A railroad company is sued for $450 million in damages for emotional distress and injuries suffered by Tennessee residents after a record-breaking flood last summer.
A part of Middle Tennessee was hit by a storm on August 21, 2021, which resulted in catastrophic flooding in Humphreys County. One of the town recorded precipitation of nearly 21 inches, which is the largest 24-hour rainfall record in a non-coastal state.
The flood resulted in the death of 20 people and even damaged properties of people, including cars and houses. The families of the individuals lost in the floods are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claiming wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress and general negligence.
As per the lawsuit, the flood was caused due to a debris-blocked culvert that was a part of the CSX Transportation railroad. It resulted in water backing up and pressurizing before being burst through the blockage and flooding the Waverly town.
The attorney representing the plaintiffs said that CSX should be held legally responsible for the incident and referred the calamity as manmade. CSX responded to the accusation by stating that the infrastructure of the culvert is regularly inspected and abides tofederal regulations.
The company has even been subjected to scrutiny in other cases related to floods. The attorneys even suggested that the company needs to build infrastructure keeping in mind the worst scenario, as per the climate change.
