15 January 2007
Nearly 5 years After Deadly Derailment in North Dakota, Legal Fights Continue
Minot North Dakota USA - A deadly train derailment in
North Dakota five years ago is still being fought in the courts.
The 18 Jan 2002 derailment punctured and shattered tanker cars carrying about 1.1 million litres of anhydrous ammonia,
releasing a cloud of the toxic farm chemical. One man, John Grabinger, died trying to escape and hundreds of others were treated for
burns and breathing problems.
Lawsuits against the Canadian Pacific Railway sought damages for more than 1,000 people. "Five years after the derailment, these
people are having to cope with very serious injuries as well as the economic consequences of the injuries," said Sarah Herman, a
Fargo lawyer working on claims against the railroad. "Many are without adequate health insurance and suffer more because they
cannot afford the medications they need to cope with the injuries they suffered from the derailment," Herman said.
Tim Thornton, a Minneapolis lawyer working for the railroad, said the Canadian Pacific has settled "scores of cases,"
including some last week. He refused to say how much the railroad has paid to injured residents. Jurors have awarded millions in a
handful of cases that represent other similar claims.
The railroad contends federal law makes it immune from hundreds of injury lawsuits. Thornton said Congress wanted to provide immunity
for railroads because national interests outweigh private claims. The immunity claim is being challenged in a federal appeals court,
and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether it will hear arguments on a narrowly defined issue involving jurisdiction.
"It could go on for a long, long time, or it could come to a screeching halt," Thorton said.
"We believe that ultimately, the justice system will not leave injured people without recourse, especially in a case such as this
where the negligence and wrongdoing of the railroad was so egregious," said Kristy Albrecht, a Fargo lawyer working on cases
against the railroad. "This has been a long, frustrating process, but we believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and
we will keep working to get to that light," she said.
The plaintiffs' lawyers are encouraged by a Minnesota federal judge's decision last week. U.S. Chief District Judge James Rosenbaum
ruled the railroad must allow plaintiffs' lawyers to interview its computer forensics expert, after learning about the railroad's
"tradition" of keeping few related e-mails. The judge rejected the railroad's claims that the interview should
wait and that destroyed evidence is irrelevant. He wrote that the court must ensure that "any tradition of destroying
derailment-related documents be discovered and brought to an end."
Thornton said the railroad plans to comply with the order. By the end of this year, the Federal Railroad Administration is expected to
release a study prompted by the wreck, involving tanker cars carrying hazardous material.
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