Quebec Train Derailment Lawsuit Targets Chicago-area Businessman, Firm
From the Chicago Tribune
The estate of a Quebec man killed this month in a train derailment in that Canadian province filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County alleging negligence by a local businessman and his company, which is affiliated with the railroad in the accident.
The wrongful death lawsuit, which lists Edward Burkhardt and Rosemont-based Rail World Inc. among the 10 defendants, stems from a July 6 crash in Lac-Megantic that killed more than 40 people. The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway train, carrying oil, exploded when it crashed in the small town just north of the province's border with Maine.
Jean-Guy Veilleux, who lived in Lac-Megantic, was "consumed by the fire and explosion" when the train crashed, according to the lawsuit. The administrator of Veilleux's estate, represented by Chicago law firm Meyers & Flowers, is seeking a jury trial and more than $50,000 in damages, citing wrongful death-negligence. The railroad, Rail World and Burkhardt face separate wrongful death allegations. Seven other companies are listed together in the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that safety lapses amounted to negligence that allowed the crash to occur. Burkhardt, president of Rail World and chairman of the railroad, could not be reached for comment Monday evening. A Rail World employee who answered the phone at the company office said Burkhardt had not seen the lawsuit. Messages left for the plaintiff and the estate's lawyer were not immediately returned.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
The estate of a Quebec man killed this month in a train derailment in that Canadian province filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County alleging negligence by a local businessman and his company, which is affiliated with the railroad in the accident.
The wrongful death lawsuit, which lists Edward Burkhardt and Rosemont-based Rail World Inc. among the 10 defendants, stems from a July 6 crash in Lac-Megantic that killed more than 40 people. The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway train, carrying oil, exploded when it crashed in the small town just north of the province's border with Maine.
Jean-Guy Veilleux, who lived in Lac-Megantic, was "consumed by the fire and explosion" when the train crashed, according to the lawsuit. The administrator of Veilleux's estate, represented by Chicago law firm Meyers & Flowers, is seeking a jury trial and more than $50,000 in damages, citing wrongful death-negligence. The railroad, Rail World and Burkhardt face separate wrongful death allegations. Seven other companies are listed together in the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that safety lapses amounted to negligence that allowed the crash to occur. Burkhardt, president of Rail World and chairman of the railroad, could not be reached for comment Monday evening. A Rail World employee who answered the phone at the company office said Burkhardt had not seen the lawsuit. Messages left for the plaintiff and the estate's lawyer were not immediately returned.
Read more in our daily News Update...