http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#33047163
Anyone care to stick up for her?
As for myself "don't get me going"
Anyone care to stick up for her?
As for myself "don't get me going"
Railroad Forums
byte wrote:- Said $35 million award for damages was directly responsible for a fare increase all throughout the Metra system. Right or wrong, this is where most regular riders lost sympathy. Would YOU want to pay another $10-$15 for your monthly pass to compensate for such an accident?Would you refuse to pay $10-$15 more for your monthly pass to prevent another such accident (including witnessing said accident and all the delays such an accident causes on the line)? METRA lost because they didn't do what they should have done until it was too late. Unfortunately the citation ends up being paid for by the passengers and not the management/employees who made and perpetuated the error. But there were errors on the part of the railroad. Errors that need to be dealt with.
- The whole ordeal elevated her status from "great violinist on the north shore" to "violin superstar" due to the large amount of publicity and name recognition that came with her accident and its subsequent lawsuit. In effect, her career actually benefited from the accident.Without a Star Trek alternate reality machine it is hard to tell where she would have gone if it had not been for the accident. It certainly has refocused her career.
And in the end, of that $35 million which was awarded, Barton only got to keep $15 after legal fees. That's right, she didn't even get to keep half of what was awarded. This case became the trend-setting precedent for lawyers and how they began to exploit railroads for every dollar they could.That is unfortunate ... and I'm sure METRA paid their lawyers too. Lets hope that METRA's lawyers didn't clear $15-$20 million.
3rdrail wrote:I didn't know anything about the case...but I do now. What the hell, there's a legitimate case here. This isn't the guy that insured his expensive cigars against fire damage, smoked them, and then put in a claim. (When the insurance company refused, he sued and won- but the insurance co later charged him with arson !)1) She was not paying attention to where she was or fell asleep.
No matter what did or did not took place later on, at the time of the incident:
- the doors closed on her violin strap which also was around her.
- there was a question of whether she was physically trapped.
- there was a question as to whether or not the "door clear" indicator light malfunctioned.
- there was no automatic safety feature to retract the door.
- no conductor observed the doorway and cleared it at the point that it closed and prior to, and during leaving the station.
- she actually was dragged more than 300 feet (reportedly 366 ') and horribly dragged under the wheels severing one leg and mangling the other.(I can't see anybody voluntarily holding on to an item which was bringing them to almost certain death, no matter how valuable, while being dragged 300+ feet, if they could release it.)
- the only reason that she's alive is that a passenger (not train personnel) hit the emergency stop, and...
- either that passenger, or other passenger(s) applied tourniquets to her as she was bleeding to death.
- she came damned close to being killed horribly.
- she's had multiple surgeries (40+) for a period of over fourteen years.
- she is maimed for life and walks with a pronounced hobble.(I do not know if doctors were able to re-attach her leg.)
- at the very least, her professional musical career was interupted for an extended period of time.
- she's got to have emotional damage after this one.
Now - Do you think that a safety sensor on the doors should have been installed ? Do you think that the indicator light should have been checked ? Do you think that a conductor should have visually cleared the doorway for departure ? (Apparently, on-board passengers saw the whole thing.) Who applied the tourniquets ? Was it an M.D. or EMT ? If not, why was it a passenger and not a member of the train crew (on the tracks) ? Why didn't a member of the train crew signal to stop the train ? What would have happened if no passengers saw her fall and she layed on the ROW unconscious ? What sense do you get regarding METRA's control of their operation at that station and on that train that day ?
What, do you think that everything is the "bottom line" and metal and machinery, people ? Have a heart for Christ's sake ! Why was this "passed without comment", you ask ? If it were in criticism of her award, I wouldn't have commented either.