Paintiff should have been glad to stay alive under that situation!
Someone want to explain to me the physics involved in a train passing by and pulling the human body toward it (the suction factor). I have heard that it is possible, but have no idea why it happens.
Mookie
I think it’s much the same as the “bow wave” of a truck on the highway - if you’ve been passed by one while towing a high-sided trailer you’ll have felt your outfit pushed away and then sucked towards it, particularly if the truck was moving a lot quicker than you and passed closely - this wave can cause a snake to develop in unstable car/trailer combinations (if the trailer is poorly loaded or heavier than the tow vehicle) or if the driver panics and overreacts. Over here, lines on which high speed trains operate have a yellow line painted on station platforms to mark how far the effect extends - when a train is going through, you need to be behind the line. I’ve always assumed it to be the airflow of the moving truck or train developing a low pressure zone alongside it - the “bow wave” is air pushed out of the way by the truck/train and the suction is caused by air rushing back in. It’s downright scary the first time it happens to you (even if you’re ready for it), that I can say!
In a significant number of those cases, the lawyer has no intention of winning. He only hopes for a good settlement. Since settling is often cheaper than going to trial, the corporations often take the most economical way out and settle, even thought there is the possibility they could win the case.
I would have to confirm this with an aerospace engineer buddy, but I think that the friction between the side of the moving train and the static air would result in a certain mass of air accelerating in the direction the train was moving, which would then make air farther away want to fill the low-pressure area created. I have felt this once, as a Metra Electric trainset flew by the platform I was standing on and taking pictures from. That was enough for me.
A few years ago, we had a sad story of a police officer killed by a train in the LA or Orange County area because he got too close to a moving freight during a foot pursuit and got dragged into the train by this effect. Another thing to add to peace officer training, I guess, as the vacuum effect is not widely known outside of railway workers.
Why are you slammin’ these guys for their opinion BudKarr. That is what this is for. I get a little bent when people speak outta turn, but, these guys are right. These dim wits should be taken out and beaten when they try to make others responsible for their actions. If I recall, Bud, you got in my a-s in an earlier post telling me to “get a life a real one.” Not all of us can be self proclaimed, “adventurers,” like yourself Bud, so chill out. By the way, playing mortal kombat on your playstation at home doesn’t qualify you as an adventurer. Adventurer to the rest of the population equals unemployed.
An update on the court case here. Today, the court decision in STEVEN J. CHRISTOFF v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY (C047961) was ordered published by the Court of Appeal. This means that all ambulance chasers in California are put on notice that the arguments advanced in that case and rejected by the courts will be similarly rejected in future cases.
Another small blow in the cause of common sense.
What’s sad about this case for us railfans is that, because of lawsuits costing the railroads $$$ it makes economic sense for them to hire more bulls to chase people away from the tracks. In an ideal world, if someone walks along an active railroad track and gets run over by a train there should be NO legal action of any kind: if we get hurt trying to get a better picture or something it’s OUR problem. That way the railroads can keep the cops guarding the freightyards and not out bothering us.
Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car when she was severely burned by McDonalds’ coffee in February 1992. Liebeck, 79 at the time, ordered coffee that was served in a styrofoam cup at the drivethrough window of a local McDonalds.
After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and stopped momentarily so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.) Liebeck placed
the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled into her lap.
The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonalds refused.
During discovery, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebecks. This history documented McDonalds’ knowledge about the extent and nature of this hazard.
McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to maintain optimum taste. He admitted that he had not evaluated the safety ramifications at this temperature. Other establishments sell coffee at substantially lower temperatures, and coffee served at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees.
Further, McDonalds’ qualit
Michael-Interesting summary. As a coffee drinker, I have often purchased McD’s for the road and burned my tongue more than once. I still think they sell their coffee at a higher temperature than most establishments and if I buy at their drive-up I am many miles down the road before I take the first sip.
Among other positions taken by McDonalds, I think the flavor thing is totally bogus. Like many things reported in the mainstream media, the stories on this incident had about half the truth.
Well, I know I can’t taste a thing after I’ve burned my tongue. McDonald’s has never made sense to me, an inveterate coffee drinker.
Best regards,
Michael Sol
Look who’s talking.
Speeding train; innocent in its travel; between two thin rails; not asking for much space to pass through; and may I have only five minutes of your time? Please step back, clear away from the track; this is the road I must travel, and you know it; I’m big, I’m mean, I’m running through! Give me at least twenty feet, not two.
Opportunist stands too close; gets injured; cheats fate; doesn’t count his blessings, but would rather count the cash; hires a bandit; everyone has their day in court; empty suits; empty skirts; shameless; without a conscience, every last one of them; yet another frivolous lawsuit; corruption holds a gavel; dirty robe fouls the bench; bribery; one hand washes the other; wink wink, nudge nudge; UP has billions, so what’s a few million?
If I recall my Bill Nye the Science Guy when air is moving fast, it has a lower pressure, and therefore creates suction, the same principle that they use on airplanes (The wing is curved on the top so the air gos faster there and sucks the plane up)
Matthew
For all we know this person might have been a “railfan”. [xx(]
Title of the thread is interesting. Considering how many lawyers are out there, American law suits will expand to meet the demand of lawyers to litigate. We may be running short of fuel, housing, and money, but a shortage of lawyers? No.
It’s simple physics: if a legal vacuum exists, something will ru***o fill it…
Erik