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Amtrak Employee Injured In Philadelphia Wreck Files Lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork) -- An injured Amtrak employee filed a Thursday in connection with the derailment that left eight people dead in Philadelphia this week.

Bruce A. Phillips, an Amtrak employee who was off-duty, but was aboard Northeast Regional Train No. 188 Tuesday evening, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The lawsuit is believed to be one of the first filed in connection with the Tuesday night wreck.

The suit said Phillips was on his way from Philadelphia to New York City on the train, and was taking Amtrak for convenience and "to promote Amtrak's interstate railroad transportation services."

When the derailment happened just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, Phillips was "violently hurled about the railcar, striking his body on numerous parts of the railcar interior, before slamming onto the floor."

He suffered traumatic brain injury, multiple contusions and lacerations, and multiple orthopedic and neurological injuries, the lawsuit said.

The suit accused Amtrak of negligence, claiming that the rail agency to properly and safely operate the train, operated the train too fast and in an unsafe manner, and otherwise neglected safety.

Phillips' wife, Kalita Phillips, was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, alleging loss of consortium.

The suit asked for damages in excess of $150,000 for each of four counts – including both compensatory and punitive damages.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday said the accelerated from 70 mph to more than 100 mph before it skipped the tracks.

The speed topped out at 106 mph as it entered the curve – where the speed limit drops to 50 mph, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said earlier.

Just before entering the curve, engineer Brandon Bostian of Queens applied an emergency brake. Seconds later, the train tilts about 10 degrees to the right and the recording goes blank, Sumwalt said.

Meanwhile, another body was found in the wreckage Thursday morning, bringing the death toll to eight, officials said.

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