After an Amtrak train derailed near Mendon, Missouri last week, investigations are underway. The crash occurred when the train ran into a stationary dump truck, killing four passengers and injuring nearly 150.
Kristofer Riddle is a partner at Clifford Law, and joined Total Information to share more details. He said the lawsuits will focus on Amtrak, BNSF and the contract company that owns the dump truck.
"A lot of the investigation is going to focus on the condition of this right of way rail crossing that was uncontrolled, that the public had access to drive over these tracks at this point," Riddle said. "This is an area where there is high speed passenger rail is going through on a daily basis, and there's a a speed limit of 90 miles per hour -- their trains cover a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. And the conditions around that crossing are going to be of great interest to us investigating this tragic, and totally avoidable crash."
He added that it's a situation where it's hard to figure out who exactly is to blame for the hazard.
"This is one of those situations where when there are a lot of people that are responsible, it seems like nobody's responsible," he said. "You can imagine a scenario where everybody's pointing fingers at one another. But at the end of the day, these tracks belong to be BNSF. And it's their obligation to protect the passengers that are riding on those tracks."
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Correction: This article previously incorrectly stated that Clifford Law is representing 42 of the passengers that were victims of the crash near Mendon.