Imagine you're riding a commuter train to work during the afternoon rush hour, as perhaps you do every day, and shortly after entering a tunnel one of the cars suddenly derails (CBS Chicago). The tunnel quickly fills with smoke and chaos ensues.
That happened more than three years ago on CTA's Blue Line, as no doubt many Chicagoans recall, leading to 152 injuries and thankfully no deaths. While many of the injuries have healed, the psychological trauma of at least one victim persists to this day, according to his negligence suit.
Eddie Martinez, a passenger on that fateful train in July of 2006, recently was awarded $135,000 by a jury (CBS Chicago) for long-term psychological injuries. Other suits stemming from the accident have been settled out of court but this is the first verdict.
Illinois injury attorney Jeff Kroll, Martinez's lawyer, commented to reporters about the jury's understanding of his client's injuries:
"They understood and appreciated today not only what he's gone through, but what he's going to go through for the next four to six years of his life. He has anxiety. He is reliving this."
Martinez takes the train to work because that's his only practical option, which means he was back on the train just days after the frightening ordeal that left him psychologically scarred.
The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the accident on poor management and a failure to report defective tracks (CBS News), which no doubt added legitimacy to Martinez's claim. CTA cleaned house by firing at least five workers involved with the botched inspections and pledged to step up its game.
But CTA train derailments still happen, some of them blamed on driver error. Life is full of risks, though, and the El still has a better safety record than personal (i.e. car) transportation.
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Safety on CTA Rail Lines in Chicago (Associated Content)
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Chicago Transit Authority (home page)
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Complaints Against CTA Keep Climbing (Chicago Talks)
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