First of all, a Lawsuit in the United states is a CIVIL Court Matter, and carries NO criminal repercussions. They are decided by a single judge, no jail time can be awarded (Thrown at?) Either party regardless of the outcome. Its entirely about "Financial Recompense".
You sir need to start posting links to what you're talking about.... By all means, hit me with Legal Jargon. As long as its American Legal Jargon, since the topic at hand is the American Legal System. If you can prove me wrong on my points, by all means, feel free. Until then, I question how much of your "Comparison to the UK" Point of view accurately represents whats likely to occur.....
The foregoing legislation is encompassed under the United States “Tort Laws” which are at the very heart of the United States Constitution and the written constitutions of other western developed countries. Tort Law sets the basis of civil regulations as distinct from criminal regulations and brings about the difference between the criminal and civil courts.
First of all, I never said there were no Tort Laws. Just no Duty of Care, and on a Federal Level, I was right.... I must admit, I'm not familiar with ALL 50 States individual Sets of Law, and I would wager neither are you, or you'd be quoting it at me I'm sure.....
So, on this point, I've done the Leg work for you:
Duty Of Care written in our constitution? By all means, I'd love to see a link to that....
Tort Law.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_tort_law#Duty_of_reasonable_care
Negligence
Main article:
Negligence in the United States
Amongst unintentional torts one finds
negligence as being the most common source of common law. Most
Americans are under the impression that most people can sue for any type of negligence, but it is untrue in most US jurisdictions (partly because negligence is one of the few torts for which ordinary people can and do obtain liability insurance.)[SUP][
citation needed][/SUP] It is a form of extracontractual
liability that is based upon a failure to comply with the duty of care of a reasonable person, which failure is the
actual cause and
proximate cause of damages. That is, but for the tortfeasor's act or omission, the damages to the plaintiff would not have been incurred, and the damages were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the tortious conduct.
Some jurisdictions recognize one or more designations less than actual intentional wrongdoing, but more egregious than mere negligence, such as "wanton", “reckless” or “despicable" conduct. A finding in those states that a defendant's conduct was "wanton," “reckless” or “despicable”, rather than merely negligent, can be significant because certain defenses, such as
contributory negligence, are often unavailable when such conduct is the cause of the damages.
By State, so, no Federally Mandated "Laws".
Do the Amtrak Employees have a case at all? Yes, if Amtrak or its chosen representatives is found to be negligent. I never said otherwise, so if you're going to quote me, please quote
Duty of Care in the United States:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_of_care#United_States
United States
Because each of the 50
U.S. states is a separate
sovereign free to develop its own tort law under the
Tenth Amendment, there are several tests for finding a duty of care in
United States tort law.
IE:
A: We have no Federally Mandated Duty of Care.... Anywhere.... Feel free to read the Tenth Amendment, no mention of such.... (By the by, there are certain factions in the U.S. that would even argue that the Bill of Rights, IE all "Amendments" made after the original document, are separate from the actual Constitution. Not that I am one of those, though you might like to know since you seem to think you know more about our constitution)
B:Its left to the States. Apparently Florida and Massachusetts do, and there may be more, however I can find no mention anywhere of a "Duty of Care" law for Pennsylvania..... If you DO find something, feel free to post it and we can review it.....
IF Amtrak and its employees are absolved of Liability as the result of actions by another party however, things change dramatically, which was the whole point of my First post.....
Oh, and I HAD to ask about this:
Pennsylvania Crime Commission? You mean this?:
http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Pages/Default.aspx#.VV4xZUZqK4k
Thats for CRIMINAL proceedings only and I dare say they will have absolutely no input on whatever Case may or may not be brought against Amtrak or its Engineer in the event criminal proceedings are sought. Regardless, Amtrak, nor any representative there of, will never "do time" as a result of a *lawsuit*..... You're not a criminal until criminal charges are brought against you by an Authority empowered to do so (IE the Government), and found guilty of said charge. Civil Lawsuits following would use any findings of such a criminal case, but the lawsuit would be separate and after the fact.
Unfortunately, the difference between Civil and Criminal Courts is not something thats been readily tackled or defined by better sources then this:
http://www.civilrights.org/judiciary/courts/difference-civil-criminal-courts.html
However, having been sued in my life (And won), I would agree with their definition. Its not Wikipedia, and I would wager that a more thorough, legalese Definition exists, but I don't have time to pursue it atm..... (Again back to the crux of my first post): If Amtrak is found Criminally Innocent of Negligence, they're not Civilly Liable for anything, though they might still CHARITABLY give some cash out (It makes good PR), assuming they don't have insurance to cover whatever medical issues arise for the survivors or cost exceeds what their policy's cover..... Assuming their insurance covers things like situations they're not at fault for, I would have to assume so with the number of people they carry every year.....
So we get back to the Crux of my SECOND post.... Wait for the Freakin Investigation to be concluded and the Report to be filed before deciding what does or does not apply, because
we Don't know what happened..... Nobody short of God (And I have yet to see him show up in a Court Room) can finger Liable Parties without first finding out what happened....
Cheers
-Falcus