Jerome L. Ringler - Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster Attorney
Lawyer Blogs
Metrolink worker sued Burlington Northern Santa Fe, saying his alcoholism returned after the fatal 2002 Placentia collision.
A metrolink conductor who said his drinking problems resumed after the Placentia train crash in 2002 will receive $8.5 million to settle his lawsuit against one of the nations largest railroads.
Patrick Phillips of Riverside agreed Tuesday to settle his suit against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The case was set to go to trial next week in Orange County Superior Court.
Phillips, now 52, suffered minor head injuries the morning of April 23, 2002 when a Burlington Northern Freight train crashed into a Metrolink commuter train in Placentia. Three people died and more than 260 were injured in the early morning crash.
Though his injuries were slight, the conductor alleged that the trauma was serious enough to trigger a resurgence of his severe alcoholism, which he said he had controlled since rehabilitation in the early 1990's.
"I have never seen a case like this in 30 years, yet it is indeed what happened here," said Jerome L. Ringler, Phillips' attorney.
"We had extensive medical evaluations by a variety of neurological specialists. All were in accord that his injury, although minor, changed his behavior."
After the train crash, Phillips was hospitalized for evaluation but released about two hours later, Ringler said. In the months after the crash, however, Phillips allegedly resumed his alcohol abuse, resulting in at least two other hospitalizations.
Ringler said his client was finally diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia, a sever mental deficiency.
Phillips, who is now disabled after working 12 years for Metrolink, was unavailable for comment. He is living with a sister in Riverside.
Under terms of the settlement, Phillips will receive $8.5 million, including interest, paid out over 20 years. The amount is worth about $4.5 million in today's dollars.
http://www.blogtext.org/LexTerrae/article/26473.html?Metro+Link+Conductor%27s+Suit
http://legaldude.livejournal.com/2405.html
http://roughmagic.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/metrolink-screwed-up-before/
http://esquiremyass.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/trian-crash-conductors-suit-settled-last-time/
http://sorrybutitsthelaw.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/los-angeles-metrolink-has-done-it-again/
http://counselatlarge.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/metrolink-train-wreck/
http://herecomedajudge.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/los-angeles-metrolink/
http://legalcodswallop.wordpress.com/
http://internationallawwatch.freeblogit.com/2008/09/19/more-disaster-from-metrolink/
http://lawdog.freeblogit.com/2008/09/19/another-metrolink-wreck/
http://audialterampartem.freeblogit.com/2008/09/19/another-disastrous-metrolink-wreck/
http://johndoeesq.freeblogit.com/2008/09/19/so-cal-train-wreck/
http://myattorneybernie.blogspot.com/2008/09/metrolink-train-wreck.html
http://barristerbriefs.blogspot.com/2008/09/disastrous-so-cal-train-wreck.html
http://lawyervoyeur.blogspot.com/2008/09/los-angeles-metro-link-law-suit.html
http://wwwthelegalbeagle.blogspot.com/2008/09/southern-california-train-wreck.html
http://lawfirmlawyers.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-disaster-from-metrolink.html
http://lagalinfo.blogspot.com/2008/09/metrolink-wrecks-another-train.html
http://taxtimeblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/los-angeles-latest-train-wreck-not-its.html
Related listings
-
SEC's Cox Catches Blame for Financial Crisis
Lawyer Blogs 09/19/2008Criticism of the Securities & Exchange Commission and its chairman, Christopher Cox, rose sharply on Sept. 18 as Republican Presidential candidate John McCain suggested he should be fired. "Mismanagement and greed became the operating standard wh...
-
Congress passes expansion of disability law
Lawyer Blogs 09/18/2008Someone who takes medication to control epilepsy or diabetes could end up in a situation where he or she is no longer eligible for protection under the Americans With Disabilities Act.It's a "terrible Catch-22," House Education and Labor Committee Ch...
-
House votes to ease DC gun restrictions
Lawyer Blogs 09/17/2008The pro-gun majority in the House moved Wednesday to compel the nation's capital to broaden the rights of its residents to buy and own firearms, including semiautomatic weapons.Critics, led by the District of Columbia's sole delegate to Congress, dec...

New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.