It's been a week since the horrific Metro-North collision that injured dozens of commuters, and the first federal lawsuit against the railroad has now been filed. A 65-year-old woman who says she was injured in the crash is suing Metro-North for negligence; her attorney says she is in critical condition and has suffered a brain injury.
More than 70 people were injured in the May 17th collision, in which a train derailed between Bridgeport and Fairfield and was subsequently struck by a second train. Investigations into the incident have suggested that the train track themselves were at fault, and the derailed train's engineer told investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board that he saw “an unusual condition on the track” at the scene of the accident.
Meanwhile, the attorney for Bridgeport resident Elizabeth Sorensen says his client was on the derailed train last week, and has suffered arm, leg and pelvic injuries in addition to brain injuries. They are suing for an undisclosed sum; we reached out to the MTA and were told they do not usually comment on pending litigation. The NTSB says a cracked joint bar in the rail at the scene of last week's accident had been repaired just last month; last week's collision left rails twisted.
