Families Of Mass Shooting Victims In CA To Get $8M

Families Of Mass Shooting Victims In CA To Get $8M

Introduction

Officials announced that the families of nine people killed by a coworker at a California rail yard last year will receive $8 million to settle damage claims filed in November.

The Valley Transportation Authority announced an agreement with the families of eight of the nine people killed by a colleague who then killed himself on May 26, 2021, at a San Jose rail yard.

Family members say VTA management and the main union have yet to explain why the accused, who was the subject of four investigations into his workplace behaviour, was kept on the job. The VTA and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department have conducted no public investigations.

According to two people familiar with the agreement, attorneys who represented the eight families will receive about 40% of the settlement in fees. The remainder will be divided equally among them. According to the terms of the settlement, the families agreed to drop their wrongful death lawsuits against VTA.

Families of victims have previously received one year's salary and workers' compensation death benefits. In addition, the agency agreed to pay $4.9 million in retirement benefits in the form of monthly payments of $3,000 or more.

According to the attorney who represented the eight families, the settlement amount is still low because the victims' families had few options to sue the VTA outside of the workers' compensation process. The family of one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a 63-year-old human, has not reached an agreement with the VTA. Their attorney stated that they did not believe the offer made to the family was adequate.