What steps do you need to take after a subway accident?

Riding the subway is one of the easiest ways of getting around New York. Often, it’s a much quicker mode of transport than walking, ridesharing or hailing a taxi. Yet, the system’s tracks and trains are aging, which can increase riders’ risk of injury. If you sustained injuries from a subway accident, you must know what steps to take afterward.

Determining liability

To hold the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) accountable for your injuries, you must prove its negligence led to them. This negligence may have stemmed from employees’ failure to maintain trains or tracks. Or, it may have occurred due to a conductor’s mistakes. In either case, the agency has breached their legal duty to customers’ safety.

The MTA may be liable for your injuries if you sustained them from:

• Derailment

• Faulty doors

• Improper train or track maintenance

• Defective train or track parts

• Slick or obstructed floors

• Abrupt stops

Yet, another passenger may have assaulted you. Or, you might have slipped and fell on a train platform. The MTA, then, did not directly cause your injuries. But they could still face liability because you sustained them on its property.

Making your case

The MTA is a public benefit corporation operated by the state of New York. This status allows it certain legal protections that government agencies are afforded. And these protections will require you to take special steps before filing a lawsuit against the agency. Before pursuing yours, you must file a notice of claim, which informs the MTA of your intentions. The statute of limitations for filing this notice is 90 days after your accident. For filing a lawsuit, the statute of limitations extends to one year and 90 days after your accident.

If you sustained injuries while riding the subway or on MTA property, you have ways to hold the agency accountable. Consulting with an attorney can help you understand your options for doing so.