More on the Train Derailment: Act of God?

More details have emerged on yesterday afternoon's train derailment. Workers found a second body in the car that was discovered under the rubble yesterday evening, reports the Chicago Tribune. The deceased, Burton Lindner, 69, and Zorine Lindner, 70, were on their way to dinner when their Lexus was crushed by the collapsing bridge.

The family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit and a local judge has stopped the cleanup efforts to allow the family's investigators to inspect the scene. So far, however, it is looking more and more like an unforeseeable accident of act of God instead of negligence.

Though the findings so far are only preliminary, the train itself has been ruled out as the cause. It was travelling at 37 mph. The speed limit, due to the extreme heat's effects on the track, was set for 40 mph.

The bridge was also not to blame. An inspection of the embankment, made from compressed landfill, checked out, as did the bridge itself. Apparently, the collapse was caused by the overload that came from the derailment of an entire train loaded with coal. The bridge is designed with withstand the weight of a train as it passes over, but not a full-scale 28 car derailment.

The actual cause seems, at this point, to be a "railroad kink". This is caused by the extreme heat, which makes the metal rails between railroad ties expand. Inspectors had just been out on the tracks, less than two hours before the derailment, inspecting the tracks for signs of abnormalities in track gauge or shifting. They check twice a day during extreme weather.

To summarize, it looks like the cause of the derailment, and the couple's death, was simply the overbearing heat wave. Unless the family's legal team can find evidence of negligence in the track inspection, proving fault in the wrongful death case is going to be very difficult.

Related Resources:



Consult with a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)

Judge Halts Cleanup at Derailment Site (NBC Chicago)

Amtrak Train Derailment, Chicago to SF Line (FindLaw's Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog)

Victim of 2006 CTA Derailment Awarded Damages (FindLaw's Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog)


The Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog

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