Illinois train crash attorneys have reportedly reached a $1.45 million settlement in regards to a 2005 Metra accident, according to the Chicago Tribune. The settlement is on behalf of a Joliet woman who was severely injured when a train derailed due to high speed. The victim sustained a fractured leg that will require knee replacement surgery.
The passenger was on a Rock Island line train that was headed to downtown Chicago from Joliet, Illinois. The train traveled through a 10 mile an hour crossing while going 69 mph, causing a derailment near 47th St.
Two passengers died in the crash and another 117 were injured. It is reportedly the only derailment in Metra history to cause fatalities.
The families of the victims that were killed in the accident, ages 22 and 38, settled back in November of 2008 for $11 million. Another victim that was seriously injured in the crash obtained a $29.5 million jury verdict in February of 2009 (the high verdict value was due in part to the cost of future medical treatment and round-the-clock care).
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that the cause of the accident was due to the engineer’s failure to obey signals and slow the train. The NTSB also stated Metra that should have had some type of automatic system in place to override human error. The engineer that caused the accident was later fired by Metra.
The victim of the $1.45 million settlement was represented by attorney Dan Kotin, a partner at Corboy & Demetrio in Chicago.