LGL - $8 Million Paid To Settle Five Lawsuits Resulting From Fatal 2016 New Jersey Transit Hoboken Terminal Speeding-Train Crash

PR Newswire

PHILADELPHIA , June 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- $8.15 million has been paid to settle five lawsuits resulting from the September 29, 2016 New Jersey Transit (NJT) Hoboken Terminal, speeding-train crash which a 34-year-old woman was killed from falling debris while walking through the battered station, plaintiffs' attorneys from Kline & Specter and Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky announced today.

Trial lawyers Tom Kline and Robert J. Mongeluzzi today confirmed their clients, including the family of the late, beloved, Brazilian-born lawyer Fabiola Bittar de Kroon , and four passenger-survivors of the tragedy, will soon receive compensation almost five years after the crash. "But these settlements  collectively amounting to more than $8 million should never be confused with or viewed as a substitute for closure, because there is no closure for loved ones who've lost  a mother and spouse, or survivors suffering from life-altering physical and psychological injuries," added Mr. Kline and Mr. Mongeluzzi, who were appointed by the Court to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the litigation and whose firms have tirelessly advocated for safer public and privately-operated transportation across all modes.

They added, ""This was a preventable catastrophe. And we and our clients are hopeful that NJT has now implemented and will continue to implement all the necessary safety improvements – systemwide, from rail operations to crew medical screenings - to protect its passengers, agency personnel, and the general public from harm. Such a tragedy must never happen again."

Besides representing the estate of Ms. de Kroon, who was married and mother of their two-year-old daughter at the time, the firms jointly represented and settled the cases of the following injured passengers on the morning rush-hour Pascack Valley train: Bagya Subramaniam, Sheldon Kest, Karl Ward , and Alexis Valle .

Other members of the legal team included trial lawyers Andrew R. Duffy and Michael Budner (SMB), and Patrick J. Fitzgerald (Kline & Specter).

SOURCE Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, P.C.