NYC subway pays $2.3 million jury verdict

2009-02-19 03:06:01 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Personal Injury)

Wiki Image:Metro Transit Authority dinged $2.5 million jury verdict

25 year-old amputee recovers $2.3 million Manhattan jury verdict after train amputates leg.

New York, NY (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–A 25 year-old Brooklyn man recovered a $2.3 million jury verdict, in a Manhattan courtroom on February 9 as reported by the New York Post on Wednesday. Dustin Dibble and his lawyers sued the New York City Transit Authority after he lost his leg. Dibble was run over by an N train at the 14th Street subway station in the early hours of April 26, 2006, after he fell on the tracks.

According to court records, the young man, who was an investigator for Bergdorf Goodman, had gone to an Upper West Side bar on the evening of April 25, 2006, where he, admittedly, continued to drink himself into intoxication. At approximately 1:50 a.m., while he was attempting to return to Staten Island, he fell onto the rail tracks, and an oncoming subway ran over him severing his right leg just below the calf.

The lawyers representing the NYC Transit argued, if Dibble hadn’t been so drunk with a blood alcohol level of 0.18 more the twice the legal limit, he wouldn’t have fallen on the tracks. Dibble’s attorneys informed the jury, even though Dibble was so intoxicated he has no recollection of the rail accident, NYC Transit operators are obligated to stop a subway train. Transit motormen must stop when they see large objects on a track, even if they can’t identify the object. The subway train operator ,who has since deceased after suffering a massive stroke, Michael Moore, admittedly saw something on the tracks he thought was garbage. The longtime Metro Transit Authority (MTA) veteran, with a stellar operating record, testified, in deposition, he thought it was garbage. Moore further stated he couldn’t stop every time he saw garbage on subway tracks because the MTA rail system was littered with garbage and trains would never arrive anywhere.

The New York City jury returned a $3.5 million verdict finding Dibble 35% responsible bringing his compensation for his damages and injuries to roughly $2.5 million before attorney’s fees. NYC Transit officials are reviewing the verdict and have the right to an appeal.

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