If you or a loved one has been hurt in a Chicago train accident - whether on the CTA, Metra, Amtrak, or at a railroad crossing - the injuries sustained are often catastrophic, and the legal fight ahead demands more than a standard personal injury approach.
At Cirignani, Heller & Harman (CHH Law), our legal team includes a licensed physicians and a certified respiratory therapist who are also attorneys, giving train accident victims something no other firm in Chicago can: attorneys who read your medical records the way a clinician would, not just a lawyer. That difference matters when traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, or amputations define the rest of your life.
Train accident cases are not ordinary personal injury lawsuits. They involve federal regulations, government agencies with legal immunities, multiple potentially liable parties, and injuries that demand years of medical treatment. CHH Law's background makes us uniquely equipped for this complexity.
When your case hinges on proving the full scope of a spinal cord injury or the long-term cost of rehabilitation, having attorneys who understand injury mechanisms at a clinical level directly impacts the fair compensation you recover.
The hardest medical malpractice cases in Illinois have come to CHH Law for over four decades. For 40 years, CHH has applied the same rigor to catastrophic train accident cases involving CTA, Metra, freight carriers, and Amtrak.
Whether opposing a railroad company, a public transit agency, or a commercial freight operator, our firm has the resources and trial readiness to take on well-funded defendants.
Our medical backgrounds allow us to coordinate seamlessly with accident reconstruction specialists, life care planners, and treating physicians.
CHH Law provides comprehensive legal representation for people injured in all types of railroad accidents across the Chicago area. Every case we accept involves serious or catastrophic injuries where our medical-legal expertise delivers a measurable advantage.
Chicago Transit Authority trains carry hundreds of thousands of passengers daily across the "L" system, and when accidents occur, the results can be devastating. Platform accidents, derailments, and collisions - like the 2023 Yellow Line crash near Howard station that injured 16 people when a CTA train collided with snow-removal equipment - demonstrate how equipment failures and safety lapses lead to serious harm. CTA operates as a common carrier and owes passengers a higher standard of care. Importantly, CTA is exempt from certain tort immunities that protect other public entities in Illinois, meaning accident victims can pursue negligence claims directly. Common injuries include lacerations and burns from train accidents, neck and back injuries, and traumatic brain injuries that require long-term rehabilitation.
Metra commuter rail lines connect Chicago's suburbs to the city, and accidents at railroad crossings, on platforms, and during transit cause severe injuries to passengers and pedestrians alike. Collisions with vehicles or pedestrians often cause serious injuries, particularly at crossings where signals may be inadequate. In McDonald v. Metra, a man lost his arm at a crossing where pedestrian signals were allegedly insufficient - the jury assigned 60% fault to Metra and awarded $700,000 after reduction. In Eskew v. BNSF & Metra, a legally blind pedestrian struck while crossing to a platform recovered approximately $5 million after fault allocation. Negligence can include ignoring safety regulations for track conditions, failing to maintain warning lights, or neglecting platform safety - as demonstrated in Del Real v. Metra, where a slip-and-fall on an unsafe platform led to litigation over property maintenance duties.
Amtrak train derailments, freight train collisions, and crashes involving commercial rail carriers present distinct legal challenges because they often fall under federal jurisdiction. Train derailments often result from negligence in rail maintenance, and defective train parts or disabled safety systems can turn routine operations into catastrophic events. Train safety violations can lead to serious train wrecks - the Federal Railroad Administration oversees compliance with track safety, braking systems, and signal standards, and failures in any of these areas can establish negligence. A 2017 train derailment settlement was $57 million, illustrating the scale of damages when a train company fails to maintain safe operations. These cases can involve multiple potentially liable parties, including the train operator, the railroad company, equipment manufacturers, and maintenance contractors.
Train accident claims demand immediate, systematic action. Evidence disappears, deadlines are strict, and the medical complexity of catastrophic injuries requires expert handling from day one.
Your case begins with a free case evaluation with our physician-attorneys, who assess both the legal merits and the medical severity of your injuries. This is not a generic intake - our team reviews your medical records with clinical expertise, identifying injury mechanisms, treatment gaps, and long-term care needs that other firms might miss. Free consultations are commonly offered by law firms handling train accident cases, but ours is conducted by attorneys who are also licensed physicians.
Evidence preservation is crucial in train accident litigation. Attorneys often investigate railroad accidents by reviewing maintenance records and video footage, but critical evidence - including train "black box" data, surveillance footage, track inspection logs, and safety reports - can be lost or overwritten within days. We act immediately to secure this evidence, coordinate with accident reconstruction specialists, and identify all potentially responsible parties. Train accident claims often involve federal regulations, government agency procedures, and multiple defendants, all of which require precise legal handling from the outset.
Whether your case resolves through negotiation or proceeds to trial, our legal representation is built on the medical evidence that drives catastrophic injury valuations. Personal injury attorneys can help victims calculate damages for medical expenses and lost wages, but CHH Law goes further - our physician-attorneys establish the full lifetime cost of your injuries, from future surgeries to rehabilitation to loss of earning capacity. Trial readiness and negotiation skills are important for personal injury attorneys in railroad cases, and our decades of experience with the most complex cases in Chicago prepare us for both. Successful cases can result in multi-million dollar settlements for catastrophic injuries. Tomasik Kotin Kasserman obtained a $29.6 million verdict for brain damage in a train accident, and Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers recovered over $250 million for clients - demonstrating the significant compensation available when cases are handled with the expertise they demand.
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CHH was the only firm willing to take on our complex surgical injury case, and we are so glad they did. I truly don't believe we would have had the positive outcome we did without them.
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I don't know what we would have done without Dan during this difficult time. I highly recommend having Dan J. Pylman and his team to represent you & yours if you want to win your case.
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I can honestly say I felt the compassion from each member of the CHH team. You CAN NOT go wrong choosing CHH.
CHH Law represents train accident victims across the greater Chicago area, including:
Downtown Chicago and the Loop - CTA "L" lines, Metra terminals, Union Station
North Side neighborhoods - Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Edgewater, Rogers Park, and Howard station area
South Side communities - Hyde Park, Bronzeville, South Shore, and Metra Electric corridor
West Side areas - Near West Side, Austin, Oak Park, and surrounding communities
Suburban Cook County - Evanston, Skokie, Cicero, and communities along CTA and Metra lines
CHH Law is one of the only Chicago firms with a licensed physician and a certified respiratory therapist on its legal team - both of whom are attorneys. Train accident lawyers must understand common carrier laws and federal regulations, but they must also understand the medicine. Victims may suffer traumatic brain injuries, multiple bone fractures, severe burns, or spinal cord damage - injuries that require long-term rehabilitation and lifelong medical treatment. Our clinician-attorneys interpret those medical records with the same precision as a treating doctor, which strengthens every element of your case from causation to damages. Experienced lawyers can improve odds of settling with insurers, and our medical expertise gives us a decisive advantage at every stage.
Victims can claim economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include medical bills, future medical treatment costs, lost income, and loss of earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and loss of consortium. In wrongful death cases, surviving family members can recover for loss of companionship, funeral expenses, and financial support. Injuries from train accidents can require long-term rehabilitation, and the lifetime cost of catastrophic injuries - including surgeries, prosthetics, home modifications, and ongoing care - can reach millions of dollars. Injured train accident victims can file claims against train companies, public transit agencies, and other responsible parties. These attorneys focus on securing compensation for victims of train accidents that reflects the true impact on their lives.
You have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Illinois under the general statute of limitations. However, for claims against public entities like CTA or Metra, Illinois requires filing a formal notice of claim within one year from the date of the accident. Missing this deadline can bar your claim entirely. Evidence also degrades quickly - surveillance footage is overwritten, maintenance records become harder to obtain, and witness memories fade. Contact a train accident lawyer immediately after an accident to protect your rights.
Yes. CHH Law handles train accident cases against all major rail carriers in the Chicago area, including CTA, Metra, Amtrak, and freight railroad companies like BNSF. Each defendant presents different legal challenges. CTA is exempt from certain Illinois tort immunities that protect other government agencies, meaning negligence claims can proceed more directly. Metra cases may involve crossing safety, platform maintenance, and federal oversight. Amtrak and freight cases often fall under federal jurisdiction, with regulations from the Federal Railroad Administration governing track safety, braking systems, and equipment inspections. In 2008, there were over 12,000 railroad accidents in the U.S., underscoring how common these incidents are and how important it is to have chicago train accident attorneys who understand the distinct legal framework for each type of carrier.
If you've been injured or lost a loved one in a train accident in Chicago, you need legal help from attorneys who understand both the law and the medicine. CHH Law's physician-attorneys bring over 40 years of experience with Chicago's most complex cases - now focused on delivering fair compensation for catastrophic train accident injuries.
Contact Cirignani, Heller & Harman today for a free consultation.
Cirignani, Heller & Harman, LLP · Chicago, Illinois
