Jury awards $ 17 million to three plaintiffs for deadly derailment of Amtrak in Washington

TACOMA, Washington. A federal jury awarded nearly 17 million US dollars in damages for a lethal derailment of Amtrak in Washington State.

A jury of eight people gathered at the US District Court in Tacoma on Friday decided to award $ 7.75 million to Dale Skyllingstad, $ 7 million to Blaine Wilmotte and $ 2 million to his wife, Madison Wilmotte.

On December 18, 2017, Amtrak's first paying passenger made a new connection between Tacoma and Portland, Oregon, and dived into Interstate 5 near DuPont, causing three more deaths and more 60 injured.

Skyllingstad was a passenger on the train when his railcar left the tracks after the train approached a 30 mph curve of 78 mph. His lawyers said that he had broken his back, had broken his hip and had suffered a traumatic brain injury that, according to Skyllingstad, had changed his personality.

Blaine Wilmotte was a passenger in a lorry from Interstate 5 when a car crashed against the truck from the overpass. He was trapped in the truck by what he described to the jury as "excruciating pain" for 90 minutes before being extracted and taken to a hospital.

He broke several bones, including his femur, under the weight of the car crushing the truck. During medical testimony, it was revealed that he was also suffering from an adjustment disorder, which can occur after a traumatic event of life. During the final argument, his lawyer said that every day Wilmotte was afraid of dying.

Madison Wilmotte sued because of the consequences of the accident on her relationship with her husband. Madison Wilmotte was 22 years old and pregnant at the time of the derailment.

Blaine Wilmotte and Skyllingstad have returned to work since the accident and Amtrak claimed that their injuries would not have long-term effects.

Judge Benjamin Settle, of the US District Court, declared null the fourth plaintiff, Adam Harris, and said that a new court date should be set for his claims because a doctor had testified about 39, a Harris interrogation that had not been revealed to Amtrak prior to the trial.

In June, the National Transportation Safety Board released its final report on the accident. The vice president of the agency criticized what he described as a "complacency to Titanic" on the part of those responsible for ensuring the safety of railway operations.

The case and the jury's decision could pave the way for future claims against Amtrak. The Luvera law firm, which represented the victims, also represents dozens of others.