Two NJ Transit commuter trains collided during the early evening hours of December 19, 2024, in Montclair, New Jersey. The collision caused injuries to over a dozen people, and it caused one train to derail. The train accident happened just west of the Bay Street Station on the Montclair Booton Line at approximately 6:47 PM. Ambulances were reported to have left the scene taking injured passengers to local hospitals. The collision disrupted commuter rail travel, shutting down rail service in both directions just as the start of the weekend before the holidays as many ended their week and looked forward to a peaceful Christmas and holiday season.
Fortunately, initial reports indicate that no fatalities occurred and that the injuries appeared to be non-life threatening. At least six people were taken by ambulance to local hospitals while eleven others suffered assorted non-specified injuries. The injured included three passengers and three crew members.
New Jersey Transit officials have begun their investigation while emphasizing that passenger safety remained New Jersey Transit’s top priority. Train wrecks are also investigated by the National Transit Safety Board (NTSB) who will determine the cause of the commuter train collision. Other federal agencies including the Federal Railroad Administration are participating in the investigation as well. These agencies, together with New Jersey Transit will investigate and report on who or what caused the collision and what future steps are necessary to avoid the same or similar train accidents.
According to reports this is the second recent derailment near the Bay Street Station on the same Montclair Booton rail line. Restoration of full rail service depended upon removing both damaged trains, inspecting the track and safety systems, and satisfying the investigators’ safety concerns. An investigation like this could take weeks or longer.
In simple terms, the derailment was caused by the collision between two trains, but the exact cause is the subject of further investigation. Train wreck accident reconstructions investigate possible causes including human error, malfunction of computer and signal equipment, potential braking issues, train maintenance, and weather-related causes. New Jersey experienced extreme weather conditions of high winds and rain during the early evening of Friday which could have contributed to the train wreck. Photographs show property damage to the train’s heavily steel front end.
Train accidents trigger medical and legal issues for injured passengers. Local emergency responders continuously drill and train for the same or similar events as do emergency room triage nurses and physicians. The more seriously injured passengers are generally admitted to a hospital for further evaluation and medical treatment, possibly including surgery. Less injured passengers are usually discharged; however, as the days and weeks follow their soft injuries could signal serious permanent and painful injuries to their neck, back or extremities. As they seek medical treatment many passengers that suffered injuries begin to explore their legal options as they incur unanticipated medical bills and lose wages due to sick leave. This is where things can get legally complicated, causing many injured train passengers to seek answers to their legal questions.
As a passenger on a train, whether it is a New Jersey Transit or Amtrak train, the railroad rail line is considered a common carrier who under the law owes the highest duty of care to avoid injury to its passengers. That is the law in the State of New Jersey and most other jurisdictions. Innocent passengers that are victims of a train wreck are also in a better legal position since as a passenger, they cannot have contributed to the cause of a train collision, and thus one would think that as a rail accident victim they would be entitled to the full extent of compensation for their injuries and economic losses.
The legal analysis is just not that simple because New Jersey Transit is a legal entity created and operated by the State of New Jersey and thus subject to the laws regarding lawsuits and claims against New Jersey, its counties, municipalities, and political entities such as the New Jersey Transit Corporation . Similar rules apply to bus accidents and bus and train accidents involving The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
Specifically, as a state-run entity New Jersey Transit it protected by New Jersey’s Tort Claim Act officially know as Title 59 as found in N.J.S.A. 59:1-3 which provides for immunity from claims and lawsuits unless the injured person complies with certain notice requirements and meets certainly injury thresholds.
One would ordinarily think that New Jersey’s two year statue of limitations law allow train accident victims two years to act but the reality is that someone injured in a New Jersey Transit train wreck has only ninety (90) days from the day of the train accident to file a special notice, to a special address, on a special form delivered to the correct person or entity called a Tort Claims Notice. This is an absolute requirement with few exceptions except for an injury to a minor who is given an additional 90 days from their 18th birthday to provide notice. The filing of the tort claims notice is the first hurdle. Failure to do so is usually fatal to a potential claim. Any attempt to file a late notice claim requires a court order from a New Jersey Superior Court Judge requested within one year after the accident and after showing exceptional circumstances for the delay in filing within the initial 90-day required time limit.
After that, the injured person must wait 6 months to file a lawsuit to allow New Jersey Transit or other governmental entities time to investigate the claim. The injured person must prove the following : (1) timely filing of the notice of claim (2) medical bills of a minimum of $3,600 and (3) a permanent injuries which is often the most complicated part of the equation and usually requires hiring a qualified New Jersey personal injury lawyer who has experience handling train accidents and suing public entities such as New Jersey Transit. The New Jersey lawsuit must be filed within the state’s two-year Statute of Limitations. The Office of The Attorney General of the State of New Jersey will defend the lawsuit.
Clearly the toughest part to prove is that the injury is permanent. Ironically, a well-documented soft tissue injury to a person’s neck or back could qualify while a fracture repaired with hardware may not break the New Jersey Tort Claims Act injury threshold.
For that reason, it is important to contact as soon as possible an injury lawyer who has experience with New Jersey Transit lawsuits to complete and file your Tort Claims Notice within the 90th time period. The notice should be filed early even if the required $3,600 of medical treatment bills has not been incurred or billed. It should be filed and served upon New Jersey Transit as soon as possible to protect any potential injury claims.
After that, your lawyer should monitor your medical treatment and investigate your permanent injuries to determine which injury will qualify for compensation. According to attorney Samuel L. Davis, an attorney who is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney, “It is never to soon to consult with a qualified lawyer so that your legal rights will be protected and your accident-related injuries are well documented.”
Attorney Sam Davis, a founding partner of New Jersey’s Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. knows fully about train collisions and derailments. Years back he represented an electrical engineer that won a $1,425 million settlement for injuries suffered in a New Jersey Transit Train accident that happened in Hoboken on September 29, 2016. Davis, an experienced trial attorney credited with multiple eight figure settlements or verdicts, is a founding partner of the New Jersey and New York law firm Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Sam Davis is an expert in personal injury litigation and is an expert in train and rail accident litigation. Twice during the past ten years, the New Jersey Law Journal, a publication relied upon by New Jersey’s lawyers and judges since 1878 accredited Davis with winning the highest reported personal injury verdict or award of the year in the State of New Jersey.
Samuel L. Davis, who represents clients and accepts cases on a contingent fee basis can be contacted for a free consultation by calling Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. at 1-800-LAW-2000, or by email at info@dsslaw.com and also sam@dsslaw.com.
