(Area) Friday, Amtrak began accepting claims for monetary compensation for people with mobility disabilities who traveled or wanted to travel from or to one of 78 Amtrak stations and encountered accessibility issues at the stations.
Stations in Iowa included Creston, Burlington and Mount Pleasant.
On Dec. 2, 2020, the Department of Justice and Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, entered into an agreement to resolve the department’s findings of disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the agreement, Amtrak will fix inaccessible stations and pay $2.25 million to victims hurt by inaccessibility.
Claims must be submitted by May 29, 2021.
To be eligible for monetary compensation, an individual must:
- Have a mobility disability;
- Be harmed physically or emotionally because of accessibility issues, including, for example, inaccessible parking; steep slopes or steps to get to the station; lack of directional signs; toilet rooms with inaccessible entrances, stalls, or sinks; high ticket counters; deteriorated platforms; and narrow routes at stations, at one or more the stations listed below between July 27, 2013, and Dec. 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 by 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 about making claims should be directed to the settlement administrator by any of the following methods:
- Online: AmtrakDisabilitySettlement.com
- Email: info@AmtrakDisabilitySettlement.com
- Telephone (toll-free): 1-888-334-6165
- TTY Telephone (toll-free): 1-866-411-6976
For more information visit https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/225-million-fund-available-justice-department-settlement-amtrak
