Just like any other day, September 12, 2008, found Metrolink Commuter Train No. 111 on the edge of the San Fernando Valley and headed to the Los Angeles suburbs. Tragically, the train would never reach its destination. At 4:23 p.m., the train collided head on with a Union Pacific freight train, leaving many of the 225 Metrolink passengers seriously injured or dead.
After a 16-month National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, full blame for causing the accident was placed on Metrolink engineer, Robert M. Sanchez. Engaged in prolific text messaging while on duty, Sanchez failed to maintain required communication with the conductor. He also missed seeing the traffic-control signals and sent the train through a red light directly into the path of the freight train.
Because of the collision, several train cars derailed, telescoping or landing on their sides and trapping passengers. In the end, 25 people including Sanchez died, 135 others were injured and lawsuits exceeding $350 million were filed against Metrolink, Connex Railroad that supplied the engineer responsible for the train accident and Connex's parent company, Veolia.
Compensation Limited by Federal Liability Caps
Tasked to rule over the legal claims, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman carefully listened as each survivor and each grieving family presented testimony over the course of three months. From March through early June 2011, Lichtman noted the physical injuries and emotional scars of survivors and the struggle of families grappling with the loss of loved ones. In July, Lichtman was forced to determine compensation for each victim.
Federal law limits total liability to $200 million for passenger-train accidents. Lichtman recognized claims against Connex/Veolia and Metrolink far exceeded the set liability limit and mentioned as much in his July 13 ruling. However, efforts to increase the $200 million cap failed requiring Lichtman to make difficult injury valuation and allocation decisions.
Determining Financial Awards a Challenge
"The court was forced to do precisely what the first responders did on the day of the accident," Lichtman wrote. "It had to categorize the injuries and victims and make awards on the basis of what the future would hold for many of the families and victims."
A total of nearly 130 financial awards was issued with amounts ranging from $12,000 to $9 million. For each household provider killed in the train wreck, the court awarded $4.2 million. For each child fatality, parents received $1.2 million. Survivors with permanent injuries and residuals received the next largest awards, while those with "commonplace" injuries received lesser amounts.
"Impossible decisions had to be made," wrote Lichtman regarding his final ruling. "What was given to one victim had to be taken from another."
