Vienna - Families of some of the 155 people killed in a catastrophic blaze in an Austrian tunnel last year are suing for negligency 23 companies that worked on the rail line for negligence.
Litigation lawyer Mr Ed Fagan said 16 law firms were in the process of filing lawsuits in the United States against 23 German, Austrian, Swiss and US companies on behalf of at least 85 families of the victims.
Mr Fagan said the lawsuits charged that the companies, which participated in the design, construction, maintenance or inspection of the tunnel and funicular train, were guilty of criminal negligence.
"Kaprun was a deathtrap from the time it was conceived in 1973 and never got better," said Mr Fagan, who was a key player in lawsuits seeking compensation from Swiss banks for Nazi-era victims and has experience in disaster compensation litigation.