Victims of a deadly Amtrak derailment which killed eight people and injured over 200 more in Philadelphia last year have reached a $265 million settlement with the railroad service.
The deal was approved yesterday morning, reports NPR, which also notes that the settlement is $30 million less than “the cap on damages for an accident like this... But attorneys for the victims say this agreement will get money to their clients more quickly than if the case were litigated.”
Since the crash, over 125 cases have been filed against Amtrak by passengers and their family members. According to NPR:
The court documents state that the settlement program is also available to passengers who have not yet filed a lawsuit or settled with Amtrak. According to the terms of the settlement, plaintiffs will be notified of their final award by June 30, and plaintiffs’ lawyers expect the claims payments to be distributed by next summer.
Amtrak Train 188 crashed in May 2015 while en route from Philadelphia to New York. It was traveling 106 MPH—over twice the speed limit of the zone—when it went into a curve, derailed and crashed. Eight people were killed and over 200 others were injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the likely cause of the accident was a distracted engineer.