Morelli Law Firm Highlights Similarities between Safety Neglect in Recent Amtrak Derailment and 2015 Amtrak Crash

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2017 -- As the investigation continues into the derailment of Amtrak Cascades Train 501, there are concerning parallels to the devastating 2015 Amtrak derailment outside Philadelphia that left eight dead and hundreds injured. Morelli Law Firm, which served on the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee and Settlement Committee for the 2015 case, released the following statement on the similarities between the two derailments:

“In both the Washington and Philadelphia derailments, Amtrak failed to fully implement key safety technology known as Positive Train Control (PTC), which automatically slows down trains going too fast. Congress passed a law in 2008 ordering the adoption of this technology by the end of 2015. When it was clear that that directive would not be met, Congress granted an additional extension of time to install PTC until the end of 2018. This extension, which enabled Amtrak’s continued delay and failure to install and activate PTC on many of its railways, has proven to cause massive injuries and numerous deaths. Every delay in PTC implementation costs lives and leads to permanent injuries. In the Philadelphia crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) acknowledged PTC would have prevented the derailment. While the investigation is still ongoing in Washington, PTC could have made a significant difference given that the train was operating 50mph over the limit. The mental and physical state of the train engineer is always relevant when a derailment occurs, but PTC technology can help overcome human error – and should be fully implemented on all public railways without delay. Also, this recent accident in Washington should trigger a reenergized training program for Amtrak engineers. Each train should be operated by two trained engineers, who should not be permitted to have cell phones and other available distractions.”

About Morelli Law Firm
Morelli Law is the preeminent firm for all civil litigation. The experienced team of attorneys – led by founding partner Benedict Morelli – has secured more than $1 billion on behalf of clients. Unlike other firms, Morelli Law is composed of tested courtroom litigators, who are always ready to go to trial. They've handled every possible type of civil case, including train accidents, employment discrimination, mass torts, personal injury, product and drug liability, medical malpractice, and much more. The team continually secures record-breaking verdicts, often taking on large adversaries in the process, such as Fox, Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and BP.

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