No immunity in train accidents

Click title for full story. March 26, 2008 OFFICIALS have not yet determined who was responsible for the accident that injured 150 commuter rail passengers in Canton Tuesday evening. If CSX freight company workers are to blame, the company can and should be held liable, something CSX opposes on another commuter rail line it is negotiating to sell to the state. The company needs to back off its insistence on immunity. CSX workers left four boxcars full of lumber at a siding next to the commuter rail tracks. One car broke free and struck the commuter train. The track is owned by the MBTA, and no special exemptions from liability are in place. So any party responsible for the accident can be sued for personal injury, the kind of litigation that ought to encourage improved safety procedures.