Pagan
3-25-06, 08:33 AM
This is bullshit, plain and simple. :grrr:
from the New York Daily News:
Loses To Train & Wins Big
Injured teen gets $1.4M after trying to race No. 7
BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Have the judges in Albany been hitting the bottle? The state's highest court has decided the Transit Authority should be held liable for a train hitting a Queens man - even though the man was illegally trespassing on the subway tracks after a night of drinking.
The ruling by the state Court of Appeals Thursday makes Juan Soto a millionaire with $400,000 to spare.
By a 4-to-3 vote, the judges concluded that Sojo, who was 18 at the time of the 1997 incident, was "undeniably reckless" for walking near the electrified rails in Queens along the No. 7 line.
He and his pals thought they could outrun the train when they saw it coming. His pals made it; Soto didn't. His legs had to be amputated below the knee.
Soto's lawyers argued that their client could run as fast as 8 mph - an estimate based on how he once ran on a treadmill.
Based on that calculation, a Queens jury accepted the argument that the motorman had enough time to stop the train before striking Soto - even though he never should have been on the tracks.
The ruling gave the TA an instant hangover.
"Individuals who put themselves in this type of position, and suffer injuries as a result, shouldn't be able to seek financial recovery from the public treasury," TA spokesman Charles Seaton said. "It's clear that he had no business on the roadbed."
Soto couldn't be reached for comment.
The TA had claimed that Soto had gone to a Manhattan bar with three pals, consuming six beers and a shot of whisky.
Soto's lawyer, Brian Isaac, insisted there was no proof that Soto was drunk. Isaac conceded yesterday that his client may have had as many as seven drinks, but they were spread over at least seven hours.
In any case, Isaac said, the train's motorman, who gave inconsistent statements of his observations and actions, should have spotted Sojo in time to stop his train, Isaac said.
"It's the duty of any motorist to avoid preventable accidents," Isaac said.
According to court documents, Soto and his friends had been waiting for a train at Queensboro Plaza, but became convinced that the trains weren't running. Red tape was strung between platform pillars, suggesting that subway repairs were underway.
The young men walked along a narrow path abutting the track called the catwalk. But as they neared the 40th St. station, a train materialized behind them. Hoping to reach the station first and board the train, the teens ran single file. Sojo was struck.
A jury initially awarded Soto $1.4 million, finding the TA 75% at fault. An appellate court affirmed the decision by a 3-to-2 vote.
Writing for the majority, Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick indicated that the TA might have been cleared of responsibility if Soto's actions were a bit more egregious. Ciparick cited a lawsuit filed more than two decades ago against a firecracker salesman. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an injured teenager, who was injured trying to make a pipe bomb with the firecrackers.
In a minority opinion, Judge Robert Smith asserted that Soto's own conduct was the sole legal cause of his injuries.
"I think it is fair to say the plaintiff's injuries were entirely his own fault, even if a nonnegligent motorman might have been able to stop the train in time to avoid the accident," Smith wrote.
"Anyone of normal human compassion will sympathize with plaintiff; he is not the only 18-year-old who ever acted recklessly, and he has paid a much higher price for it than most.
"But I do not think it consistent with law or wise policy to hold, as the majority does, that the New York City Transit Authority must compensate him in part for his loss."
The TA wants state legislation that would make it tougher for such lawsuits to succeed, Seaton said.
from the New York Daily News:
Loses To Train & Wins Big
Injured teen gets $1.4M after trying to race No. 7
BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Have the judges in Albany been hitting the bottle? The state's highest court has decided the Transit Authority should be held liable for a train hitting a Queens man - even though the man was illegally trespassing on the subway tracks after a night of drinking.
The ruling by the state Court of Appeals Thursday makes Juan Soto a millionaire with $400,000 to spare.
By a 4-to-3 vote, the judges concluded that Sojo, who was 18 at the time of the 1997 incident, was "undeniably reckless" for walking near the electrified rails in Queens along the No. 7 line.
He and his pals thought they could outrun the train when they saw it coming. His pals made it; Soto didn't. His legs had to be amputated below the knee.
Soto's lawyers argued that their client could run as fast as 8 mph - an estimate based on how he once ran on a treadmill.
Based on that calculation, a Queens jury accepted the argument that the motorman had enough time to stop the train before striking Soto - even though he never should have been on the tracks.
The ruling gave the TA an instant hangover.
"Individuals who put themselves in this type of position, and suffer injuries as a result, shouldn't be able to seek financial recovery from the public treasury," TA spokesman Charles Seaton said. "It's clear that he had no business on the roadbed."
Soto couldn't be reached for comment.
The TA had claimed that Soto had gone to a Manhattan bar with three pals, consuming six beers and a shot of whisky.
Soto's lawyer, Brian Isaac, insisted there was no proof that Soto was drunk. Isaac conceded yesterday that his client may have had as many as seven drinks, but they were spread over at least seven hours.
In any case, Isaac said, the train's motorman, who gave inconsistent statements of his observations and actions, should have spotted Sojo in time to stop his train, Isaac said.
"It's the duty of any motorist to avoid preventable accidents," Isaac said.
According to court documents, Soto and his friends had been waiting for a train at Queensboro Plaza, but became convinced that the trains weren't running. Red tape was strung between platform pillars, suggesting that subway repairs were underway.
The young men walked along a narrow path abutting the track called the catwalk. But as they neared the 40th St. station, a train materialized behind them. Hoping to reach the station first and board the train, the teens ran single file. Sojo was struck.
A jury initially awarded Soto $1.4 million, finding the TA 75% at fault. An appellate court affirmed the decision by a 3-to-2 vote.
Writing for the majority, Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick indicated that the TA might have been cleared of responsibility if Soto's actions were a bit more egregious. Ciparick cited a lawsuit filed more than two decades ago against a firecracker salesman. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an injured teenager, who was injured trying to make a pipe bomb with the firecrackers.
In a minority opinion, Judge Robert Smith asserted that Soto's own conduct was the sole legal cause of his injuries.
"I think it is fair to say the plaintiff's injuries were entirely his own fault, even if a nonnegligent motorman might have been able to stop the train in time to avoid the accident," Smith wrote.
"Anyone of normal human compassion will sympathize with plaintiff; he is not the only 18-year-old who ever acted recklessly, and he has paid a much higher price for it than most.
"But I do not think it consistent with law or wise policy to hold, as the majority does, that the New York City Transit Authority must compensate him in part for his loss."
The TA wants state legislation that would make it tougher for such lawsuits to succeed, Seaton said.