Remember the 2 girls in Wa hit by Amtrak.....

[chad thomas]

...that were playing on the bridge? Reported to be playing chicken and tresspassing on the bridge. Well Amtak setteled out of court for an undisclosed amout. I bet it was just enough to buy some drugs.[V]

Anyway here is the storey from Altamont Press curtesy of Larry Grant
========================================
Amtrak, families reach settlement over girls' deaths

The families of two girls who were struck and killed by a passenger train in Kent, Washington six years ago have reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Amtrak.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the families of Rachel Marturello and Zandra Lafley was to go to trial next month, but the settlement was reached Monday in a conference before U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle. The plaintiffs and Amtrak refused to comment on the settlement.

The lawsuit was considered unusual because wrongful-death cases involving pedestrians struck by trains rarely reach trial, attorneys say. The burden of proof in Washington is high for plaintiffs to win a wrongful-death case: They must prove the train company showed wanton and willful disregard for safety. Rachel Marturello, 11, and her sister, Rebecca, then 14, and friend Zandra Lafley, 13, were walking on a railroad trestle in Kent on April 20, 2000, when they saw a northbound Amtrak train approaching. Rebecca was able to run and jump to safety, but the other two girls were struck and killed.

According to court documents, the engineer saw the girls when he was about a mile away. He blew the whistle, slowed the train and then released the brake when he thought they were out of the way. Apparently confused, the two girls jumped back in front of the train.

The state has no guidelines for engineers to prevent hitting pedestrians.

Amtrak requires only that an engineer sound a warning signal if someone is on the tracks. The assumption is that anyone who hears the signal will get out of the way, according to the railroad.

Railroads generally take the position that people who walk onto tracks, which are private property, put themselves in harm's way by trespassing, thus negating the railroads' liability.

It's a position that has been supported by state and federal transportation agencies.

Earlier, the U.S. District Court granted summary judgment to Amtrak, finding insufficient evidence that the engineer had been willfully careless and caused the girls' deaths.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed it in a 2-to-3 decision in March 2005, saying there appeared to be sufficient evidence for a jury to find the railroad liable. - Nancy Bartley, The Seattle Times

[Chris30]

Ah, the American way. Do something stupid, find a very good lawyer (if the glove don't fit, you got to aquit!) and then get paid for doing something stupid. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm waving the flag right now! Think I'll go to 7-11 get a big slurpee, pour on my head and then sue them for frostbite - $$$.

CC

[GP-9_Man11786]

Maybe I'll jump of Corning Tower and my parents can sue New York State for making the building too tall. But then again think of the mess that would make.

[Hugh Jampton]

The only reason i can think of Amtrak settling OOC is that the setllement would be less than what it would cost them to defend the case.

[bnsfkline]

I swear.......People will do ANYTHING to make the railroads look like the bad guy.

PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN! What this thread did is **** me off because it was not the Amtraks fault the girls were killed, it was the girls fault that they were killed.

Girls trespass
Girls get killed by train
Railroad Not at fault
End of story!

Instead of suing Amtrak for something that was out of their control, they could have used the money to PREVENT something like this happening again. I swear, people are so money hungery, they will do ANYTHING to get more.

If I ever meet these parents, I will give them a piece of my mind. Amtrak is suffering enough, don't make it worse.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bnsfkline

I swear.......People will do ANYTHING to make the railroads look like the bad guy.

Amtrak is suffering enough, don't make it worse.

Never thought about it that way, ..the money paid will come RIGHT OFF THE TOP of Antrak's operating budget,.

[cspmo]

The Amtrak crew should sue the parents of the two girls for been traumatize by the incident.

[Anonymous]

I think I read somewhere else that Amtrak had a different procedure for such incidents than the railroad it was operating on and that this was enough for the 9th District Court of Appeals to reverse the lower court's ruling.

[CSXrules4eva]

UM I don't agree with this decision at all. I think I'm going to back up the majority here and say that Amtrak shouldn't have to pay one cent for this one.

YES It was a terrible accident in which two girls lost their lives.
YES the parents are very upset over this accident.
Who's Fault is it??? THE GIRLS.
But...NO It wasn't the railroad's fault that the train happened to be on the track when the girls were there (Which they shouldn't have been in the first place).

NO It wasn't the railroad's fault that the girls misunderstood the horn and jumped infront of the train instead of totally getting off the tracks.

Maybe the railroads should take down their NO TRESSPASSING signs and put up signs that read, Railroad Property ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. Maybe if signs such as these are up, then the railraods won't get sued all the time when the tresspasser is at fault.

[bnsfkline]

Or at least add that to the No Tresspassing Signs

"No Trespassing: If Trespassing, ENTER AT OWN RISK"

[CopCarSS]

When the lawyer team got into Washington, did they mention coming from Castle Rock, CO? It's almost like Deja Vu all over again.

[trainboyH16-44]

Dangerous precident, my good man..
I don't care about how much more it costs to fight (Even though it is a dying amtrak, they should put that in their budget!) things like this just invite people to walk all over them...

[georgel]

Now do yourealize why railroads are putting cameras on engines!

[Anonymous]

When will American's learn that you MUST be responsible for your Actions? I hope Amtrak does Counter Sue the Parents in this case, we need to stop these frivoles law suits.

[DrummingTrainfan]

Whatever happened to that bill in congress dealing with frivolous lawsuits?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DrummingTrainfan

Whatever happened to that bill in congress dealing with frivolous lawsuits?

Need you ask? Most congressmen are Lawyers, and will need an income after they fini***heir stint freeloading.

[CANADIANPACIFIC2816]

As long as we continue to have people who refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions, coupled with trespassing on railroad property whether they are ignorant of the dangers involved or not, there will never be an end to the mindless idea of suing the railroads when someone is either badly hurt or killed outright. And there is always the money factor. A lot of law suits are filed out of pure greed.

CANADIANPACIFIC2816

[tree68]

I'll go along with the "cheaper to settle than to fight" comments. Methinks a large number of lawsuits are filed with that conclusion in mind. Loser pays would solve about 90% of those right away...

Many of those settlements are paid by insurance. Keep that in mind next time you pay your house or car insurance...

[upchuck]

The 9th Circuit court reverses just about everything ....