Witnessing repeated prepare deaths left Florida conductor with PTSD, $60M lawsuit alleges | EUROtoday

A former conductor for Brightline Trains Florida LLC is suing the corporate for $60 million, saying the quite a few occasions he has witnessed folks die from prepare impacts have left him with psychological well being points.

Darren Brown Jr filed his lawsuit in federal court docket on Tuesday towards Brightline and guardian firm Fortress Investment Group LLC. He accuses his former employer of fostering an organization that “normalized frequent fatalities, minimized emotional responses to trauma, and stigmatized requests for mental-health support.”

The lawsuit additional alleges that Fortress and Brightline created an unsafe work surroundings, have been negligent about security violations, and put him in conditions the place he was uncovered to “foreseeable and preventable” traumatic occasions that left him with psychological scars.

“By persistently underfunding safety measures, delaying necessary upgrades, and prioritizing Fortress’s financial goals over risk reduction, Defendants created an unreasonably hazardous work environment for Brightline Crews,” the lawsuit claims.

Ashley Blasewitz, Brightline’s media director, stated the corporate doesn’t touch upon ongoing litigation.

Brown started working for Brightline in 2017 and finally give up in 2023. He was recognized with submit traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD) after witnessing deaths on the tracks and different traumatic conditions over the course of his work with the corporate.

He says that his psychological well being has deteriorated to the purpose the place he has been “effectively forced out of the railroad industry,” which has brought on him substantive financial and non-economic damages.

Earlier this yr, Brown informed reporters in Florida that he had been in 16 deadly prepare incidents throughout his time with Brightline. The Miami Herald and WLRN have been in a position to verify eight of the 16 he talked about.

Brown describes one of many alleged incidents within the lawsuit. A deadly crash in February 2022 noticed Brown’s prepare rip a automobile in half after it drove onto the tracks. Brown was compelled to exit the prepare and rush to the automobile, the place he discovered the 55-year-old driver “crashed and pinned inside, screaming in agony.”

He stated he watched as the person was dragged, nonetheless alive, out of the crushed stays of the automobile and transported to a close-by hospital.

Brown argued that the incident and others prefer it “reinforced Plaintiff’s awareness that high-speed operations through unfenced, high-risk corridors created constant exposure to violence and death.”

In addition to the claims concerning his psychological well being, Brown additionally alleged that Brightline compelled him to do work he was by no means skilled for, together with “visually confirming” whether or not or not victims of prepare accidents have been lifeless. He notes within the lawsuit that he has “no medical or forensic training.”

He additionally stated he’d be compelled to re-board his trains and proceed his shift whereas carrying clothes that had been uncovered to “biological matter, vehicle fluids, and hazardous debris.”

Brown additionally accused Brightline of forcing him and others to maintain working at witnessing ugly deaths throughout their shifts. He accused the corporate of urging employees to “take it to the next station” and to “keep things moving” or to maintain working “as a favor” to the corporate.

When conductors concerned in grisly accidents did request go away, Brown claims they weren’t handled as if they’d simply been by means of one thing traumatic.

“A conductor who struck and dismembered a pedestrian received essentially the same leave as someone who hit a shopping cart,” the lawsuit claims. “Employees who had been exposed to multiple fatalities, like Plaintiff, received no enhanced support.”