MTA pays nothing in majority of lawsuits for people who are hit by trains

[Turbo19]

According to a breakdown by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, it did not pay out in 73 of the 92 'man under' lawsuits filed in the last five years.
 


^{The MTA pays nothing in majority of lawsuits filed by people who’ve been hit by subway trains, a review of recent cases shows.}

The MTA doesn’t issue an apology when someone is hit by a subway train — and it doesn’t whip out the checkbook, either.

About 90% of the 92 “man-under” lawsuits that were resolved in the last five years ended in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s favor, according to a breakdown by the MTA.

The MTA didn’t pay a dime in 73 of those cases. It dispensed with another nine cases with paltry go-away payments averaging $40,000, according to the authority’s information. Five big cases did result in payoffs totaling $33 million.

“They fight tooth and nail and they win plenty of them,” said veteran civil court lawyer Gary Pillersdorf, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of about two dozen riders or their estates.

In the MTA’s eyes, anyone who is hit by a train probably has no one else to blame but themselves, and the authority shouldn’t have to give away any taxpayer money, no matter how horrific the injuries inflicted. Riders enter the system drunk as skunks and fall onto the tracks. They sometimes moronically go to the tracks to retrieve umbrellas or cell phones. And they jump to commit suicide by train.

“We view the public interest as best served through the vigorous defense, often including trial, of lawsuits of this nature, in which individuals seek public funds after placing themselves in positions of obvious danger through their own illegal or reckless conduct,” said Martin Schnabel, general counsel of the MTA’s NYC Transit division.

 

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Personal Statement: If all else this revelation will get people to cool their jets when someone is injured due to personal fault in the MTA system. Much too often those situations and the people involved just get a massive amount of criticism, which while justified do nothing to help the situation whatsoever. With that said, discuss.

[trainfan22]

Now people can stop whining about random 12-9 victims suing the TA as the 12-9 victims don't even end up winning these suits.

[QM1to6Ave]

Who cares about the percentage of cases they win--in the few that they lose, they pay over 30 million total! That's a huge sum. I'd be curious to see more info about why those cases were seen as meritorious in the eyes of the judge or jury. The case in the rest of the article seems legitimate, but I'm intersted in the other cases.

 

Plus, although the MTA does have in-house lawyers, I am sure they pay overtime to the lawyers when they have to go to court, or contract with outside firms if they have too many cases at once, all of which costs money.  

[Turbo19]

Now people can stop whining about random 12-9 victims suing the TA as the 12-9 victims don't even end up winning these suits.

Well I hope to see that as well. To the credit of some it seems to just be mindless MTA defending for the most part, that and victim bashing.

 

Who cares about the percentage of cases they win--in the few that they lose, they pay over 30 million total! That's a huge sum. I'd be curious to see more info about why those cases were seen as meritorious in the eyes of the judge or jury. The case in the rest of the article seems legitimate, but I'm intersted in the other cases.

 

Plus, although the MTA does have in-house lawyers, I am sure they pay overtime to the lawyers when they have to go to court, or contract with outside firms if they have too many cases at once, all of which costs money.  

While you raise an excellent point that's the cost of a fair trial for anyone. No way around it unless the MTA starts counter suing the hell out of everyone who stood trial.

[QM1to6Ave]

While you raise an excellent point that's the cost of a fair trial for anyone. No way around it unless the MTA starts counter suing the hell out of everyone who stood trial.

Lol that is very true. I think I have heard of cases where frivolous cases are not only thrown out of court, but the judge immediately orders the plaintiff to pay the defendant's legal costs,  but those may be special cases. Plus, the people that are slimy enough to bring frivolous lawsuits are probably smart enough to plead poverty, too. 

[Turbo19]

Lol that is very true. I think I have heard of cases where frivolous cases are not only thrown out of court, but the judge immediately orders the plaintiff to pay the defendant's legal costs,  but those may be special cases. Plus, the people that are slimy enough to bring frivolous lawsuits are probably smart enough to plead poverty, too. 

Yep, poverty, which is why many of these lawsuits originate to begin with.

[BreeddekalbL]

what about those who were pushed? do they fall into the ones that they paid to shut up?

[46Dover]

I'm glad to hear about this. Was actually just reading about this in the Daily News. If an incident is not warranted respinsibility of Subway or Railroads, stupidity of the public will not be rewarded

[BreeddekalbL]

not for nothing in other countries if im not mistaken they bill the family of the person jumps in front of the train if it is their fault. i wonder how that would be recieved here?

[MHV9218]

not for nothing in other countries if im not mistaken they bill the family of the person jumps in front of the train if it is their fault. i wonder how that would be recieved here?

Badly. That's a tasteless gimmick that we don't need...first a close family member is gone, and then a bill? It's not even that much money.

[Grand Concourse]

For the article: good. why should the MTA have to pay for something that isn't their fault.

As for suicides or people pushed, well they are holding up service and costing god knows how much damages in counseling for crews that had to witness the traumatic events. Perhaps if people are told of the consequences of suicides, they might think twice before jumping? For people pushed, the person that did the shoving should be held responsible. Since it also seems like some of those cases were by bums, then that should be an incentive to round up all the bums in the system and keep them out. Station at least 2 cops at every station* (spread them out than at the hubs).

*stations like Canal st 6/J/N/Q/R would be like 8 cops since it is really 4 separate stations.

[rosskin92]

What happens when some one is thrown infront of a train? Ibwould say 99% of the time people getting hit are at fault, but im sure that one person out of 100 was pushed onto the tracks. Whose fault is it then?

 

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[itmaybeokay]

What happens when some one is thrown infront of a train? Ibwould say 99% of the time people getting hit are at fault, but im sure that one person out of 100 was pushed onto the tracks. Whose fault is it then? Sent from my Nokia 521 using Tapatalk

 

... uh, it would be the fault of the person that, you know, pushed someone in front of a train.  

[SubwayGuy]

Lol that is very true. I think I have heard of cases where frivolous cases are not only thrown out of court, but the judge immediately orders the plaintiff to pay the defendant's legal costs,  but those may be special cases. Plus, the people that are slimy enough to bring frivolous lawsuits are probably smart enough to plead poverty, too. 

 

The problem is that there is no penalty to the LAWYERS for filing these cases. They still profit in legal fees for drafting a document for a plaintiff, or advising.

 

I still think lawyers need to get a 3 strikes and you're out over 18 months policy regarding frivolous lawsuits. A judge should be able to declare a lawsuit frivolous. 3 by one lawyer in 18 months, and a lawyer is disbarred. It would seem to be a simple, effective deterrent to all the riffraff out there trying to make a quick buck.

[QM1to6Ave]

The problem is that there is no penalty to the LAWYERS for filing these cases. They still profit in legal fees for drafting a document for a plaintiff, or advising.

 

I still think lawyers need to get a 3 strikes and you're out over 18 months policy regarding frivolous lawsuits. A judge should be able to declare a lawsuit frivolous. 3 by one lawyer in 18 months, and a lawyer is disbarred. It would seem to be a simple, effective deterrent to all the riffraff out there trying to make a quick buck.

I like the idea, but I don't think I'd trust most judges to make that decision. Most of them started off as sleazy lawyers themselves 

[Interested Rider]

The key here is to have the persons who are bought to the court one of these cases, to pay the court costs and all legal fees and this should include the injury to the workers which is never discussed. To say that each and every time that a lawsuit is filed against the MTA that there are no costs involved is not correct as the MTA has to pay for the lawyers to fight the case in the first place so there are still costs to the agency.

 

No matter how many announcements are made or signs posted about not doing these things, there will always be some idiot who will claim that the problem was the MTA. This person will find some lawyer who will take the case and defend this person even though their own stupidity was the reason. This reminds me of the individuals that are convicted of a crime and then file a lawsuit as the food in the jail was not good enough to their liking..(Yes! it has happened).

 

What should be noted is if the courts makes the person pay the legal fees, I bet anything that the person will either claim poverty or declare bankruptcy (or both). This will prove something that was known from the beginning that the goal was a quick payday, nothing else.

 

 

[SubwayGuy]

The key here is to have the persons who are bought to the court one of these cases, to pay the court costs and all legal fees and this should include the injury to the workers which is never discussed. To say that each and every time that a lawsuit is filed against the MTA that there are no costs involved is not correct as the MTA has to pay for the lawyers to fight the case in the first place so there are still costs to the agency.

 

No matter how many announcements are made or signs posted about not doing these things, there will always be some idiot who will claim that the problem was the MTA. This person will find some lawyer who will take the case and defend this person even though their own stupidity was the reason. This reminds me of the individuals that are convicted of a crime and then file a lawsuit as the food in the jail was not good enough to their liking..(Yes! it has happened).

 

What should be noted is if the courts makes the person pay the legal fees, I bet anything that the person will either claim poverty or declare bankruptcy (or both). This will prove something that was known from the beginning that the goal was a quick payday, nothing else.

 

Unfortunately, lawsuits on behalf of train operators affected are never brought by the MTA - they must be brought by those train operators themselves.

 

There was an example (this was told to me verbally, so the accuracy may not be 100%) several years back of a guy who tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a speeding express train and mistimed it...the train slammed into him, and the train operator, who had his arm outside the window, suffered a badly broken arm as a result of this individual "hitting" it. After the initial round of lawsuits, the train operator sued the jumper (who survived) for his injuries and won.

 

More should do this...particularly the ones who are never able to return to operating a train and either voluntarily take demotions, or leave transit altogether.