Aitken Redesign

The first pre-trial conference was held for the Placentia Coordinated Railroad Litigation on March 12, 2003, in downtown Santa Ana. At this hearing, Aitken, Aitken & Cohn was selected as liaison counsel for the Placentia Railroad Litigation and charged with forming a Plaintiffs “Executive Committee.” This election by was based on the recommendation of the plaintiffs’ attorneys representing the hundreds of victims from the Placentia Railroad Crash. Presently, Aitken, Aitken & Cohn represents over 25 victims of the deadly train collision between a Metrolink Commuter Train and a Burlington Northern freight train on April 23, 2002.

The lawsuits name as defendants both Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Metrolink. The allegations indicate that the Burlington Northern train accelerated to speeds upwards of 48 miles per hour, despite the presence of at least one warning signal that should have caused the conductor to slow and/or stop the train. The lawsuits fault both Metrolink and Burlington — pointing toward a systemwide problem that allowed two trains to end up on the same track at the same time — with deadly results.