All but one of the 186 complaints filed against Metrolink over the 2005 train derailment accident on the Glendale border has reportedly been tentatively settled for $39 million. 11 Los Angeles County wrongful death settlements and 15 out of 16 California personal injury settlements have been reached. The rest of the cases involve persons who sustained non-serious injuries.
Over 200 people got hurt when a Metrolink train hit a Jeep Cherokee that Juan Manual Alvarez had left on the train tracks close to Chevy Chase Drive. Until last year's Chatsworth train accident that kill 25 people, the 2005 Glendale train collision was the most catastrophic accident in Metrolink's history. Alvarez is serving 11 life sentences for causing the train derailment.
Recent Los Angeles Train Accidents
On Sunday, a man died in Los Angeles when he was hit by a Metro Blue line train. 65-year-old Ramon Villanueva was standing on the tracks at around 10 am when the deadly train crash happened. The crossing-gate bar, the bell, and lights should have prevented him from crossing the tracks.
Last Wednesday, another 14 people were hurt in a San Fernando Valley train crash when a Metrolink commuter train hit a pickup truck. The truck had just collided with a car before driving into the path of the train.
Six people who were riding in the vehicles were injured---two of them (one of them a baby) were in critical condition. 8 train passengers said they were hurt, but only two victims appear to have been transported to hospitals for minor injuries.
Train Crashes
Each year, about a thousand people are killed in US train crashes. Common causes of train crashes include:
• Negligent train operators
• Train accident with another train
• Engineer errors
• Train defects
• Defective railroad tracks
• Poor maintenance
• A negligent pedestrian or motor vehicle driver
• Toxic or hazardous cargo
• Texting while operating a train
Metrolink reaches tentative $39-million settlement, Burbank Leader, December 30, 2009
Man Killed by Metro Blue Line Train Identified, KTLA, December 28, 2009
LA commuter train hits truck in freak accident, Google/AP, December 23, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Metrolink
Our Los Angeles County train accident lawyers would like to offer you a free case evaluation discuss your California injury cases.
