Riding the subway is a basic part of the day for millions of New York City residents. Most riders get through the day without injuries, but there are still thousands of injuries each year. Most injuries are slight and may not even be reported. However, more serious injuries are often reported and could lead to personal injury lawsuits. If you or a loved one suffered an injury on a subway platform or while riding an MTA subway in New York City, talk to the Queens subway injury lawyers at Sullivan and Galleshaw today for a free consultation on your case.
Types of Injuries from MTA Subway Accidents
Most accidents on subways in NYC involve things like slips and falls on the train or platform, sudden jolts and jerks causing people to bump into each other or walls, or other simple injuries. There are rare situations where train derailment can cause more substantial accidents and injuries, and there are of course risks from falling onto the tracks. Our personal injury lawyers explain some of the more common injury types on MTA and NYC Transit subways.
Back Injuries
Most injuries occur because the rider falls during a sudden jolt or because they slipped on icy subway steps or wet surfaces. When this happens, it can be difficult to control your landing, and many people’s feet slip forward, knocking them on their backside. If you fall onto your back or backside, you can suffer serious injuries to your back and spine. A hard fall can fracture the vertebrae in your spine and potentially cause additional harm to the spinal cord. If the soft tissue between the bones in your spine becomes herniated or your spine is pushed out of alignment, this could put undue pressure on the spinal cord. You can face numbness, loss of control, or pins-and-needles sensations below the point of injury from an injury like this.
Broken Bones
Especially for elderly individuals and children, a simple fall can cause serious injuries. If you’re thrown to the ground from a jerky subway ride, slip, or trip on a subway platform, you may break bones in the fall. Older adults have more fragile bones, and a sudden fall can cause pelvic fractures, broken wrists, broken tailbones or vertebrae, and other serious injuries. Many of these broken bones can require surgical intervention and implants like pins, rods, and screws to ensure that the bones are set and heal properly. Children are also vulnerable to breaking bones in these kinds of falls. Those already dealing with injuries are also more prone to additional injuries of this type, especially if they are already on crutches or walking with a boot and have less control over their balance.
Head Injuries
Sudden stops or jolts can knock riders around. This can cause you to bump into other riders, to fall to the ground or, even if you remain seated, to bump your head into the walls or windows of the train car. If this happens with significant force, you could face head and brain injuries. Hard blows to the head can cause mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) – commonly known as a concussion. More severe accidents can cause traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can leave you with permanent effects. Brain injuries can cause cognitive and memory issues, motor control issues, personality changes, difficulty recognizing familiar objects or people, and may require ongoing medical treatment, therapy, and skilled nursing care.
Falls Onto Tracks
Most people associate falls onto tracks with suicide attempts, but the majority of falls into the track area are actually accidental. When you fall into the track area, there are a few major sources of injury. First, the fall itself can be quite long. In these long falls, you can easily face head injuries, back injuries, and broken bones, as discussed above. Coming into contact with the third rail or other exposed power couplings along the tracks can cause serious injuries or death from the high electrical current. Burns and electrocution death are not uncommon for those who fall onto the tracks. Around 42 deaths occur each year from people falling onto subway tracks, and many of them are caused by people being hit by trains. Typically, these kinds of subway accidents are deadly, but they are not nearly the most common type of accident. If a member of your family was killed this way, you may be entitled to sue the MTA and New York City Transit for their wrongful death.
Queens Public Transit Injury Lawyers Offering Free Consultations
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident on a New York City subway, or if you lost a loved one to a subway accident, talk to the Queens personal injury lawyers at Sullivan and Galleshaw today. Our attorneys have combined decades of experience handling personal injury cases and fighting to get compensation for our clients. For a free consultation on your case, contact our law offices today at (718) 843-0300.