TACOMA, Wash. — A federal jury has awarded $8 million in damages to a woman injured in the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in DuPont, Wash., the latest in a series of large jury awards resulting from the accident that killed three people.
The Seattle Times reports the jury awarded $2.5 million for past noneconomic compensatory damages and $5.5 million for future noneconomic damages.
The woman, 20 at the time of the derailment, suffered a fractured collarbone and “major emotional and cognitive consequences,” and continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and post-concussion syndrome, one of her attorneys said in a statement.
Amtrak has now paid more than $46 million in damages as a result of suits from the Cascade derailment. The passenger railroad subsequently added a requirement to the contract language of its tickets that requires ticket purchasers to waive their right to sue and instead go to arbitration over all damages. That policy has drawn congressional scrutiny [see “Bill to end Amtrak arbitration policy again introduced …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 28, 2021] and is being challenged in lawsuits over last year’s fatal Empire Builder derailment in Joplin, Mont. [see “Seven suits filed …,” News Wire, Oct. 6, 2021].
No wonder insurance rates are so high putting some small excursion operators out of business.
America’s civil liability trial system is way out-of-date compared to many others in the world we live in today. If you ever do business with foreign companies, they do everything they possibly can with their contracts to stay out of American courts.
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