A recent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) presentation involved an in-depth review of the historic $265 million Amtrak settlement. The CLE was held at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 22 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.
Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C., partner Fredric Eisenberg, and associate Todd Schoenhaus are members of the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee (PMC) that the court appointed to handle the settlement, presented the CLE along with other members of the PMC.
“I am honored to be part of an incredible team of lawyers that will present this historic settlement program which not only provides each participant with the opportunity to a non-adversarial hearing but will ensure compensation by the end of next summer,” said Fredric Eisenberg regarding the Amtrak settlement and his role presenting the CLE.
The CLE covered the entire timeline of events that led to the settlement, from the Amtrak Train No. 188 derailment to the forming of the multidistrict litigation (MDL) to the process of reaching the largest monetary railroad disaster settlement in US history.
Why Is the $265 Million Amtrak Settlement Considered Groundbreaking?
The Amtrak Train No. 188 derailment settlement was only made possible due to the work that the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the American Association for Justice (AAJ) did to raise the damages cap for railroad accidents. Prior to this settlement, the cap for train accidents was $200 million. The PMC and AAJ pushed to have the cap raised to make sure that the victims and families in this case received all the help they needed. Thanks to the work of the PMC and AAJ, going forward, the damage cap for railroad accidents will be $295 million.
