What Should Be Done About Dangerous Design Flaws in Rail Tankers?
Posted by Mark Bello
September 13, 2012 1:47 PM
September 13, 2012 1:47 PM
The Legal Examiner Farmington Hills is brought to you by Lawsuit Financial Corp
Lawsuit Financial Corp
(877) 377-7848www.lawsuitfinancial.com
7115 Orchard Lake Rd
Suite 320
West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322
[Show Map]
Personal Injury Lawyers Serving:
Lawsuit Financial is located in West Bloomfield, MI, a suburb of Detroit, MI. However, we are a national company and serve attorneys and plaintiffs, nationwide. We currently provide lawsuit funding in 44 states. The states we, currently, cannot provide service in are North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Archives
Categories
- Automobile Accidents
- Defective & Dangerous Products
- FDA & Prescription Drugs
- Head & Brain Injuries
- Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus)
- Medical Devices & Implants
- Medical Malpractice
- Miscellaneous
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Nursing Home & Elder Abuse
- Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Toxic Substances
- Tractor-Trailer Accidents
- Uncategorized
- Workplace Discrimination
- Workplace Injuries
- Wrongful Death
Subscribe to The Legal Examiner
Keep up with the latest updates using your favorite RSS reader

Rail tankers are railroad cars that transport cylinder shaped canisters with dangerous liquids coast-to-coast. Although more than 99% of all shipments arrive safely at their destination, derailments can, and do, happen. During a derailment or other accident, a chemical spill can occur and, in some cases, may explode. Fires and explosions not only endanger lives but can damage bridges, tunnels and other infrastructures.
The rail and chemical industries have known about design flaws dating back to 1991. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has several concerns about the safety of these tankers and is now asking for higher standards.
Although the industries are committed to a safer design for new tankers, they are pushing for regulators not to require modifications to tens of thousands of existing cars. Industry leaders say the modifications would be too costly, but as the tankers age, the risks of devastating accidents increase especially as more and more hazmat materials are transported via rails.
Shouldn’t the industry ensure safety on all of its tankers? Isn’t this a public safety issue? I only see two choices, retrofit the old tankers or pull them from the fleet. What do you think?
Mark Bello has thirty-five years experience as a trial lawyer and thirteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide legal finance cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Member of Public Justice and Public Citizen, Business Associate of the Florida, Mississippi, Connecticut, Texas, and Tennessee Associations for Justice, and Consumers Attorneys of California, member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.