Personal Injury Lawyer Wins $1.5M for Badly Injured Train Crash Victim

After being seriously injured as a passenger in a New Jersey Transit commuter train crash in 2016, a 45-year-old New York woman will now receive a $1.5 million settlement to compensate her for her injuries.

The settlement for plaintiff LaTonya Story, of Garnersville, N.Y., came more than three years after the Sept. 29, 2016 crash, which occurred as a commuter train was pulling into Hoboken Station in New Jersey, according to a Nov. 12 story by NJ.com. The train, which was being operated by Metro North west of the Hudson River under contract with NJ Transit, failed to stop as it arrived in the station and plowed through a concrete bumper at the end of the tracks, injuring 108 people and killing a woman inside the station after she was struck by falling debris, the story reported. The train station suffered $6 million in property damage due to the crash.

Story was sitting in the last car of a Hoboken-bound Pascack Valley train number 1614 when the crash occurred, causing back, neck, shoulder and hip injuries, according to her lawsuit, which was filed against NJ Transit and Metro North by her personal injury lawyer. Treatments for her injuries has been complicated by an existing auto-immune system disorder and had left her unable to work due to chronic pain, according to her attorney. The lingering injuries will require extensive medical care and monitoring for the rest of her life. The victim was heading to her job as an executive assistant on the day of the crash.

In January, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the crash was caused by undiagnosed sleep apnea which affected the train’s engineer, Thomas Gallagher, the story reported. The train sped up to 21 mph, twice the posted speed limit, when it crashed.

Gallagher was found unconscious in the cab of the train after the crash and told investigators he had no recollection of the crash. The engineer was fired by NJ Transit, but was reinstated in September after a successful appeal, as long as he meets medical and other conditions.

Metro North officials confirmed it will cover the cost of the settlement because Story boarded the train in New York state.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of truck and car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a truck or car accident injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of car crash, slip and fall, pedestrian injury, workplace injury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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