Lawyers clearing path for Metrolink suits

Warning grieving families and injured passengers still reeling from last month's deadly Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth to think about the future, attorneys Tuesday laid the groundwork for litigation stemming from the head-on collision that killed 25 people. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

At two town-hall meetings inside the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, lawyers spoke for two hours about a bullish corporate culture fueling the operator of Southern California's commuter rail system that they say leads to unsafe practices.

Metrolink officials knowingly send out trains with mechanical defects and encourage engineers to exceed speed limits and fudge record keeping, all to avoid being late and reap lucrative financial bonuses for arriving on time, the attorneys said.

"Their chief concern is not what it should be," attorney R. Edward Pfiester Jr. said. "And that's the safety of their passengers."

His Los Angeles-based law firm, w