PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A former Brightline conductor is suing his former employer and its parent company claiming the job left him with life-altering psychological damage.
Former conductor Darren Brown is demanding more than $60 million in damages and he explains why in a 230-page personal injury lawsuit.
Brown told me he's unable to speak on camera at this time. However, his federal lawsuit against Brightline and Fortress Investment Group, the private equity firm with a controlling stake in the high-speed rail, has a lot to say.
Brown wrote on his own behalf that he worked as a conductor for Brightline from 2018 to 2023.
During that time he said he was "involved in more than 10 traumatic incidents, including at least seven confirmed fatalities" two across Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Brown describes those incidents in disturbing detail, writing that he had to "leave the cab and walk… through burning car wreckage, twisted metal and debris fields contaminated with blood and bodily remains” to assess the scene.
He includes copies of his medical records showing he was diagnosed by a Brightline-contracted provider with post traumatic stress disorder as a result of these incidents, yet given what he calls inadequate support and medical leave by the company.
The suit alleges several counts of negligence claiming that many of the catastrophic collisions were avoidable, had Brightline and Fortress installed the safety improvements for which they'd received grants.
Brightline and Fortress both told me they couldn't comment on the pending litigation.
However, Brightline did share a statement with me. It reads, in part:
“Brightline is fully committed to the safety and well-being of train crews and operates in compliance with all federal laws and regulations governing rail operations. Our locomotive engineers & conductors are the backbone of our service, and we go above and beyond federal requirements in supporting them…"
They encouraged people in the community to follow the laws and be careful around the train tracks.