capltd29
Lead Service Attendant
Does anybody know what the NTSB finally ruled the cause of the 2002 Derailment of the auto train in Crescent City, FL?
Thanks,
Jon Parker
Thanks,
Jon Parker
Well, it is expected, , afterall this is Amtrak, does anything go their way?AmtrakWPK said:And the thing that really frosts ya is that even though the freight railroads were at fault, Amtrak had to pay all the resulting damage, injury, and death lawsuit judgments, NOT the freight railroads that actually caused the derailments, injuries, and deaths.
The RR probably had a hold-harmless agreement with Amtrak, which is quite common in the legal world. I'm a retired claim adjuster and saw this situation all the time.And the thing that really frosts ya is that even though the freight railroads were at fault, Amtrak had to pay all the resulting damage, injury, and death lawsuit judgments, NOT the freight railroads that actually caused the derailments, injuries, and deaths.
All the freight RR's got together and had Congress pass a law that indemnifies them from any responsibility for any accidents involving Amtrak, something that I disagree with.MrFSS said:The RR probably had a hold-harmless agreement with Amtrak, which is quite common in the legal world. I'm a retired claim adjuster and saw this situation all the time.
While I couldn't say for sure, since I've never read the contracts involved (nor do I intend to), but I'm under the impression that everybody pays for their own damages.battalion51 said:You know I have to wonder where responsibility falls when trackage rights are involved for freight. Say BNSF has an Intermodal to Atlanta on NS. It's crewed by NS, but a BNSF contract. Who's paying there?
I remember reading somewhere that Conrail did assume Liability in the Rick Gates Incident is that true?battalion51 said:That is correct. Amtrak is allowed to run the tracks, but assumes all liability.
I'd guess it'd be whoever's crewing the train, since it was their people that hit the car. It could be who owned the tracks though if there was a malfunction in equipment, this would be for short trackage rights, like when CP runs on CN tracks.rmadisonwi said:While I couldn't say for sure, since I've never read the contracts involved (nor do I intend to), but I'm under the impression that everybody pays for their own damages.battalion51 said:You know I have to wonder where responsibility falls when trackage rights are involved for freight. Say BNSF has an Intermodal to Atlanta on NS. It's crewed by NS, but a BNSF contract. Who's paying there?
In other words, if BNSF engines are damaged, BNSF pays to fix them. If NS crews have medical claims against the company, then NS pays. If the train hits an auto at a crossing and the family of the driver sues...good question.
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