The railroad accident lawyers at Peter Higgins Law represented a 52 year-old woman working as a hostess in the dining car of “The City of New Orleans” Amtrak train from Chicago to New Orleans. Her job was to greet and seat passengers when they came to the dining car, and serve them their beverages. On the day of her injury, our railroad injury client was standing in the pantry area of the dining car about to open a refrigerator door when the train suddenly, and without any warning, made a sharp left turn at a high speed from the mainline track onto a sidetrack, sending our client flying against a wall where she struck her right shoulder. Witnesses on the train said that the turn was so sudden it caused the cars on the train to tip so much that it felt like the train would derail.

As a result of the accident, our client tore the rotator cuff in her right shoulder, then needed two surgeries about two years apart to try to relieve the pain in her shoulder and arm. She eventually was diagnosed with a condition called “Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome”, which is a nerve disorder in her arm that we were able to prove was also caused by the accident.

Amtrak claimed that the railroad accident was not its fault, and blamed the owner of the track where the accident occurred for leaving a switch open that diverted the train to a sidetrack.

Successful Resolution: $995,000

Based upon the investigation done by our Illinois train accident attorneys and with the help of an expert witness with over 40 years' experience in train operations, the attorneys at Peter Higgins Law proved that the Amtrak crew operating the train failed to comply with the cautionary signal lights as it approached the switch, and their failure caused the accident. The jury agreed with us and awarded our client $995,000.

Our railroad accident lawyers have helped Amtrak employees and railroad workers obtain compensation after being injured on the job. If you have sustained an injury that led to a lost time at work, medical treatment or pain, contact our Chicago law firm.