Death on the Tracks

[tw]

The NY Times did a long series on how railroad routinely failed to protect the public at rail crossing; then used legal games to deny responsibility. Hundreds have died where railroads (most often cited is Union Pacific) did nothing to fix defective crossings. The NY Times series was: Death on the Tracks

Testimony used to deny compensation to hundreds of victims in TX was from a man who now admits he was outrightly lying.

Texas Official Admits Missteps That Helped Railroads in Suits
At the behest of the rail industry, Mr. Kosmak on about 100 occasions over the last 11 years signed sworn statements about warning signs at railroad crossings, according to court testimony. The affidavits were mostly drafted by the rail industry, which then used them in case after case as a critical defense against claims that unsafe crossings had caused deaths and serious injury, court records show.

But now, the truth of those affidavits is being called into question. According to his court testimony, Mr. Kosmak recently admitted that his sworn statements misrepresented - unintentionally, he says - what he knew about those crossings. ...

When the program began in 1977, Mr. Kosmak said, he was a teenager in high school. "Obviously," he added, "I was not working at Txdot when some of the stuff included in my affidavit was actually performed." He said he had not understood the legal definition of personal knowledge."

So its not his fault that he was lying? Another posted:

... there still comes a point when a person has to choose. They must be made to take responsibility for their actions.

But this was in TX where big means legal.