Two more lawsuits in CTA Yellow Line crash that injured 38
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two more people hurt in a crash on the CTA Yellow Line last week are now suing the transit agency.
This brings the total number of lawsuits to four. All were filed by the Clifford Law Offices.
The latest lawsuits filed Wednesday were filed by attorney Joseph T. Murphy on behalf of Alishan Zaidi, 19, who was seated in the first car, and Zubair Hussain, who struck his head and ended up unconscious in the accident.
Both were rushed to hospitals, and Hussain was in the hospital for three days, the Clifford Law Offices said.
The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. this past Thursday, at the site where the Yellow Line proceeds from a trench that runs through southern Evanston to an open section of track that runs through the Howard rail yard – ahead of the Howard terminal in Rogers Park.
The two-car Yellow Line train crashed into a snowplow locomotive on the same track. All 38 people on the train – 31 passengers and seven Chicago Transit Authority employees – were hurt.
A total of 23 of those 38 people were taken to area hospitals.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Chicago after crash. Investigators believe the crash was a the result of a "design flaw."
The NTSB says that flaw has to do with the automatic braking system. Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation team determined the design problem made it so the braking distance the train had was 1,780 feet, about 1,000 feet shorter than newer systems.
The NTSB said the CTA was operating on out-of-date information with regard to stopping lengths.
The first lawsuit connected to the accident was filed on Thursday of last week, within 12 hours of the crash, by 52-year-old Cleon Hawkins of Chicago. The Clifford Law Offices said Hawkins suffered injuries to his shoulder and leg.
The law group filed another suit the following day on behalf of Matt Jones, 67, of Skokie, who said he suffered head injuries that required stitches.
The lawsuits claim the crash was preventable.
The CTA still has not said when Yellow Line service will resume.