Latherow Law Office Represented Injured Passengers

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net

CHICAGO, April 28, 2015 /Standard Newswire/ -- Chicago personal injury attorney Jerry Latherow, whose firm Latherow Law Office represents 4 people injured in the CTA Blue Line March 24, 2014 crash which occurred at the CTA station at O'Hare International Airport, lauded National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart's recommendation today in Washington D.C. that train transit be changed nationally. The recommendation was made in concluding the NTSB investigation of the CTA crash. Hart and the NTSB recommended that the Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U. S. Department of Transportation, require transmission-based train control in rail transit nationwide.

"Sadly, it often takes a disaster of some type to institute change. Thankfully, there were no deaths or catastrophic injuries that occurred in this case, but it did result in the NTSB recommending changes that, if instituted, could save many lives and other people from serious injuries. The recommended changes, based on the Chicago Transit Authority failure to have a break switch at a sufficient distance away from a station stop, would prevent this type of collision from occurring again even if the train operator becomes incapacitated, or, such as in this case, falls asleep."

Latherow observed that the CTA implemented a number of changes following the crash. They revised how rail operators are scheduled, tightened work and rest rules, and executed a series of equipment and system changes at the O'Hare station. The NTSB report confirmed Latherow's claim on behalf of his clients that the accident was caused by the train operator dozing off due to fatigue and the absence of safety equipment that would have stopped the train safely once the operator failed to obey a red signal. The crash injured 33 passengers and caused roughly $9 million in damage.

About Attorney Jerry Latherow
Jerry A. Latherow is a veteran trial lawyer who has attained verdicts and settlements for his clients in cases involving medical malpractice, vehicular and construction liability, and airplane crash cases. He recently served as the President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and has repeatedly been listed as one of the top 100 attorneys in Illinois by Illinois Super Lawyers, and as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Illinois by the National Trial Lawyers Association. www.latherowlaw.com