(The following story by Gregory Richards appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on February 7.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Two crewmen injured in a head-on collision of two CSX Corp. freight trains in Southampton County in September 2005 settled their lawsuits against the Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad last week, officials said.
Details of the deal between CSX and Petersburg resident Anthony J. Griffin and Richmond resident William H. McCourt are confidential, said their attorney, Richard N. Shapiro of Virginia Beach. Griffin and McCourt, along with David A. Priester Jr., sued the railroad for $11.8 million last summer in Norfolk federal court.
All six crewmen injured in the crash have now settled with the railroad, Shapiro said. Priester, also of Richmond, settled his case in October.
A federal judge determined in October that errors by a CSX dispatcher played a direct role in causing the crash, according to Shapiro.