September
20 , 2005
LLOYD
& CAVANAGH FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST METRA FROM WEEKEND
CRASH
Timothy
J. Cavanagh, of the prominent Chicago law firm of Lloyd
& Cavanagh, has filed a lawsuit against METRA as a result
of the September 17, 2005 crash of a passenger train on
the Rock Island line. Thomas Javella was a passenger of
the train who was treated at Jackson Park Hospital. The
case is entitled Thomas Javella v. Northeast Illinois Regional
Commuter Railroad. The case is pending in the Circuit Court
of Cook County before Judge Kathy Flanagan. The court number
is 05 L 10285. Mr. Cavanagh will seek an Emergency Protective
Order to assure that all evidence, including the event recorder,
radio transmissions, train signals, and maintenance records,
are properly preserved. The lawsuit alleges that the engineer
operated the train in a negligent manner by, among other
things, speeding at 59 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Mr.
Cavanagh currently represents a woman (and her husband and
daughter) who were injured in a METRA crash on October 12,
2003. That crash involved the same train operator, the same
set of tracks and the same engine. The case is entitled
Steven E. Kuk and Kathryn Kuk v. Northeast Illinois Regional
Commuter Railroad Corporation, No. 03 L 12503. The case
is pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Mr. Cavanagh
stated: “These two crashes involving the same engine
and same set of tracks raises a troubling question of whether
this defendant consciously disregards its responsibility
to its passengers by operating trains at excessive speeds.
We intend to conduct a detailed investigation to evaluate
the full extent of METRA’s culpability—including
that of the engineer and any corporate executives.”
Mr.
Cavanagh has successfully prosecuted numerous cases arising
from train collisions. He was the lead attorney in the Ajmeri
v. Canadian National Railroad Company that resulted in a
national record verdict of $55 Million in 2001. He also
obtained a $9.1 Million settlement for a woman severely
injured in a train collision in 2000.
