CNN reports that the commuter rail system Metrolink and its former train operating contractor, Connex Railroad, are in settlement negotiations with the families and victims of a 2008 deadly crash. The defendants are offering to pay $200 million in settlement monies, which is the liability cap for passenger rail accidents under federal law.
Twenty-five people were killed in the crash, and more than one hundred were injured on September 12, 2008, when a commuter train collided with a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, California. Federal investigators determined that the commuter train's engineer, a Connex employee, was sending text messages merely seconds before the crash.
Texting While Operating A Motor Vehicle
Texting and driving is dangerous and is against the law in California. Senate Bill 28, enacted on September 24, 2008, "prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication."
New legislation has been introduced that could increase the fines for sending text messages and talking on hand-held cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. If California Senate Bill 1475 is passed, it would add a point to one's driving record. The new law is also extended to include bicyclists.
A. Jason Kerckhoff is a serious personal injury lawyer and the President of Kerckhoff Law, APC, a California personal injury law firm dedicated to representing people who have been seriously injured or killed, and the families of loved ones who have suffered death caused by the negligence of another.
A. Jason Kerckhoff has been successfully obtaining excellent results for his clients for more than twenty-five years. He has the highest rating in Martindale-Hubbell, which is the preeminent company that rates attorneys not only for their abilities, but for their ethics. These ratings are obtained by peers in the community, and a small percentage of lawyers are privileged to have achieved this rating.
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