first things we check.

No-Fault If You Were in a Vehicle

A train is not a motor vehicle, but if you were in a car or truck when it struck you, you were in one, so Michigan no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefits can pay for medical care and a portion of lost wages. Two cautions keep this honest. Since the 2019 reforms, PIP medical is capped at the level the policy chose, from $50,000 to unlimited, and wage loss is limited in amount and duration to 3 years, so the benefits are real but not bottomless. And which insurer pays follows Michigan’s priority rules, not always simply “your own.” A pedestrian struck only by a train usually cannot reach no-fault at all, but if a motor vehicle was part of the chain, a car knocked into the person, for instance, PIP may open up through the priority rules or the Assigned Claims Plan. The liability claim against the railroad is separate from, and on top of, any no-fault benefits.

Pedestrians and Railroad Workers Stand on Different Ground

Not every crossing case is a motorist case, and the rules shift with who was hurt. A pedestrian struck while walking along the tracks, away from a public crossing, is often treated as a trespasser, which reduces the railroad’s duty toward them. However, Marion shows that duty is not nonexistent once a crew clearly sees someone in danger. And a railroad employee hurt on the job is not in the state-law system at all; their claim runs under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, which uses a lighter burden of proof and does not apply Michigan’s comparative-fault bar. Identifying the right legal lane at the outset shapes the entire case.

The Evidence, and the Railroad’s Head Start

A railroad documents its operations in detail, and that record decides cases, but only if it is preserved. The locomotive event recorder logs speed, braking, and horn use; the horn sequencer, forward-facing video, and GPS or positive-train-control data fill in the rest. The railroad also holds signal and crossing-activation logs, signal-maintenance and track-inspection records, dispatch audio, crew hours-of-service records, and post-incident repair logs. The crossing itself, the sight lines, the vegetation, and the gates can change the moment a crew trims branches or swaps a relay after the crash.

The railroad’s response team moves within hours. We move just as fast, sending detailed evidence-preservation demands for the recorder and video, the signal and maintenance data, and the dispatch recordings, and documenting the crossing before anything is altered. In these cases, the side that controls the evidence usually controls the outcome.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

A crossing crash can involve more than the railroad. Depending on the facts, responsibility may rest with the railroad that operated the train and maintained the crossing, a contractor hired to install or service the signals, or a road authority, such as MDOT, a county road commission, or a city, responsible for the roadway approach, markings, or sightlines. When a government defendant controls the approach, a short notice deadline can apply, sometimes as little as 120 days for a highway-related defect, so the right entities have to be identified immediately.

How the Railroad Will Argue the Fault

Expect the railroad to blame the driver for driving around a lowered gate, ignoring a working signal, or trying to beat the train. Michigan reduces your recovery by your share of fault rather than ending the case, and only a finding of more than 50% fault bars noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering; even then, your economic losses remain recoverable, reduced by your percentage of fault. This is exactly why the railroad’s own data matters so much. An event recorder showing the horn never sounded, or maintenance logs showing a signal had been failing for weeks, can turn the fault story around.

When a Crossing Crash Takes a Life

Many of these collisions are fatal, and the days afterward are unbearable. Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act allows a claim for the family’s loss, including lost financial support and the loss of the love, companionship, and guidance the person provided, along with funeral expenses and any conscious pain and suffering before death. One practical point families do not expect: the case is brought by the personal representative of the estate on the family’s behalf, not by individual relatives directly, which means opening a small estate is part of the process. We handle that step with care so the legal mechanics never get in the way of a grieving family.

How Vahdat Weisman Law Handles Your Case

We treat the preemption analysis and the race for evidence as the two things that decide these cases. We frame the claims that survive federal law, send preservation demands for the recorder and maintenance records immediately, document the crossing before it changes, and identify every responsible party and deadline. From our Livonia office, attorneys Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman handle train and railroad crossing claims for clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan on a contingency-fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I sue a railroad, or does federal law block it? You can sue. Federal law limits specific theories, such as an excessive-speed claim when the train was within the federal limit, or an attack on federally funded warning devices. Still, it is claim-specific, not a bar on the whole case. Claims for a malfunctioning signal, blocked sightlines, a missing horn, or failure to stop for a visible hazard often survive.
• Does Michigan no-fault apply if a train hits my car? Often yes. Because you were in a motor vehicle, PIP benefits can pay for medical care and part of your lost wages, subject to your policy’s coverage level and the priority rules. The claim against the railroad is separate and on top of that.
• Why do I need to act quickly? The railroad’s claims and reconstruction team is on the scene within hours, and its recorder data, signal logs, and video cycle out on a schedule. The sooner we send preservation demands, the more of that evidence survives. A general three-year filing deadline also applies, and far shorter notice deadlines can apply if a government road authority is involved.
• My family member drove around the gate. Is the case over? Not necessarily. Michigan reduces recovery by a person’s share of fault rather than ending the case, unless they were more than half at fault, and the railroad’s own records sometimes show the gate or signal was not working as it should have been.
• What does it cost to hire you? Nothing upfront. We handle these claims on a contingency-fee basis, so you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Why Injured Michiganders Trust Vahdat Weisman Law

Vahdat Weisman Law is a personal injury firm based in Livonia, Michigan, representing injury victims and their families throughout the state. Our attorneys, Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman, bring courtroom experience, a record of meaningful results, and a hands-on approach to investigation and case strategy. We prepare every matter as if it will go to trial, positioning clients for stronger settlements and protecting their rights if litigation becomes necessary.

We handle train and railroad crossing injury claims on a contingency-fee basis, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. From our Livonia office, we serve clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan, and we explain every step in plain language so you can make informed decisions about your case.

Speak With a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you love was hurt in a train or railroad crossing crash, contact Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia today at (734) 469-4994 for a free, confidential consultation. Because the railroad starts building its defense within hours, the sooner we hear from you, the more evidence we can protect. Reach out via our contact page to let us know what happened and learn about your options. There is no cost to speak with us about your potential claim.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.