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Man Crushed By Subway Platform Extender Wins $10 Million In Lawsuit
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Oct 27, 2016
Modified Oct 27, 2016
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By
Nathan Tempey
Published Oct 27, 2016
Modified Oct 27, 2016
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Jurors awarded $10 million to the man who survived being crushed between a subway platform extender and a train in the Union Square station in 2010. Michael Dion sued after suffering a commuter's worst nightmare in December 2010, when he fell into a gap between the platform and a 4 train and, as he tried to climb back up, was pinned by the extender.
It took nearly a half hour before an electrician came along and was able to disengage the hydraulic extender. In the meantime, as the Daily News reports, because the extender is programmed to keep trying to reach the train until it's touching it, the teeth re-extended into Dion's abdomen 167 times. The crushing left Dion, a marketing executive, with pelvis fractures, severe organ damage, and internal bleeding.
His lawyer said in court that he is still being treated for physical and psychological problems stemming from the incident.
The MTA told the News it is going to ask the judge to reduce the payout because Dion had been drinking when he fell, which Dion's lawyer argued had nothing to do with what led to the crushing. In addition to the unobstructed gap, none of the MTA workers on hand were trained in how to retract the extender.
"They just stood there watching," lawyer Jay Dankner said.
We've reached out to the MTA to see if it has made any safety upgrades to the Union Square 4/5 platform since the incident, or changed its training regime. We will update if we hear back.
Tagged
4 train
commuter nightmare
crush
extender
lawsuit
MTA
personal injury
subway
union square
Nathan Tempey
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