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Jury awards $17M to 3 plaintiffs in deadly Amtrak derailment
Source: Associated Press
Jury awards $17M to 3 plaintiffs in deadly Amtrak derailment
September 13, 2019
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A federal jury has awarded three people who sued over a deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington state nearly $17 million for their pain and suffering.
An eight-person jury in U.S. District Court in Tacoma decided Friday to award $7.75 million to Dale Skyllingstad, $7 million to Blaine Wilmotte and $2 million to his wife, Madison Wilmotte.
On Dec. 18, 2017, Amtrak’s first paid passenger run on a new route from Tacoma to Portland, Oregon, plunged onto Interstate 5 near DuPont, killing three people and injuring more than 60 others. Amtrak admitted liability before trial, and the jury heard evidence for two weeks on the damages and effect on the plaintiffs.
Skyllingstad was a passenger on the train when his railcar left the tracks after the train approached a 30-mph (48-kph) curve going 78 mph (126 kph). His attorneys said he broke his back, fractured his hip and suffered a traumatic brain injury that Skyllingstad said has changed his personality.
-snip-
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board published its final report on the crash, with the agency’s vice chairman blasting what he described as a “Titanic-like complacency” among those charged with ensuring safe train operations.
-snip-
September 13, 2019
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A federal jury has awarded three people who sued over a deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington state nearly $17 million for their pain and suffering.
An eight-person jury in U.S. District Court in Tacoma decided Friday to award $7.75 million to Dale Skyllingstad, $7 million to Blaine Wilmotte and $2 million to his wife, Madison Wilmotte.
On Dec. 18, 2017, Amtrak’s first paid passenger run on a new route from Tacoma to Portland, Oregon, plunged onto Interstate 5 near DuPont, killing three people and injuring more than 60 others. Amtrak admitted liability before trial, and the jury heard evidence for two weeks on the damages and effect on the plaintiffs.
Skyllingstad was a passenger on the train when his railcar left the tracks after the train approached a 30-mph (48-kph) curve going 78 mph (126 kph). His attorneys said he broke his back, fractured his hip and suffered a traumatic brain injury that Skyllingstad said has changed his personality.
-snip-
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board published its final report on the crash, with the agency’s vice chairman blasting what he described as a “Titanic-like complacency” among those charged with ensuring safe train operations.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/89170e31e8f742e88b4b783fc36306c8