Amtrak Employee Files First Derailment Lawsuit

The first legal salvo against Amtrak since Tuesday’s fatal derailment in Philadelphia has been filed in federal court by an employee for the railroad company.

Bruce Phillips, of Philadelphia, is seeking damages in excess of $150,000 for injuries he sustained while riding in one of the seven cars on Amtrak Train 188 that crashed at the Frankford Junction in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Attorneys from Coffey Kaye Myers & Olley in Bala Cynwyd say that Amtrak and its employees violated federal safety guidelines and acted negligently when the train derailed. Phillips’ wife, Kalita, has also filed suit for loss of companionship with her husband.

According to the suit, Phillips was deadheading on the train, traveling for free as an employee of Amtrak. When the train went off the tracks at approximately 9:23 p.m., Phillips was, “violently hurled about the railcar, striking his body on numerous parts of of the railcar interior, before slamming onto the floor,” the suit says.

Phillips says he went to the hospital with multiple injuries, including severe brain trauma, contusions and lacerations. As a result, he says, Phillips’ earning potential has been impaired, and he will be unable to perform his occupational tasks for quite some time.

The crash investigation is still ongoing, but representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board have already confirmed that the train was travelling more than 100 miles per hour when it hit the curve, which has a posted speed limit of 50 mph. The derailment killed eight people and injured more than 200 passengers.

The reasons for the acceleration are still unknown, but Phillips’s attorneys are using the early findings to support assertions that Amtrak and its employees operating the train violated the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, the Federal Locomotive Inspection Act and the Federal Safety Appliances Act.

Related stories:

• UPDATE: Train May Have Been Traveling 100 MPH, 7 Reported Killed In Amtrak Derailment In Pennsylvania
• New Jersey Passengers Injured After 7 Killed In Amtrak ‘Mass Casualty’ Derailment
• New Jersey Man Among Dead In Amtrak Train Derailment
• Philly CEO Reported Missing from Amtrak Derailment
• Midshipman Killed In Amtrak Crash
• WATCH: 13-Year-Old Boy Asks for Help Finding Dad Missing In Fatal Amtrak Train Crash
• Howard County Man Killed in Amtrak Derailment

Photo courtesy NTSB.