2nd lawsuit filed in Thursday's CTA crash
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A second victim has now filed a lawsuit against the CTA following Thursday's crash.
The suit was filed by the Clifford Law Offices. They're now representing at least two victims.
The latest claimant is 67-year-old Matt Jones from Skokie. He was taken by ambulance following the crash.
He said he suffered head injuries that required stitches.
Attorneys said they hope that filing these suits will force the CTA to be forthcoming with everyone about what went wrong on the Yellow Line.
The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The two-car Yellow Line, or Skokie Swift train hit a snow fighter locomotive on the main tracks adjacent to the Howard rail yard.
The accident occurred in an area where the tracks curve southeast from a trench that runs through southern Evanston into the Howard rail yard – right before trains pull into the elevated Howard terminal.
The crash caused the lead-end wheelset of the Yellow Line train to derail. The snow-fighting unit also sustained some damage to the back, and the Fire Department said the person operating the snow fighter was also seriously hurt.
Everyone on the train was injured in the accident Thursday – 31 passengers and seven CTA employees. Of those 38 people, a total of 23 were rushed to area hospitals, and three were initially reported in critical condition.
The first lawsuit connected to the accident was filed Thursday, within 12 hours of the crash, by 52-year-old Cleon Hawkins of Chicago.
The Clifford Law Group said Hawkins was riding the Yellow Line train Thursday morning. He suffered injuries to his shoulder and leg and was of the 23 people rushed to hospitals, attorneys said.
We do not know the speed the train was going when it collided with the CTA snowplow. Anyone who rides the 'L' knows there are no seatbelts, and often, people stand holding handrails.
"Anytime you have more of a high-speed collision, you're going to get impact injuries – which is something that would be expected in this instance," said Dr. David Trotter, chief of emergency management at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. "You definitely get lacerations, contusions, things of that nature – and sometimes, obviously, they can be more severe than that."
As of Friday afternoon, Advocate Illinois Masonic was still treating one patient who was in good condition, while two others had been discharged. Masonic was one of several hospitals that received patients from the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
