The Altoona Mirror newspaper is reporting that U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson dismissed the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by several Hyndman residents in relation to the Aug. 2, 2017 derailment of a Chicago to Selkirk, New York CSX freight train in the city. According to an opinion issued by Gibson in the case, the plaintiffs did not suffer property damage, personal injury, loss of property value or suffer severe mental harm as a result of the derailment.
Gibson wrote in her opinion that there was no allegation, nor evidence in the case to suggest that the fumes emitted from the derailment were toxic or that they caused any injuries to those affected by the derailment. “Fear and anxiety without physical manifestation are economic losses that are not recoverable under Pennsylvania law,” Gibson wrote in her opinion. She also wrote that the “fear and anxiety and anxiety as a result of the derailment” suffered by the plaintiffs “never physically manifested.”
According to a National Transportation Safety Board report, the derailment occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2017. The train, CSX manifest freight Q38831 with five engines and 178 cars, experienced brake problems prior to the derailment as it attempted to descend Sand Patch Grade requiring it to stop while the crew inspected the train. The report says the initial brake issue was addressed and a second crew, still experiencing braking issues, descended the grade with the train. The report states the 35th car on the train, an empty high-sided gondola, derailed in a curve nearly two miles from the derailment site and triggered the resulting 32-car derailment when it crossed a grade crossing in a residential area in Hyndman. Several of the cars which derailed contained hazardous materials, including asphault and molten Sulphur, and several caught fire. One the cars, carrying propane, burning for more than two days. No one was injured in the derailment.
About 1,000 people were evacuated as a result of the derailment. According to the lawsuit, some residents were not allowed to return home for three days and others were displaced for more than two weeks. The Altoona Mirror reports that Justice Gibson wrote in her opinion that CSX set up community outreach centers to evacuees, providing food, water, transportation, cleaning services and reimbursements associated with the evacuees’ displacement.
A final report on the derailment was not available.
Ah, Ms. Harding, my respect for you just grew immensely with the Firesign Theater reference. Perhaps you listened to the Bonzo Dog Band also?
If CSX made the residents impacted whole and they suffered no personal losses, then the judge was right.
If they fear trains now because of the derail event, they should probably relocate. I understand why they would be in fear, but if you think CSX should compensate you for being in fear, that is not how the legal system works unfortunately.
Mister Zajac:
Sir!
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. There’s a whole dead cat in every bar of Dead Cat Soap.
Good. Some very unhappy lawyers in PA!