Trial will determine who will pay $600 million settlement in disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment

[House of Roberts]

5. What I think is laid out very well,

is that it can't be determined if any discrepancy in protocol, by either car owner or shipper, had any contributing factor in any liability, had the train not jumped off the tracks and damaged the cars. Any failure by any components is compromised by the unavoidable fact that had there been no wreck, none of these components would have been in any way a danger to the public.
If Norfolk Southern somehow wins relief in the court, it just gives them a get out of liability argument to use any time there's a derailment. If they want that kind of protection, they shouldn't be in the freight hauling business.