In 2015, an Amtrak passenger train derailed in Philadelphia, tragically killing eight people and injuring hundreds of others; passengers and survivors were later awarded $265 million in a court settlement. In 2017, an Amtrak train in Washington state derailed during its first ever passenger trip on a new route, killing three and injuring 65 passengers; at the time of the crash, the train was going over 78 miles per hour on a dangerous curve that had a speed limit of 30. A jury later awarded three victims of the Washington derailment $17 million in damages over the preventable crash. And in 2018, an Amtrack train carrying Republican members of Congress slammed into a garbage truck in western Virginia, killing a truck passenger and injuring multiple others. If any of these crashes happened today, however, the passengers would not be allowed to sue.
Amtrak’s Arbitration Agreement
This year, Amtrak discreetly added a forced arbitration clause to its 15,500-word “Terms and Conditions” that passengers must agree to. In forced arbitration, consumers are forced to waive their right to file a claim or participate in a class action lawsuit against a company. In other words, even if someone gets severely or permanently injured or killed in a train accident, victims aren’t allowed to sue Amtrak. While it is illegal for airlines to use mandatory arbitration, other transportation sectors, like the rail industry, have jumped at the opportunity to do so.
Amtrak’s forced arbitration clause has been described as “unusually broad and detailed”, as it encompasses a wide range of incidents that would be required to go through arbitration instead of court. Julia Duncan, Senior Director for Government Affairs at the American Association for Justice, described the clause as “one of the most anti-consumer and passenger clauses [she’s] ever seen.” Forced arbitration has long been criticized by consumer advocates like Duncan, who also noted that forced arbitration doesn’t “have any of the protections that having access to public accountability through a judge or jury process would” The 488-word clause was added to Amtrak’s Terms and Conditions in January, but received little public attention until Nov. 8, when Politico released a report on it. It is anticipated to come up during a House Transportation Committee on Amtrak, which is set to take place on Nov. 13.
Under Amtrak’s arbitration agreement, passengers explicitly sign away their right to file any claims regarding:
- Wrongful death
- Punitive or exemplary damages
- Discrimination or failure to accommodate
- Negligence or gross negligence
- Personal injuries, including…
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Medical and hospital expenses
- Transportation for medical treatment expenses
- Drug and medical appliance expenses
The Takeaway Message
In January 2019, Amtrak added a forced arbitration clause that prevents passengers from filing lawsuits against the company if they are injured, killed or discriminated against in an Amtrak rail accident. Experts believe that the clause was motivated by the $256 million awarded to victims of the 2015 Philadelphia derailment. The message is clear: rail passengers are riding at their own risk, and Amrak doesn’t want to be held accountable or have to fairly compensate victims of rail accidents – even if an accident is caused by Amtrak’s own wrongdoing.
Florida’s Rail Safety Efforts
Between Amtrak’s one million annual Florida customers, the upcoming South Florida Virgin Trains USA rail line and Florida’s history of a sub-par rail safety record, it is clear that more efforts need to be made to keep the Sunshine State’s residents and tourists safe. Recently, such efforts were announced by Florida Senator Debbie Mayfield and Representative Tyler Sirious, who filed the Florida High-Speed Passenger Rail Safety Act in hopes of enhancing the safety of high-speed rail systems in the state. The legislation is composed of two bills that, if enacted, will go into effect on July 1, 2020:
- House Bill 465 lays out the regulation of high-speed railroad companies, including requirements for railroad company reporting, minimum safety standards for high-speed rail systems, maintenance requirements of safety improvements, safety inspection requirements and the construction and maintenance of certain fencing.
- Senate Bill 676, requires the Department of Transportation to regulate railroads in cases where it is not already obligated to do so under federal law. SB 676 also establishes that the department’s railroad inspectors must meet certification requirements and comply with certain federal regulations.
The legislation contains recommendations identified in an October 2018 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study, called the Florida Passenger Rail System Study, which investigated safety flaws in Florida’s rail system. Among the flaws included the “gap in federal and state regulations governing higher-speed rail.” Since Virgin Trains USA’s in-progress rail system is set to be the fastest ever built in the southern U.S., with passenger trains reaching speeds of up to 125 miles per hour, it is critical that these safety recommendations are implemented quickly.
