Judge: Amtrak Liable For Deadly Derailment

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – A judge has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the claim of its engineer who sued for his injuries after a deadly 2017 derailment south of Tacoma, Washington.

The derailment of Amtrak Cascades 501 on Dec. 18, 2017 onto Interstate 5 below killed three and injured dozens.

The News Tribune reports that engineer Steven Brown’s lawsuit alleged he wasn’t properly trained and that technology that could have stopped the train hadn’t been installed at the time.

Amtrak argued in its court filing that Brown’s negligence caused the derailment.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Karena Kirkendoll granted Brown’s motion for partial summary judgment in the case March 12, which asked her to find Amtrak “strictly liable.”