2 Indian Americans Injured in Deadly Crash at Hoboken Train Terminal Settle with NJ Transit

Nearly five years after a deadly crash at the Hoboken terminal, New Jersey (NJ) Transit has reached settlements in lawsuits filed by the family of a woman killed and others injured in the 2016 crash. “The train slammed through a barrier in Hoboken Terminal on Sept. 29, 2016,” NJ.com reported. 

NJ Transit spokesperson Nancy Snyder told NJ.com that settlements were reached on the evening of May 12. The agency did not specify the amounts of the settlements, but said each was more than $500,000.

Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, a 34-year-old Brazil-born lawyer was killed by falling debris in the crash. De Kroon was at the station after having just dropped off her 2-year-old daughter at daycare. 

The other people who settled lawsuits with the agency for injuries were Deepti Chanana Bhalla of Hoboken; Bagyalakshmi Subramaniam of Bergenfield, and Sheldon Kest of Tenafly. Attorneys Tom Kline and Bob Mongeluzzi, who represented the De Kroon family, Subramaniam and Kest, told NJ.com that their clients were trying to move on with their lives. “They remain hopeful that NJ Transit will undertake and continue to undertake the necessary safety measures and precautions to ensure a tragedy like the fatal train crash at Hoboken never happens again,” they said in a statement. 

As per the NJ.com report, “a $10 million lawsuit filed by Bhalla, “who was injured by falling debris while exiting the station to go to her job as a finance manager two blocks away.” Her attorney Marijo Adimey told northjersey.com that his client, “who was on the platform at the time of the crash, became trapped under a pile of debris.” 

Citing her lawsuit, the NJ.com report said her “injuries included fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, lacerations of the spleen, liver and kidney bleeding and lacerations to her lower extremities.” 

Adimey said Bhalla “underwent multiple surgeries during her prolonged hospitalization, followed by a physical therapy regime that continues until today. Emotionally, the impact this catastrophe has had on her is immeasurable, requiring her to seek psychological counsel and require psychological medications to get through the day.”

Subramaniam, “who was on the train, received multiple facial and nasal fractures requiring surgical internal fixation, swelling, bruising, scarring disfigurement and amnesia,” north jersey.com reported. 

More than 100 people were injured in the crash. Investigators found that the engineer suffered from sleep apnea. NJ Transit has since increased medical screenings for personnel and installed positive train control systems.