In the wake of the Amtrak crash near Philadelphia, the National Transportation Safety Board made this admonition: “We know that a properly installed and functional Positive Train Control, or PTC, would have prevented this accident,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart.
At Corboy & Demetrio, we have advocated for the redundancy that PTC ensures for a decade. When the METRA derailment in September of 2005 killed 2 women and left many others critically injured, we demanded that the railroad industry invest in its passengers to ensure their safety. How many more tragedies need to happen before the industry makes this its number one priority?
Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman said, “Everything we’ve done since the accident has been driven by a sincere hope that we could do something, however small, to mitigate the suffering and loss that everyone endured.” But, why wasn't this critically important safety measure implemented years ago? There should be no further excuse or debate - the time for Positive Train Control in all passenger trains is long overdue.
Co-Managing PartnerWilliam T. Gibbs is Co-Managing Partner at the Chicago personal injury and medical malpractice law firm of Corboy & Demetrio and concentrates his practice on cases arising from railroad negligence, automobile collisions ...
