The personal injury lawyers at Peter Higgins Law represented T.M., a 66 year old woman referred to us by lawyers in Michigan. T.M. traveled on Amtrak from Detroit, MI to Chicago, IL on her way to Memphis, TN and stopped at Union Station to transfer trains. Under Illinois Common Carrier Law (an entity that makes its business transporting people from place to place) is held to the highest degree of care and safety when transporting its passengers. T.M. testified that she was getting off the train and carrying her handbag and carry-on bag when an Amtrak employee reached up from the platform toward her to help her step down from the train. For reasons unknown the Amtrak employee pulled her hand back suddenly, causing T.M. to lose her balance and fall several feet from the train to the concrete platform.
T.M. injured her neck and back when she fell and ultimately underwent a cervical fusion for spinal stenosis. Amtrak denied T.M.'s statement and blamed her for the fall, claiming that T.M. simply fell due to dizziness (she had a history of dizziness) or other unknown reasons. Further, Amtrak claimed that T.M. suffered little or no injury when she fell and that her complaints were due to a pre-existing arthritic condition.
Our Illinois lawyers filed suit against Amtrak. We took several depositions, including the Amtrak employees on the train at the time T.M. fell, including the employee our client blamed for causing her fall. We then agreed to meet with Amtrak's lawyers and our trial judge for a series of pretrial settlement conferences in what was ultimately a successful effort to resolve the case. The litigation concluded with T.M. obtaining a settlement of $145,000.00.
To learn more about our Illinois Amtrak injury lawyers and how they may be able to assist with your personal injury claim, contact us to schedule a free in-office or telephone consultation.