Our Areas of Personal Injury Practice

1. Introduction
Major air, rail, road, and maritime accidents are similar in that they generally involve fast moving vehicles carrying many people or large quantities of goods and substances that can cause direct or indirect damage to the public and the environment surrounding the site of the accident. The effects of these accidents are multiplied when several of the same, or different, types of vehicles or means of transport are involved or when vehicles hit buildings or installations sheltering people or containing substances that are dangerous to man and the environment (villages, stations, airports, warehouses etc.).

2. Preventive and protective measures
In view of the different means or systems of transport, and hence the conditions and circumstances in which an accident may occur, it is often impossible to ensure the protection and immediate rescue of the crew and passengers at risk. Consequently, priority must be given to prevention and then to speed in search and rescue operations.

To this end the organization of traffic surveillance and warning systems, as well as the establishment of emergency or specialized rescue plans covering different potential risks which cannot be localized beforehand, must, as far as possible, be prepared in advance by the security services of transport companies, in collaboration with the local, regional and national authorities and intervening bodies.

Characteristics of different types of transport accidents

1. Air accidents can be of natural, technical or human origin, such as mechanical breakdowns, negligence or terrorist attacks. Usually small aircraft (helicopters, light aero planes, gliders) do not cause disasters as such, since the number of victims and the impact of the crash is limited. This is not the case for large aircraft such as transport planes or jet fighters, although accidents involving this type of aircraft are relatively rare; when they do occur, it is often in the perimeter of airfields and in the axis of take-off and landing strips. These accidents are unpredictable and no real means of protection against them exist. The same can be said for the accidental return to earth of satellites (for example Kosmos 954 or Skylab). As a rule, the object disintegrates into thousands of small pieces which scatter over an area of several kilometers. The greatest danger arises from the radioactivity emanating from a nuclear reactor powering such a vector.

2: Rail accidents occur when trains travelling on the same tracks collide or when trains derail because of technical faults in the rolling stock, the rails or the security systems, or because of landslides, avalanches or objects obstructing the rails (possibly caused by deliberate actions, such as terrorist attacks). Usually, these types of accidents cannot be avoided as the train driver or security personnel do not have enough time to react, unless they are travelling under special protection because of an exceptional situation. Such accidents cause direct and indirect damage to people and the environment, especially when they involve trains carrying freight or dangerous or polluting substances. They are relatively rare however and can be avoided by taking strict preventive and protective measures (establishing regulations, signaling systems, training personnel) that minimize technical and human failures and malicious attacks. This involves installing a reliable alarm and security system and regular surveillance of rail installations and equipment.

3. Road accidents are undoubtedly the most frequent and, overall, the cause of the most damage. The reasons for this are the extremely dense road traffic and the relatively great freedom of movement given to drivers. Accidents involving heavy goods vehicles (especially coaches and lorries with trailers) occur all too frequently despite calls for responsible behavior, for respect of the loading regulations and the highway code as well as the obligation for drivers to adapt their speed, which affects stopping distances, to the traffic and weather conditions (rain, ice, fog, etc.). The prevention of road accidents is also extremely important and will be ensured by strict laws, by technical and police controls, ongoing training for drivers (especially those involved in the transport of dangerous substances) and, if need, be by legal and administrative penalties for those responsible.

4. Maritime disasters have greatly diminished, mainly because of improved ships and more efficient navigation systems, but probably also because of the increasing and quasi exclusive use of commercial aviation for passenger transport, at least for international travel. Because of this, most accidents now occur when crossing sea channels or estuaries and involve overloaded or old vessels. Moreover ferry boats have recently been involved in important disasters because of their instability in bad weather, technical problems or navigational errors. The major ecological disasters have occurred when petrol tankers have run aground, because of the loss of containers of dangerous products or even because of the deliberate dumping of these products (waste). It is important to prevent this to the extent possible by ensuring the respect of national and international regulations through frequent and severe checks.

3. Intervention and rescue measures

The control of all accidents is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the commander (chief) and personnel of the affected means of transport. It is up to them to limit the resulting damage as much as possible. Passengers must obey the directives of the personnel on board (protective and rescue measures) and behave as they are instructed by the regulations on disaster situations, especially air, rail or maritime disasters.

As far as search, rescue and assistance operations are concerned, the means or system of transport involved and the area (country) where it occurs will determine who is the person in charge at the disaster site. The principles of intervention are as follows:

- In the case of an air disaster occurring on, or in the immediate vicinity of, an airport (generally within a 5 kilometer radius), control of the incident is the responsibility of the airport authorities since control of the air traffic is the responsibility of the airport in question and the control tower is in charge of warning the security and intervention services. They can if need be, call upon local fire brigades and civil defense reinforcements.
Generally the special disaster rescue plans (red alert, special plans for the airport) will only be activated with the agreement of the competent political authorities.

- If the incident occurs outside the area under control of the airport authorities the political authorities of the affected area will be in charge of the deployment of local intervention teams (police, fire brigade, civil protection, health services, etc.). Control of the rescue efforts will, if necessary, be taken over by higher authorities (regional, departmental) in collaboration with experts from the aviation services and the judiciary (establishing responsibility
for the disaster, identifying victims, collection and restitution of personal belongings) and representatives of the transport company involved.

- In case of rail accidents the alarm, reconnaissance and rescue will be controlled by the regional traffic control centre (dispatching centre) of the railways or by the nearest station.
Should the damage warrant it the local authorities can take control of the initial intervention (first aid) by co-coordinating the action of the means available (police, fire brigade, civil defense, health services) in close collaboration with the specialist services of the company involved. Subsequently, the rescue plan or red alert for rail disasters can be activated by higher political authorities. Protection, research, rescue and assistance measures will depend upon the intervention tactics dictated by the accident and the means available.

- As regards road accidents, it is important to make the distinction between those occurring on motorways and those taking place on other roads, bearing in mind the special regulations that may govern certain communications routes or sensitive areas.
Operational control of interventions on roads is initially ensured by the traffic or rescue control centre of the motorway which is alerted by witnesses (using the motorway telephone network) or by a police patrol. The rescue means will be supplied by the rescue centre ( traffic control) and by the neighboring emergency services. If need be specialists in dealing with dangerous substances (chemical or radioactive products, hydrocarbons, etc.) and the health services (helicopters, ambulances, specially trained medical personnel) can also be called upon to help. In general, a special plan drawn up as a precaution will be activated.

Major accidents occurring on roads other than motorways come under the control of the political authorities of the area in which they occur; they ensure the initial intervention using the means at their disposal. In case of particularly bad accidents, namely fires or leakage of chemical substances or pollutants, a higher management level will be called upon to intervene and conduct the operations (special plans).

- Rescues in the case of maritime or river disasters follow the principles of solidarity between seafaring people and the norms of national and international maritime law.
In the event of an incident the rescue measures on board are the responsibility of the captain of the vessel whose priority should be to save the passengers and then the crew. Moreover, maritime nations generally possess a national service for the sea and navigable channels which is responsible for ensuring the supervision and security of national waters and coasts and also the organization of rescue at sea.

Because of the specific conditions of navigation at sea, on lakes and rivers, interventions should be the object, in every state concerned, of special emergency plans put into action as soon as the alert is given by a chief of operations named in advance.
In case of ecological disaster (chemical and radioactive substances, hydrocarbons) the rescue and protection measures for waterways and coasts should be implemented in close collaboration with the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA).