Frederick Simmons, the 51-year-old man who lost both his legs and a hand after being struck by the 2 train at East 180th street in 2007, was awarded $6 million by a jury yesterday. Simmons' lawyer successfully argued that the train operator waited too long to slow the train once it became apparent that Simmons was on the track. "The fact is she saw something on the tracks but never stopped the train in emergency stopping mode," his attorney tells the Daily News.
While the MTA attempted to prove that Simmons was leaning precariously over the tracks, juries haven't been very receptive when the MTA's attorneys blame the victims for their injuries, even when the victim has been drinking. An admittedly drunk man won a $2.3 million settlement after the N train severed one of his legs. And the man who was caught between the train and a moving platform (in horrifying detail) is suing the city for $15 million, despite admitting to drinking earlier in the evening and several witnesses claiming he was drinking a beer on the platform.
