Lawsuits already starting in fatal Amtrak Crash
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Emergency personnel work at the scene of a deadly train derailment, Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Philadelphia. The Amtrak train, headed to New York City, derailed and crashed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing at least six people and injuring dozens of others. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
The first lawsuit in this week’s fatal crash Amtrak has been filed. A local trial attorney who has been already been contacted to represent survivors.
Mike van der Veen has already won multi-million dollar awards for clients in accident cases. He says it didn’t take long for calls about Amtrak train 188.
“Within 24 hours of the crash I had family members of existing clients call me for injured people on the train,” he said.
van der Veen says he has started his own independent investigation to determine if there is a claim to be made.
“We’re not going to rush to the courthouse doors yet,” he said. “You have to look at the conductor on the train and all the testing that is done to him. If there is something in his system that shouldn’t be there may be punitive damages involved in this case.”
Amtrak’s liability is capped at $200 million, which Van Derveen says might not be enough to cover all 243 people if they file suit.
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