57 claims arise from July Muni crash that injured 47 people

2010-01-26 06:00:31 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Justice News Flash, Train Accident)

Wiki Image:The July Muni accident brought 57 claims against the City.

Legal news for California train accident attorneys. The July Muni accident brought 57 claims against the City.

Train Accident lawyers alert- The San Francisco Municipal Railway train crash resulted in 57 claims.

San Francisco, CA—The July collision at the West Portal station, involving a San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni) train, which injured 47 people, has resulted in 57 claims against the City. The claims process, which ended on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, is usually the first step toward a lawsuit, as reported by The Examiner.

As JusticeNewsFlash.com has previously reported, the SF Muni operator Henry Gray, a 30-year veteran, collapsed while suffering from a medical condition as he was operating the train in the manual mode, on July 19th. Since the crash the City has settled with five of 57 claims, which resulted in the City paying out $27,662. Several of the individual claims failed to mention a dollar amount to their claim, which is not uncommon because they want to keep their options open during the negotiation process. The six-month claims process for personal claims against the city had expired on Tuesday. It was interesting to see that number of claims were higher then the reported 47 injuries.

The claims process usually the first step of action in seeking compensation from a government body. A claim generally must be filed before the lawsuit process can begin. The steps are as followed:

• From the date of the incident, claimants have six months to file any claims.
• Within 45 days a governmental body must investigate and determine how to proceed.
• The agency can either settle with the claimant or make a formal denial.
• If the claim is denied within 45 days, the claimants have six months to file a lawsuit in court.

Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for California train accident lawyers.