The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The January 2005 Metrolink train derailment accident that killed 11 and injured 150 has been settled for $30 million. The lead attorney for the plaintiffs says this will settle around 90 percent of the suits, including 15 serious personal injury cases and nine wrongful death cases.

The train accident occurred when a man intending to commit suicide parked his SUV on the train tracks. The man changed his mind at the last minute and jumped out of the SUV, but the speeding train hit the vehicle. The Metrolink then derailed, hit a parked locomotive and then collided with another Metrolink traveling in the opposite direction. The man who parked the SUV was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.

If there is a civil trial, attorneys for the plaintiffs plan to argue the collision could have been avoided had the train engineer applied the emergency brake immediately. Instead, data shows he hit the service brake for approximately six seconds. The engineer contends he hit the emergency brake as soon as he realized the SUV was parked on the tracks.

This was the deadliest train accident in California history until last year's Metrolink accident killed 25 people when the commuter train hit a freight train in Chatsworth.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a train accident, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at the Cochran Firm. We serve clients nationwide.

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