Amtrak sued after employee injured when train derailed

An Illinois man is suing over claims he was injured while employed as a conductor when a train derailed.

Michael Thomas filed a lawsuit March 5 in the Cook County Circuit Court against National Railroad Passenger Corp., doing business as Amtrak, citing the Federal Employers' Liability Act.

According to the complaint, Thomas was working for Amtrak as a conductor on Oct. 21, 2012, when the train he was on derailed and crashed in Niles, Mich., due to a switch not aligned properly.

Thomas is being represented in the case by attorney Patrick J. Harrington of Harrington, Thompson, Acker & Harington Ltd.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L002643.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.