Woman injured in Hoboken train crash settles for $450,000

HOBOKEN — One woman who was injured (but not fatally) in the September, 2016 NJ Transit commuter train crash at Hoboken Terminal recently settled her lawsuit with the agency for $450,000.
New Jersey Transit and Metro-North Commuter Railroad are combined defendants, and Metro-North will reportedly pay the settlement as the victim boarded the NJ Transit train in Rockland County N.Y.
24-year-old Megan McGuinness was riding N.J. Transit Train 1614, heading to the Hoboken train station from Pearl River, N.Y., on her way to Pace University, when the train crashed into the terminal.
There was one fatality: Young mother Fabiola Bittar de Kroon of Hoboken, who had a daughter in day care here. Her daughter and widower husband have since moved to Brazil.
The crash injured at least 100 people.
The train was traveling at twice the speed limit when it slammed into the platform. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the crash was caused by the train engineer’s undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that makes restful sleep difficult and can thus cause fatigue and drowsiness during the day.
McGuinness suffered facial and psychological injuries, according to a press release from her attorneys, including a laceration to her lower lip that ripped through the skin and muscle and required multiple surgeries.
Since the crash, NJ Transit has improved its sleep apnea screening process and has been installing positive train controls which is technology which would help stop trains automatically.