Whiplash news
07/01/2011

Train driver pleads guilty

An American train driver who caused dozens of passengers to suffer whiplash has been given a two-year suspended sentence after admitting causing a rail accident by gross negligence.

Only one month before the driver pleaded not guilty but later admitted he had been sending a text message at the time of the crash.

During the case, a Suffolk County district attorney commented, "What kind of message does this send to others? This defendant caused $10 million in damages, sent 64 people to the hospital, and shut down the Green Line on a busy spring evening. Why? Because he was trying to send a text message while pulling 80 tons of steel and glass and human lives.

"The riders on the train trusted him with their safety. This wasn't an accident. It was the foreseeable consequence of his actions and he should have been punished accordingly."

As part of the trial, a number of the passengers read impact statements explaining how the crash has affected their lives.

One stated, "I suffered severe whiplash, and I was extremely scared due to the fact that it took me several minutes to get my wife conscious and coherent."

A number of the injured have stated their intention to make no win, no fee claims for whiplash.

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