CHICAGO — A Chicago law firm has filed seven separate lawsuits against Amtrak and BNSF Railway on behalf of passengers injured in the Sept. 25 derailment of the Empire Builder, and says it will challenge an arbitration requirement added to tickets in 2019.
A press release from the Clifford Law Offices says the firm obtained a $16.75 million verdict against Amtrak as a result of the 2017 Amtrak Cascades derailment prior to the addition of the arbitration requirement.
Suits were filed on behalf of Ryan and Hanna Shea, ages 34 and 31, of Leverett, Mass; Brandi and Shawnee Gimse, 42 and 29, of York, Pa.; Morgan and Christopher Grosso, 31 and 39, of Lafayette, Ind., and Theodore Hastreiter of Whitefish, Mont.
The firm says it has been contacted by other passengers and intends to file other suits. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the derailment in Joplin, Mont.
The new filings follow a suit filed last week by the widow of one of the three people killed in the derailment [see “Widow of Empire Builder derailment victim sues Amtrak, BNSF,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 29, 2021].
Amtrak’s arbitration policy remains in place despite congressional scrutiny. A group of 13 U.S. Senators asked then-CEO Richard Anderson to eliminate the policy, which Anderson declined, citing the desire to “reduce unnecessary litigation costs” [see “Senators request Amtrak eliminate arbitration requirement …” News Wire, Dec. 3, 2019]. A bill to eliminate forced arbitration introduced that year failed to pass.
Share this article
