New York Subway Accidents

New York residents and visitors rely on the subway to deliver them to and from work or school, to visit friends and family, and to transport them to restaurants and entertainment venues. Over half of the total number of workers in New York City use the subway each work day. In fact, New York City has the highest rate of public transportation usage of any city in the United States with more than five million people who ride subways on an average week day.

Considering the number of people who rely on the subway for transportation and the frequency of use, it comes as no real surprise that subway accidents occur.

The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), is in charge of the operation of the New York City Subway System as well as city busses. The transit authority is responsible for ensuring a safe riding experience for all subway passengers. They are responsible for the maintenance of equipment as well as the hiring and training of sober, dependable train operators and other personnel. The transit authority can be held liable for negligence that causes passenger injury or death.

• Train collisions and derailments
• Mechanical problems resulting in equipment failure
• Operator negligence
• Operator fatigue
• Below standard walkways, ramps, and curbs, etc., which may lead to slips and falls
• Assault
• Robbery
• Injuries incurred from improperly maintained train doors. Subway doors, unlike elevator doors, do not reopen automatically.
• Turn-stile-caused injuries
• Electrocution—Subway tracks contain 600 volts of electrical current.
• Lack of sufficient security—Police officers in 12 Transportation Police districts have the responsibility for keeping subway stations safe, but officers cannot possibly be on all trains or in all stations all the time.

Regardless of the cause(s) of subway accidents, subway accidents are often very serious, causing serious personal injury or even death.

• The New York City Subway System is the busiest subway system in the entire western hemisphere.
• The NYC Subway System is the fourth largest in the world behind only Seoul, Moscow, and Tokyo.
• The NYC Subway System offers service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• The NYC Subway System provided more than 1.604 billion rides to passengers during the year 2010—over five million on weekdays—over three million on Saturdays—over two million on Sundays.
• The NYC Subway System achieved a 50-year record in ridership in the year 2005 with nearly 1.5 billion riders.
• Over six thousand cars were operated by the NYC Subway System as of April, 2010.
• Many subway stations have what are called mezzanines allowing riders to enter from multiple entrances and to proceed to the correct subway platform without having to cross a street. These also allow for crossover between downtown and uptown platforms.
• Passengers must use stairs to enter subway stations where they then proceed toward station booths and vending machines to purchase their fares stored on MetroCards.
• Typical subway platforms for waiting on trains range from five hundred to six hundred feet in length.
• A single subway platform may become extremely crowded with riders since one platform often serves more than one train.
• By 2015, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has plans to order 340 subway cars which will feature cameras intended to be used by law enforcement in order to detect criminal activity.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has the responsibility for keeping subway trains, platforms and stations, and equipment in good condition. They must ensure proper lighting, timely repairs of broken equipment, and proper placement of warning signs when there are clear and present dangers. Most subway accidents involve slips and falls.

Although MTA New York City Transit offers safety refresher courses for its operators, and although daily announcements are made to operators regarding safety issues, operator error does still occur often due to negligence.

At least 55 major subway train accidents have been reported in the years since 1918 when a train headed toward South Ferry crashed into two trains stopped hear Jackson Avenue on the IRT White Plains Road Line in the Bronx. The deadliest accident in Brooklyn killed 93 people.

In 2009 the MTA faced a budget deficit of 1.1 billion dollars. There were three fare increases from the years 2008 to 2010. Reductions in service were also made including the elimination of two part-time subway lines and increased weekday headways on other lines.

Public transportation accidents and resulting injuries involve the city and state as responsible parties since subways and other transportation systems are owned or licensed by the state of New York.

New York law mandates that notice of claims as the result of personal injuries suffered in public transportation accidents be filed within 90 days of an accident’s occurrence.

At the law firm of David Resnick & Associates, PC, we serve accident victims in the metropolitan New York area and beyond.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a subway accident, contact the New York personal injury attorneys of David Resnick & Associates, PC.

Please call (212) 279-2000 or fill out our convenient online contact form!

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.