L.A. commuter rail conductor gets $8.5 million in settlement

A Metrolink conductor injured in the 2002 crash of his commuter rail train and a freight train in Placentia, Calif., will receive $8.5 million in an out-of-court settlement with Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. Patrick Phillips, 52, reportedly suffered a mild concussion in the accident, but his lawyer argued that the injury exacerbated his existing problem with alcoholism. Jerome Ringler, Phillips' lawyer, told the Orange County Register that his client drank himself into malnutrition, dehydration and dementia following the rail crash. Phillips, who was a ticket-taker on the Metrolink commuter rail line, has retired and lives with his sister.