What are your rights if you are struck by a New York City Train or Subway?

Every day, thousands of commuters use the New York City Subway system to travel within the five boroughs to go to work, to hang out with friends, to go to a museum, to go to a sporting event and more. But imagine while going about your normal routine, the worst case scenario happens and you accidentally fall onto a New York City Subway track and get hit by the incoming train and suffer a personal or catastrophic injury. If that worst case scenario does happen, it is very important to know your rights as you may be entitled to a monetary reward for any personal injuries or catastrophic injuries suffered as a result of the negligence of the MTA or NYCTA.

The first right you need to be aware of is timing as timing is very crucial in these scenarios. If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury of a catastrophic nature such as amputation as a result getting struck by a New York City Subway car or train, you only have 90 days from the date of the accident to file a notice of claim. That 90 period is strictly enforced so if that 90 day period passes, you will be unable to be rightfully compensated for any catastrophic or personal injuries you suffer as a result of negligence by a New York City Subway train operator.

Now that you know about the timing requirement the next step is to understand what negligence is and what standard of care the MTA, NYCTA, have to abide by to ensure a commuter’s safety. According to past case law like Coleman v. New York City Transit Authority, in a situation where a train operator sees a person on the tracks from a distance and such other circumstances as to permit the train operator in the exercise of reasonable care to stop the train before hitting the person, the failure to avoid the accident may be found to be negligent. Simply, the MTA and the NYCTA have a duty of reasonable care to avoid any and all train accidents if possible and keep commuters safe. If that duty is breached, it is possible that the injured party would be entitled to monetary damages

Another important thing about that duty of reasonable care the MTA and NYCTA owes to train and subway riders is that it is not eliminated as a result of an injured party’s conduct. For example, if after a night in Manhattan with your friends or family, you or a loved one had an alcoholic beverage or two, and while waiting for the subway to take you home safely you lost your balance and fell onto the subway track. If you were then hit by an incoming train or subway, you still may be entitled to monetary damages for any personal injuries of a catastrophic nature such as an amputation. This is because according to the case Soto v. New York City Transit Authority, the train operator’s duty of reasonable care to stop the train and avoid the accident is not abated through a person’s conduct like alcohol consumption or any other conduct which may be considered to be legally negligent or reckless.

Further according to Huang v. New York City Transit Authority, if the train operator, subway conductor, or another NYCTA or MTA employee failed to follow any rules and regulations and of the agency and the failure to follow the rules or regulations resulted in an accident which causes catastrophic or personal injuries, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation for those injuries suffered.

Subway or train accidents can cause serious personal injuries that can result in leg amputations, as well as other severe, permanent, and catastrophic injuries. As a victim of a subway accident due to the MTA or NYCTA’s negligence, you may be entitled to monetary rewards for things like: past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, future home aide expenses as well as future lost earnings.

The Licatesi Law Group is a firm with past experience in helping injured victims recover monetary damages in cases which resulted in severe personal and catastrophic injuries such as leg or limb amputation as well as worked on and researched case law regarding subway and train accidents. If you’ve been injured and need help, now that you know your rights, contact us now at 516-227-2662.