Settlements Exceed $500,000 Over Kentucky Train Derailment

Louisville, Ky., Metro Government has paid more than $525,000 to settle 23 claims stemming from a train derailment at the Louisville Zoo in 2009. The city has spent another $176,000 in legal fees in defending the lawsuits.

The accident sent 22 people to hospitals after the open-air train flipped onto its side.

So far this month, the city has paid $150,000 to settle seven claims, according to The Courier-Journal of Louisville. The newspaper cited records provided under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Six more claims are pending from those who aboard the train.

Those claims will be mediated for settlement. The newspaper says they are expected to be the most costly because they include people with some of the most serious injuries.

The train carried 29 passengers and the driver.