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Drunk Man Wins $2.3 Million for Falling in Front of Subway
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 18, 2009
Modified Feb 18, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 18, 2009
Modified Feb 18, 2009
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Dustin Dibble says he was so drunk he doesn't remember being run over by an N train in the Union Square subway station in April of 2006, but his intoxicated condition didn't stop a jury from awarding him $2.3 million last week. Dibble had part of his right leg amputated after the incident, and he says he'll use the money to cover his medical expenses. The jury agreed with lawyer Andrew Smiley's contention that the motorman had plenty of time to stop the train when he spotted Dibble, 25, lying on the tracks 180 feet away, but he kept moving because "he thought it was garbage." Smiley tells the News, "They're not allowed to hit you just because you're drunk and on the track. That doesn't give the Transit Authority a free pass." The payout is double what the MTA had to cough up in 2006, when a Queens man sued after losing his legs below the knees during a drunken romp on the 7 train tracks. And last year a Columbia University study confirmed the obvious: drinking and riding the subway is stupid, unless you're willing to trade your legs for some big *cash moneys.*Photo courtesy Reidab.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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