Today, Amtrak began accepting claims for monetary compensation for people with mobility disabilities who traveled or wanted to travel to or from one of 78 stations and encountered accessibility issues. The Department of Justice (DOJ) put out a press release today with further details including the full list of the 78 stations included in the settlement.
On December 2, 2020, DOJ and Amtrak entered into an agreement. To resolve the department’s findings of disability discrimination, Amtrak will fix inaccessible stations – prioritizing stations with the most significant barriers to access – and pay $2.25 million to victims hurt by inaccessibility at the 78 stations. Amtrak will also: design more accessible stations; train staff on ADA requirements; and implement a process for accepting and handling ADA complaints.
To be eligible for monetary compensation an individual must:
- Have a mobility disability
- Be harmed physically or emotionally because of accessibility issues at one or more of the stations listed below between July 27, 2013, and December 2, 2020;
- Have lived at, visited, or desired to visit a place closer to one or more of the stations listed below than an accessible, alternative Amtrak station; and
- Submit a claim form and declaration by mail, fax, email or online to the claims administrator no later than May 29, 2021. Help is available from the settlement administrator for those who are unable to complete the claim form due to a disability.
Questions can be directed to the settlement administrator by any of the following methods:
- Online: AmtrakDisabilitySettlement.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone (toll-free): 1-888-334-6165
- TTY Telephone (toll-free): 1-866-411-6976
