Metrolink Comes Clean

Texas grad suing college because she can't find employment

2009-08-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Steve Schroeder, director of UW-Madison's Business Career Center, says many in his line of work are rolling their eyes at Thompson's lawsuit.

"There have been e-mails going around sort of like, 'Can you believe this?' " says Schroeder. "I think most people thought it was kind of a joke, like something you'd see in the Onion." (In fact, the incident already has been spoofed by the Onion.)

Granted, this sounds like a frivolous lawsuit. And so far, the court of public opinion is siding with Monroe College spokesman Gary Axelbank, who told the Post the lawsuit is completely without merit, said Weinberg Law Firm, Texas Employment Lawyer.

"What we stress is that our office's responsibility is to teach job search skills," says John Archambault, director of career services with UW-Madison's College of Engineering. "Years ago, these offices were called 'placement offices.' But they don't do that anymore because they don't want to give the impression that it's our responsibility to place you in a job. Our responsibility is to teach you how to find that job and it's your responsibility to do well in your coursework and spend your time at the university becoming a well-rounded, attractive employee."

Even college students are having a difficult time making sense of Thompson's actions.

Los Angeles women and the bottle leading to more DUI's

2009-08-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

While men still consume more alcohol than women and are responsible for a greater number of drunken-driving cases, the gap is shortening, said Michael Bialys, Los Angeles DUI lawye r.

Among the reasons noted for the tightening numbers are that women are experiencing more pressures at work and home, they are driving more miles behind the wheel, and they are finding ways to behave more recklessly.

Mom Says Coach Ignored Son's Stroke-Causing Brain Injuries During Football Game

2009-08-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

With the district's backing, the lawsuit claims, Sunkett taunted his players for not playing "or complaining of symptoms consistent with concussion, including yelling at a student with a head injury to `quit playing like a little (expletive) and get out there."'

John Q. Kelly, New York brain injury lawyer, claims that Sunkett also ridiculed injured players, creating an atmosphere in which injuries were not reported or were underreported, and wouldn't inform parents that their children were injured, including with concussions.

Orange County hospital employee claims promotion denial due to sexual harassment complaint

2009-08-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Without warning, Houser claims he was terminated on Oct. 16 and was told he was being let go because he was the "low man on the totem pole." However, all of Houser's co-workers except for two had less seniority than him, according to the complaint.

"Defendants intentionally discriminated against plaintiff by failing to promote him, and later terminating him because of his opposition to the discriminatory practices and/or hostile work environment put in place by his supervisor," the sexual harassment lawyer Orange County states.

Chicago landlord sues ex-tenenat over nasty Tweet

2009-08-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently the litigation lawyer Chicago lawsuit claims Bonnen’s Twiiter account was public and her tweet was sent throughout the world. On May 12, the former resident, used Twitter, a microblogging service which is social media outlet that allows account holder to send quick, easy messages containing 140 characters or less to other account holders. Recent news sources have reported Bonnen only had 20 registered followers at the time of her “libelous” tweet. Horizon Management Group is asking for $50,000 in damages for the libelous Twitter update. Other sources have indicated Bonnen is involved in a class action lawsuit against the Chicago management company for damages and injuries suffered from living in a moldy apartment.

City fires manager after DUI offense last fall

2009-08-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Public works official 24-year employee
Saturday, June 20, 2009

"He had, in fact, been suspended without pay for five days in April 2003 for a number of serious infractions," said Mr. Victor, and his job duties were modified in February 2008 for performance reasons.

Mr. Victor said Mr. Barley had missed meetings "and had no explanation" and had turned in mileage reimbursement requests that "seemed to be excessive."

Since Mr. Barley's job duties included checking other employees' driving records, he may have faced a credibility problem if he continued, Mr. Victor said.

Reached by phone, Mr. Barley said he had not gotten a termination notice, and had no comment.

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LA Train Injury Lawyers Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP

2009-07-31T14:39:00.001-07:00

California class action law firm Ringler Kearney Alavarez LLP have established themselves as a premier law firm by providing clients with consistently excellent service. They pride themselves on their intellect, creativity and tenacity.

These California personal injury lawyers have achieved victories in over 100 trials with total verdicts in excess of $250 million.

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP achieves their verdicts by utilizing their substantial financial resources to obtain the best result possible for each of their clients. This LA personal injury specialist law firm fights tirelessly for their clients, no matter the cost and no matter the foe.

More Pains for the Metrolink

2009-01-22T14:25:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday in Rancho Cucamonga, the passengers aboard the Metrolink were evacuated after a suspicious looking package was left lying around. Thankfully for everyone involved it turned out to be a false alarm.

I guess when it rains it pours, because Metrolink has not been having any good news lately.

Today this, and lets not forget the Metrolink train wreck in Chatsworth last year. According to a well known train crash lawyer, last years' accident was not the first. Apparently the Metrolink has had quite a few train disasters here in the south land.

Click Here for a Full News Article on this story.

Moorpark Councilman Elected to Board of Metrolink - He's no Trial Lawyer

2009-01-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

Keith Millhouse, Councilman from Moorpark, was elected to head the Metrolink board of Directors. This in no doubt sparked by the recent train wreck in Chatsworth.

Millhouse will head the train system that operates 500 miles of rail serves nearly 50,000 people daily.

According to news reports, survivors and families of the victims have hired many high profile Los Angeles personal injury lawyers, while many are still looking for class action attorneys that may help them settle lawsuits with Metrolink.

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Comments on Chatsworth Metrolink Wreck

2008-09-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

As a governmental agency, lawyers noted, Metrolink cannot be subjected to punitive damages in any civil action - a situation those lawyers said likely protects it from a bankruptcy situation. A spokesman for Metrolink said the agency would not be making any comments on potential legal issues.

Attorney Jerome Ringler, who served as lead counsel for victims of a Metrolink train derailment in Placentia in 2002, those in a Burbank derailment in 2003, and in the Glendale derailment in 2005, said the Chatsworth crash could expose further fault with Metrolink.

"I suspect the real reason these tragedies occurred is due to either simple inattentivenesss on the part of the engineers or a failure on the part of the railrood industry to allow these engineers adequate rest between shifts so that these kind of tragedies could be avoided," Ringler said.

"This is a horrible tragedy. They are facing hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure."

Los Angeles Injury Lawyer Jerome Ringler and the Metrolink Train Wrech

2008-09-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

www.rkallp.com

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Has History Dealing with Train Accidents

2008-08-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

Metrolink worker sued Burlington Northern Santa Fe, saying his alcoholism returned after the fatal 2002 Placentia collision.

A metrolink conductor who said his drinking problems resumed after the Placentia train crash in 2002 will receive $8.5 million to settle his lawsuit against one of the nations largest railroads.

Patrick Phillips of Riverside agreed Tuesday to settle his suit against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The case was set to go to trial next week in Orange County Superior Court.

Phillips, now 52, suffered minor head injuries the morning of April 23, 2002 when a Burlington Northern Freight train crashed into a Metrolink commuter train in Placentia. Three people died and more than 260 were injured in the early morning crash.

Though his injuries were slight, the conductor alleged that the trauma was serious enough to trigger a resurgence of his severe alcoholism, which he said he had controlled since rehabilitation in the early 1990's.

"I have never seen a case like this in 30 years, yet it is indeed what happened here," said Jerome L. Ringler, Phillips' attorney.

"We had extensive medical evaluations by a variety of neurological specialists. All were in accord that his injury, although minor, changed his behavior."

After the train crash, Phillips was hospitalized for evaluation but released about two hours later, Ringler said. In the months after the crash, however, Phillips allegedly resumed his alcohol abuse, resulting in at least two other hospitalizations.

Ringler said his client was finally diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia, a sever mental deficiency.

Phillips, who is now disabled after working 12 years for Metrolink, was unavailable for comment. He is living with a sister in Riverside.

Under terms of the settlement, Phillips will receive $8.5 million, including interest, paid out over 20 years. The amount is worth about $4.5 million in today's dollars.
Officials for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the nations four largest railroads, confirmed the settlement but declined to discuss the case.

Phillips' lawsuit is one of more than 100 Civil cases stemming from the Placentia crash, which federal investigators said was caused by an inattentive Burlington Norther crew that missed a warning signal.

The lawsuits allege the collision could have been prevented by an automatic braking system, long sought by the federal National Transportation Safety Board.
They also contend that the freight train crew was fatigued by overwork and that the Burlington Northern conductor had a history of losing track of signals.

In December, an Orange County jury awarded Pamela Macek, 53, also of Riverside, about $9 million in damages for psychological and physical injuries suffered in the crash. Her case was the first to go to trial.

Metrolink Attorney Jerome Ringler Interviewed by FOX 11

2008-08-18T10:41:00.000-07:00