Personal Injury Law

Quincy Woman Trapped by Boston Train When Her Purse Got Caught in Door Claims MBTA Not Taking Her Injuries Seriously

By Altman & Altman

Speaking exclusively to WHDH, Betty Velasquez says the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority is not taking the injuries she sustained when her purse, arm, and foot became trapped in a train door seriously. Velasquez, a Quincy resident, says the incident caused her to fall consciousness and temporarily lose feeling in her hand and arm. She also has suffered from dizzy spells and migraines following the MBTA accident.

Velazquez says she had to go to the hospital and underwent a CAT scan. She is on several kinds of medication and working with a physical therapist. She also has taken several weeks off from her job while she recovers.

The unfortunate Boston train incident happened at South Station on November 6 when Velasquez?s purse got caught in the train door as she tried to board. She was able to free her body from the train, but she ran next to it in an attempt to pull her purse free. Her body slammed into a wall close to the end of the platform before she freed herself.

Two MBTA workers have been disciplined over the incident. The 39-year-old train operator was suspended for 10 days and the train attendant whose job it is to observe the doorways and platform was fired.

While the MBTA says it is fortunate that Velasquez wasn?t seriously injured, her Boston injury lawyer says that his client?s injuries were definitely not minor ones.

Train Door Accidents
Train doors are supposed to be properly maintained and train workers must make sure that the doors and platform area are clear for departure. Train doors also must be closed properly before a train can leave a station. Malfunctioning train doors can cause injuries. A person boarding or exiting the train can caught in between or get hit by the doors as they shut. A passenger can fall out of a moving train if the doors open suddenly.

Injuries caused by a defective or faulty train door and/or because a MBTA worker was negligent can be grounds for a Boston injury lawsuit.

Boston subway survivor speaks out, WWLP, December 9, 2009

MBTA Train Snags Purse, Sends Woman Sprawling, The Boston Channel, December 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Full post as published by Boston Injury Lawyer Blog on December 11, 2009 (boomark / email).