Train wreck victims debate tort bill

GRANITEVILLE - Sara Kennebeck lost her son in the Norfolk Southern train collision and chlorine spill. Under pending bills in the South Carolina Legislature, her pain and suffering wouldn't be worth more than $250,000 in a court of law.

ADVERTISEMENT

Have a thought? Go to the Forums or Chat.

Subscribe  E-mail this story  Write a letter to the Editor  Printer-friendly version  Get news on your PDA  Get e-mail headlines

"How can anyone tell me that $200,000 is going to replace or make my pain better?" Ms. Kennebeck said Monday night to members of the House Democratic Caucus, who were in Graniteville to gather firsthand accounts of the accident.

South Carolina legislators, like those in Georgia and elsewhere, are wrestling with ways to reform the legal system so that people such as Ms. Kennebeck can be compensated for their losses and suffering without bankrupting businesses or causing insurance companies to raise premiums.

Ms. Kennebeck, whose son John Laird Jr. succumbed to chlorine near Avondale Mills, said lawmakers need to address more than just legal reform.

"I just think you need to prevent (accidents) instead of putting limitations on" what people can sue for, she said.

Because the Jan. 6 train wreck and chlorine leak led to nine deaths and hundreds of injuries and displaced thousands of residents, some of whom also suffered property damage, Graniteville has become a prime example of the tightrope lawmakers must walk as they ponder limitations on legal payouts.

But residents of the town who sue shouldn't be subjected to any of the proposed limitations unless they were to file suit after a pending law passed, members of the caucus said.

"I beg you, please don't pass anything that could leave us behind to (become) victims again," said Doug Johnson, an Avondale Mills worker credited with saving several of his colleagues.

He's part of a class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern railroad, which has been named in more than a dozen lawsuits related to the crash.

The railroad, too, has become central to the legal debate, which is commonly referred to as tort reform. That's because under some proposals in Columbia, the financial liability in a lawsuit could be spread among defendants.

If, for example, the railroad were to blame an employee for the accident, that employee might have to shoulder some of the financial burden, even though he couldn't afford it.

Several of the eight Democrats who attended voiced opposition to such provisions, which could ultimately limit how much money a plaintiff could seek.

"I believe that decision should be left for the communities to decide, not some law in Columbia," said Rep. James Smith, D-Richland County, who, along with six other caucus members who attended, is an attorney.

Reach Josh Gelinas at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.

Special Section: Graniteville Train Wreck

On January 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern Corp. freight train carrying chemicals hit a parked train near an Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville, South Carolina. The impact caused poisonous chlorine gas to leak from three of the moving train's cars. Nine people were killed and more than 5,000 people were evacuated from the site.

For complete coverage of the Graniteville train wreck, visit our special section.

--From the Tuesday, February 8, 2005 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle