After news came out that the recent Amtrak derailment that
killed 8 and left hundreds injured was caused by the engineer’s failure to
control the speed of the train, many anticipated that a personal
injury lawsuit would be filed. Yesterday, when the first lawsuit was filed
by an injured Amtrak employee who was on the train, it was revealed that punitive
damages would also be sought in addition to compensation pertaining to his injury.
Whatever the outcome of the case, the lawsuit brings
attention to the deterrent powers of punitive damages, which are meant to save lives
down the line when companies realize how serious the public is about improved
safety measures. While, ideally, companies would always think of emphasizing safety
before an accident happens, many safety measures across all industries are not
implemented until a case argued by knowledgeable personal
injury lawyers demonstrates a clear reason for them. For example, the
lawsuit filed by the plaintiff’s personal
injury lawyer against Amtrak claims that a “positive train control” system
that monitors speed could have prevented the accident. While we will leave that up to the experts to decide, it is hard to argue against the need for more safety
measures in the wake of this tragedy.
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