Consumer Rights

Q: On a winter evening in the Big City, my buddies and I consumed a quantity.  In the wee hours, we attempted to return home to our Borough.  After waiting some time for a train at an elevated subway station, where a red track-work tape extended across the platform, we decided that the train was not running.

So we walked along a path abutting the track to the next station.  After waiting for a while again, we decided to continue along the catwalk to still another station.  Before we got there, we heard a train approaching from behind and began running forward.  While attempting to get around a signal box, I came too close to the train.

According to the police report, the train operator did not see us.  Before she was able to apply the brake, the train stopped as a result of its trip cock – an emergency device that automatically activates if the train comes into contact with an obstruction.  But according to the Transit Authority report, the operator did see an ‘object’ and herself placed the train into emergency mode.  Later, the operator admitted that the object was a person, about a train car’s length away.

A: If the train operator saw you on the tracks under such circumstances as to permit her to stop, then she may be found negligent.  The operator’s duty to exercise reasonable care does not evaporate merely because you chose to go along the tracks or otherwise engage in reckless conduct.

Undeniably, your conduct was reckless, but under our doctrine of comparative negligence the jury will appropriately consider your actions and determine what share of the fault your bear.  Good luck.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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