Train Derailment Lawsuits Involving Wrongful Death and Personal Injury Settled for $39 Million
Southern California's commuter rail agency Metrolink will pay about $39 million to settle nearly all 189 wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits filed after the 2005 train derailment. Eleven train riders were killed and 180 injured when a man parked his SUV on the train tracks. The lawsuit alleged that Metrolink should have provided better safety controls to prevent the accident from occuring.
In wrongful death cases in Illinois it is important to prove that the person who died could have brought a lawsuit had that person survived. Another words, if the deceased person could have sued, the family can sue. In this case, as in other cases involving trains, personal injury and wrongful death, some of the issues to prove liability would be the speed of the train, the attention the conductor was paying to the tracks, any obstructions and the care Metrolink took in making sure the tracks would remain clear from obstacles that may result in an accident.
Wrongful death and personal injury cases are time consuming and require diligence. My offices in Chicago and outside Peoria handle these types of cases and I don't hand my cases off to staff. I don't charge unless I recover on your behalf.
