Suicide Payoff
If you jump in front of a train, is it the train driver's fault if he doesn't stop in time to run you over? Maybe. Back in 1977, Milo Stephens tried to commit suicide in this way and later sued the New York City Transit Authority for running him over. The TA gave him a settlement payment of $650,000 rather than going to trial.
A Time magazine article (Jan 9, 1984) explains why the TA opted for the settlement rather than fighting it:
A Time magazine article (Jan 9, 1984) explains why the TA opted for the settlement rather than fighting it:
The new rules, known as comparative negligence, allow a jury to assess the percentage of fault on each side and apportion damages accordingly. This is what worried Richard Bernard, general counsel for the Transit Authority. Stephens' injuries, based on other recent jury awards, "would have justified a verdict of, say, $3.5 million," observes Bernard. If the jury then found that Stephens was only 75% responsible for the accident, the Transit Authority might have been liable for $875,000, plus the cost of going to trial, thus making a $650,000 settlement 'favorable from our point of view.'
Comments
One would hope that 12 good and thoughtful people would realize that when someone jumps in front of a train, The jumper is 100% responsible for their injuries! 😖 :coolmad:
Posted by Tyrusguy on 08/04/14 at 09:05 AM
So, to recap: A legislature comprised of a large percentage of lawyers passed a law that allowed a lawyer to make a decision to make a payout of $675k on a spurious law suit to a man who, most likely was represented by a lawyer that was working on a contingency fee of anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the payout.
Nothing to see here... move along.
Nothing to see here... move along.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 08/04/14 at 10:16 AM
Which is why I try to vote people into office who are not lawyers.
Posted by RobK on 08/04/14 at 12:16 PM
Maybe the railroad awarded the money because their driver was said to have "failed to stop in time to run [the plaintiff] over." Imagine the anguish the poor man went through waiting for another train to run over him.
Posted by Phred22 on 08/04/14 at 01:38 PM
"The train should have been stopped before it ran him over."
Sorry, son. You can't fool Father Physics.
Sorry, son. You can't fool Father Physics.
Posted by KDP on 08/04/14 at 02:31 PM
Well, it did cost him an arm and a leg to get his legalized blackmail money. :lol:
Posted by Skyte on 08/04/14 at 02:57 PM
The transit authority should have turned around and sued him for damage to the train and for the disruption his action caused. The driver should also have sued him for the mental anguish he suffered from running over a person.
I know that Union Pacific RR would sue people who were hit at marked crossings (or sue their estate). Hitting a car can do a lot of damage to an engine, repairs are outrageously expensive, and it's not like they can call up Hertz for something to use while theirs is in the shop. My memory isn't what it used to be (I recall that my memory used to be good), but I want to say they sued for a little more than $100,000 in the early 1970s when a guy tried to drive around the gate at a crossing and didn't make it ("didn't make it" as in car shredded and they had to send out a team to pick up parts of his body from a mile-long stretch of track).
I know that Union Pacific RR would sue people who were hit at marked crossings (or sue their estate). Hitting a car can do a lot of damage to an engine, repairs are outrageously expensive, and it's not like they can call up Hertz for something to use while theirs is in the shop. My memory isn't what it used to be (I recall that my memory used to be good), but I want to say they sued for a little more than $100,000 in the early 1970s when a guy tried to drive around the gate at a crossing and didn't make it ("didn't make it" as in car shredded and they had to send out a team to pick up parts of his body from a mile-long stretch of track).
Posted by Phideaux on 08/04/14 at 04:30 PM
If you jump in front of a train, you - or your heirs - should be made to pay for every last penny of the driver's psychological treatment afterwards. If that makes you even more depressed, well, f&ck; you, you just proved that you deserve it.
I pass no judgement on people who commit suicide, for many, many reasons. But jumping in front of a train? No, that's a lowlife move. Never. No matter how desperate I get, I'll never jump in front of a train.
I pass no judgement on people who commit suicide, for many, many reasons. But jumping in front of a train? No, that's a lowlife move. Never. No matter how desperate I get, I'll never jump in front of a train.
Posted by Richard Bos on 08/05/14 at 03:15 PM
Turning one's own depression into someone else's lifelong horror is inexcusable. The man found out something that I have said before, dying is not always the worst thing that can happen to you. No amount of money can buy back an arm and a leg, state of the art prosthetics perhaps, but that is by no means the same thing. He still has to wake up everyday knowing that he did that to himself, no amount of money changes that either.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/05/14 at 07:20 PM
I know of a New York lawyer (there are probably many) who could cut a deal. For a fraction of that 'settlement' he could arrange for a personal assistant to the plaintiff who would guarantee that the next suicide attempt would be successful - and soon.
Posted by tadchem on 08/06/14 at 02:08 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x2m6i4KFqg
The train operator would have a case agaist the vulcher lawyers. They made my PTSD much worse. If I were one of the 12, it would be a slam dunk.
The train operator would have a case agaist the vulcher lawyers. They made my PTSD much worse. If I were one of the 12, it would be a slam dunk.
Posted by BMN on 08/08/14 at 01:45 AM
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Category: Lawsuits | Suicide | 1970s