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When Amtrak 188 derailed in May, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 200 victims, it led to numerous personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death claims and spurred a federal investigation.
Investigators are trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the Amtrak 188 crash and have centered their inquiry around several questions:
- Why did the train accelerate as the curve got closer?
- Was it human error or a mechanical failure that caused the train to accelerate?
- Did the excess speed alarm system fail?
- Did something happen on the track to cause crash?
Investigators will be trying to answer these questions, along with many others. A new dimension being explored in the investigation for both investigators and lawyers is the track, known as one of the curviest sections in the region.
Despite the extreme curvature of the track, thousands of Amtrak train go through the route each month without incident. Amtrak officials have defended both their speed limits and operating procedures to ensure safety.
Still, the Federal Railroad Administration is asking for Amtrak and other to implement new safety rules to help avoid future derailments. Amtrak argues that to do this would mean slowing trains and increasing travel time.
It already takes Amtrak’s trains eight minutes to accelerate to 125mph when pulling significant weight, so the train company is not excited by the prospect of slowing trains even more.
It’s particularly worrisome issue for Amtrak, which had set goals for shortening trip duration, including cutting a train ride from Boston to New York in half by 2020. Now, experts believe a 15 minute reduction is more realistic.
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If you or a loved one were injured or killed during the May 12, 2015 Amtrak derailment, you may have a legal claim.
One thought on Curvy Route of Amtrak Derailment Being Investigated
The attorneys should find plenty of material in the medical records of engineers who self reported sleep disorders to the medical providers, such as Concentra and others, used by Amtrak to medically qualify engineers on an annual basis. I self reported in 2003 and was never given any testing until 2008 about a year after I was no longer employed by Amtrak. Testing revealed I had severe sleep apnea which could or should have been caught when I self reported in 2003. It is entirely possible the engineer was working the irregular hours required by being on an “extra board” and likely suffered from sleep deprivation also. Look for the names J. Harrison, J. Shaeffer, M. Flora and others just prior to the turn of the century.