Injured passengers and family of KC man killed in train crash take steps to file lawsuit
A Kansas City family who was traveling on the Amtrak train that crashed — killing one family member and injuring several others — is among a group of passengers planning to take legal action.
Binh Pham died at University Health Hospital in Columbia after the train derailed Monday in Mendon, Missouri. The 82 year old was traveling with 12 other family members from Kansas City to Chicago when the crash occurred, attorney Sam Wendt said.
A Kansas family that was injured while traveling on the Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 4 from Kansas City to a Future Business Leaders of America conference also plans to sue Amtrak. The family has retained Chicago-based Clifford Law Offices.
Of the 275 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, 150 were injured, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The four people who died were identified Wednesday as passengers Pham; Rachelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, both of De Soto, Kansas; and truck driver Billy Barton II, 54, of Brookfield, Missouri.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Chair Jennifer Homendy said Wednesday that the train was traveling at 87 mph when it struck a dump truck at the railroad crossing. The speed limit was 90 mph.
Investigators were examining the slope of the incline at the intersection, among other factors, though they had ruled out mechanical issues.
The crossing does not have lights, bells or arms to warn drivers of an approaching train, a recommendation the NTSB has encouraged since 1998.
“Uncontrolled grade crossings are inherently dangerous,” said Kristofer Riddle, an attorney working on the case. “Clifford Law Offices will conduct its own investigation into what occurred, but inevitably negligence is involved, and the stakes are very high when a high-speed passenger train is involved.”
Riddle has previously worked on cases against Amtrak. Those actions include 42 cases from a 2021 derailment in Montana and a 2017 Amtrak derailment in DuPont, Washington, that ended in a $16.75 million verdict for several clients.
Both Wendt and Riddle said they’re talking with additional victims. The lawsuits will be filed once more information is known from the National Transportation Safety Board and the law firms have conducted their own investigations.
