The Matiasic Firm, P.C. Announces Lawsuit Filed Against BART By Man Struck By Speeding Train

OAKLAND, Calif., June 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A young man struck by a BART train in October while waiting on the Balboa Park station platform filed a lawsuit yesterday in Alameda County Superior Court, naming BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT ("BART") and train operator MICHAEL GRANAT as defendants. The collision trapped the man between the station platform and BART train for hours until emergency response crews eventually freed him using hydraulic tools.

Notably, this lawsuit was filed a mere hours before yet another pedestrian was struck and injured by a BART train at the Embarcadero station on Thursday afternoon.

The lawsuit alleges that BART's platforms, electrical infrastructure, rail technology, and control systems, which date back to the 1970s, fail to conform with current safety standards and constitute widespread statutory and regulatory violations. The antiquated transit system with its unprotected platform drop-offs, endangers the safety and security of all BART passengers. Despite this, BART has failed to take proactive measures to protect the public from platform-related injuries.

The lawsuit lists numerous safety measures other transit agencies have implemented to secure platform perimeters and prevent collisions with passengers, including: track intrusion systems and thermal imaging to detect objects or people on train tracks, guards, fencing, and barricades. Versions of the safety barriers, known as Platform Screen Doors and Platform Edge Doors, separating platforms from tracks and trains, exist in transit stations in many Asian and European cities including Tokyo, Beijing, Copenhagen, Paris, and India, as well as the San Francisco International Airport's AirTrain.

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"For years, BART has known of the dangers associated with its perilous platform position relative to its tracks. Nonetheless, it continues to expose thousands of passengers a day to the danger of being hit by a train roaring into a station at high rates of speed."

"Engineeringly-simple alternatives to completely eliminate the prospect of a patron being hit by a train on the tracks have existed for decades, yet BART has done nothing to prevent these foreseeable accidents. The irony of the most innovative workforce commuting to some of the most innovative companies in the world on such an archaic, dangerous transportation system couldn't be more stark."

-     Paul A. Matiasic, Esq.
Attorney for Mr. Seymore

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Plaintiff's lawsuit seeks recovery of general damages and special damages, including Plaintiff's costly past and future medical treatment. The case is Seymore v. Bay Area Rapid Transit, et al., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. HG19021906.

SOURCE The Matiasic Firm, P.C.