Big time bad news in Paulsboro NJ

[ljudice]

If you're going to go in with a pre-emptive settlement offer, don't offer a couple of hundred bucks. 

They are probably going to end up on the wrong side of millions in judgements by the time this is over, so offer people $20-100k - or something reasonable.

Just amazing and surprisingly stupid and cheap.

[conrail98]

If you're going to go in with a pre-emptive settlement offer, don't offer a couple of hundred bucks. 

They are probably going to end up on the wrong side of millions in judgements by the time this is over, so offer people $20-100k - or something reasonable.

Just amazing and surprisingly stupid and cheap.

Actually, I highly doubt they'll end up on the wrong side. Anyone who has travelled through that area or lived in it, who knows what they are exposed to on a daily basis as is. It's very hard to prove sickness that could be years, if not decades, in the future on a specific, one-time event. Repeated exposure on the other hand can be.

[ljudice]

Actually, I highly doubt they'll end up on the wrong side. Anyone who has travelled through that area or lived in it, who knows what they are exposed to on a daily basis as is. It's very hard to prove sickness that could be years, if not decades, in the future on a specific, one-time event. Repeated exposure on the other hand can be.

I'm sure you're right,  but they turned the public into an enemy now,  and with the right lawyer, I can see the case being made.  The whole point in these settlements for the amount to NEVER come to light.  It's just sounds like total incompetence!

A few years ago I slipped on the ice at a condo my employer had rented for a conference.  I was rather badly bruised in the caboose - but certainly had no intention of suing anyone. When I got home the owners of the condo community had made a substantially higher offer than that - which BTW - I said don't even bother with since I partially blamed myself for being an idiot and not noticing the ice.

I'll bet you if this happened down the road here where NS goes through million dollar homes they would be singing a different tune. 

Just sounds wrong to me!

[rickb773]

Damaged Paulsboro bridge will be replaced         Written by George Mast,   Courier-Post Staff  March 1, 2013

PAULSBORO — The railroad bridge damaged during a train derailment and chemical spill Nov. 30 in Paulsboro will be replaced. A new swing bridge over Mantua Creek is expected to be operational by September 2014, according to a spokesman for the bridge’s owner, Conrail. In the meantime, the current span will remain in use but the waterway that passes underneath will remain inaccessible to boaters until construction is complete.

Michael Hotra said a decision to fully replace the bridge was made because it would have taken about the same amount of time to repair the current span. He added the bridge will comply with all “applicable U.S. Coast Guard standards and permitting requirements.”

Hotra added the replacement and construction of the span, a lifeblood to several chemical companies, is being designed in a way to limit impact to rail traffic. “We do not expect there to be more than a minimal impact on operations while the new bridge is constructed and then put into operation.”

The derailment last year toppled four tankers into the Mantua Creek. One tanker containing vinyl chloride ruptured and released thousands of gallons of the potentially toxic vapor into the air.

Hundreds of residents were displaced for days and many have already filed lawsuits against Conrail.

A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found there had been several malfunctions at the bridge, originally built in 1873, before the derailment. The bridge, which swung open and shut to allow vessel traffic to pass on the creek below, wasn’t locked properly when the derailment occurred, officials said.

The bridge also was the site of a 2009 derailment.

Since the bridge reopened after November’s derailment, it has been locked in position.