Amtrak has agreed to pay the locomotive engineer who was injured in the December 2017 derailment of Cascades Service No. 501 in a settlement of a lawsuit that he filed against the passenger carrier.
The train derailed in DePont, Washington, as it traveled at 79 miles per hour into a 30-mph curve on the Point Defiance Bypass on Amtrak’s first day of operation on the route.
The engineer, Steven Brown, will receive money to pay him for the pain and suffering he sustained as a result of the derailment.
Brown, who is now 60, broke several bones in his face and torso during the derailment.
His attorney characterized the settlement as “large” enough to care for Brown and his family for the rest of his life.”
The attorney did not disclose the size of the settlement, which ends litigation stemming from the case involving Brown.
Three passengers aboard Train 501, which was operating from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, were killed and 57 passengers and crew members were injured.
Four cars and the lead locomotive of the train fell from a bridge onto Interstate 5, where they struck eight motor vehicles.
A National Transportation Board investigation cited one factor in the crash as being inadequate training of Amtrak operating crews before revenue service began on the route.
The NTSB report also found that although Brown had made observational rides and three training runs, the accident occurred during his first revenue run on the route.
That led the Board to conclude that the engineer had insufficient training on both the route and the equipment.
Brown told investigators he did not see a sign warning locomotive engineers to reduce the speed of their train to 30 mph before the curve.
After reviewing video and audio recordings from an inward-facing image recorder, NTSB investigators concluded that Brown was looking straight ahead at the time he passed the speed restriction sign.
The NTSB report also said an event recorder showed the engineer he took no action to reduce speed prior to the derailment.
A news account published by the Seattle Times said federal railroad law requires Amtrak to prove an employee was the sole cause of the crash or else pay compensation.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Karena Kirkendoll last year granted Brown’s request to sue for damages.