After a seven year construction period, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (usually referred to simply as “Metro”) was opened in 1976. With over 90 stations throughout the metropolitan area (and several more being built), Metro is very busy. In 2015, there was an average number of 712,843 trips per weekday, totaling 215.3 million total trips. Over the years, there have been countless collisions, derailments, shootings (for Metro shooting cases our firm has dealt with, click here), injuries and deaths. WMATA has fallen under intense scrutiny in the past for its lack of foresight in safety issues and ignoring advice from experts. After a computer error resulted in the death of a metro operator in 1996, operators have been given control to manually control their trains. Since then, operators have been caught texting and performing other negligent acts, forgoing regard for the safety of their passengers. Whether the negligence falls on the driver, the operator, or the WMATA as a whole, it’s imperative you reach out to a DC personal injury lawyer to discuss your options.
In order to succeed in an injury case against Metro, you must be able to prove negligence. As a passenger of Metro, their organization has the duty to make sure you get from point A to point B without a hiccup such as one train running into another. If Metro fails and breaches this duty, and it can be proven that the accident you were in caused the damages you acquired, Metro can be found liable.
Claims against Metro range from claims against the company for the negligence of their bus drivers, to claims against the company for the negligence of their train conductors, and many other claims in between. Attorney Roger Gelb has handled claims against Metro for (i) smoke inhalation, when his client was held captive on a stopped train, while there was fire and smoke in the immediate area of the car, (ii) train derailment, and (iii) driver negligence (very common).
Although the evidence is purely anecdotal, it is the experience of Gelb & Gelb, P.C., and many other lawyers in the plaintiff’s bar, that resolving a claim amicably with Metro is exceedingly unusual. In most instances, a lawsuit must be filed in order to make a recovery. Often, there is no offer of settlement even in cases with extremely clear liability and significant damages.
It’s imperative that you call to discuss your case with an experienced attorney to discuss your options. D.C. and Maryland attorney Roger Gelb and his firm have represented over 10,000 clients and have recovered in excess of $100,000,000.00 (one hundred millions dollars) since the firm’s founding in 1954. Contact us today for a free consultation.