Latest news with #TubeAccident
Times
16 hours ago
- Times
Woman who lost limbs in Tube accident was negligent, claims TfL
A corporate affairs executive who lost an arm and a leg after being hit by two Tube trains caused her own injuries through 'negligence', Transport for London (TfL) has claimed. Sarah de Lagarde, 46, had two limbs amputated after falling into the gap between the train and platform at High Barnet station in north London in 2022. The mother of two, who was returning home from work at the City investment firm Janus Henderson, brought a High Court case against TfL and is seeking damages of more than £25 million. TfL has claimed in court documents that 'the incident was caused or contributed to by the claimant's negligence', suggesting she 'placed herself in a position of danger' because she was careless when getting off the train. • Woman who lost limbs in Tube accident seeks Sadiq Khan meeting Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, previously told TfL to avoid 'victim blaming' when passengers were injured or killed on public transport in the capital. De Lagarde, who now has an AI-operated bionic arm and prosthetic leg, was travelling home late on the Northern Line on September 30, 2022, when she fell asleep. She eventually woke up at High Barnet, at the end of the line, at 9.53pm and alighted the train, slipping on a wet platform. 'The claimant took a few steps forward onto the platform and then took a few steps backwards, before the rear of her body struck the rear side of the door of the train she had exited from,' according to TfL's court documents, first obtained by the Standard. 'The claimant continued to move backwards and, approximately seven seconds after exiting the train, she fell into the gap between carriages five and six of the train.' No one heard her cries for help and she broke her nose and two teeth in the fall. Around five minutes later, the train driver walked back through the train to get to the driver's cab to start his return journey southbound. He noticed wedged between the train and the platform De Lagarde's brown leather bag, which he later handed to lost property. He did not investigate further and TfL's submission stated that he 'did not see or hear the claimant at that point and did not look into the gap, having no reason to do so'. De Lagarde again called out for help but no one came and the train departed from the station, taking her right arm with it. She managed to reach her phone but her face was so badly injured she was unable to unlock it using Face ID. Rain meant it was too wet for the touchscreen to function. She again cried out for help and again no one came. Then a second train arrived at the station, running over her right leg. De Lagarde was not found until the driver of a train on a different platform heard her shouts and called the emergency services. Air Ambulance paramedics crawled under the train to reach her and later received a national bravery award. De Lagarde had surgery at the Royal London Hospital and was later transferred to the amputee rehabilitation unit in Lambeth, south London, until being discharged on December 1, 2022. She posted on Instagram today: 'I'm not a freak incident, I'm one of 162 people a month who get injured or killed on the TfL network. It's a systemic failure while senior leaders are enjoying their six-figure salaries and performance bonuses. The London Underground was once iconic. Now it's described as dirty and dangerous. 'While ticket prices keep increasing, service keeps declining. TfL tells us to 'See it. Say it. Sorted'. Well, if you see something that needs fixing, say it — log it with TfL and write to your MP. It's time for TfL to put passengers before profit and sort it.' De Lagarde's claim states: 'The breaches of duty caused the claimant to suffer life-changing injuries.' Thomas Jervis, the Leigh Day partner representing De Lagarde, said: 'Like millions of other Londoners, Sarah de Lagarde was just trying to get home from work when she was hit by two Tube trains at High Barnet station. Transport for London is refusing to accept liability and positively blames Sarah for what happened.' A spokesman for TfL said: 'We are responding to a legal claim brought by Sarah de Lagarde. It is not appropriate to discuss details of our defence while this case is ongoing. Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following this terrible incident and we will continue to make every possible effort to learn from any incident on the Tube network. Safety is our top priority and we will always place it at the forefront of our thinking.' The trial is due to open in January 2027.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Mother who lost her arm and leg after falling under Tube train 'contributed' to her own life-changing injuries, claims TfL amid £25m lawsuit
A mother who is seeking up to £25m in compensation after losing her right arm and leg after being hit by two Tube trains contributed to her own injuries, according to Transport for London. Sarah de Lagarde, 46, a mother of two from Camden, slipped on a wet platform at High Barnet station in north London in September 2022 and fell down the gap between the train and the platform. She also broke her nose and two front teeth in the fall, but nobody heard her desperate cries for help. After being hit by two trains, she was rushed to hospital where her limbs were amputated. The PR executive, who now uses two prosthetic limbs - including a bionic arm, has since launched a legal battle against Transport for London (TfL). However, in defence documents submitted to the High Court by TfL 's legal team and seen by the Standard, it is claimed that 'the incident was caused or contributed to by the claimant's negligence'. The London transport network says Ms de Lagarde 'placed herself in a position of danger' as she was 'negligent' in how she got off the train. Ms De Lagarde, global head of corporate affairs at City investment firm Janus Henderson, was returning home from work when the accident happened at about 10pm on September 30, 2022. She fell asleep and was woken up by another passenger at the end of the Northern Line at High Barnet station, eight miles past her stop to get home to Camden. Ms de Lagarde spoke outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London last year, directing her message to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the bosses of TfL, prior to launching legal action at the court After getting off the train, she noticed it was returning back the same way and stepped backwards to get back on. But she fell through the gap onto the tracks. TfL defence lists six grounds of Ms de Lagarde's alleged contributory negligence Failed to manage her exit from the train so that she was on stable footing when she was on the platform. Failed to walk safely along the platform so that she stepped sideways and backwards on the platform after alighting the train and fell backwards into the gap. Failed reasonably to maintain her balance. Failed to have sufficient regard for her own safety and placed herself in a position of danger. Failed to heed warnings of the existence of the gap, including announcements given on the network of the existence of a gap between trains and platforms. Failed to guard against the obvious risk of danger of falling off the platform if positioned close to its edge. According to the TfL defence: 'The claimant took a few steps forward on to the platform and then took a few steps backwards, before the rear of her body struck the rear side of the door of the train she had exited from. 'The claimant continued to move backwards and, approximately seven seconds after exiting the train, she fell into the gap between carriages five and six of the train.' Around five minutes later, the train driver walked back through the train to get to the driver's cab to start his return journey southbound. He noticed Ms de Lagarde's brown leather bag wedged between the train and the platform, which he later handed to lost property. But he didn't investigate further. TfL's defence said the driver 'did not see or hear the claimant at that point and did not look into the gap, having no reason to do so'. She called out for help, but no one came and the train left the platform, bringing her right arm with it. She managed to reach her phone but her face was so badly injured the face ID didn't work and it was too wet from the rain for the touchscreen to function, so she again tried to shout for help. But again, no one came. And then a second train arrived, running over her right leg. Standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London last February, she said: 'There were no staff on that platform, and no one was watching CCTV. No one had responded to my screams for help. 'Twenty-two tonnes of steel crushed my limbs, and, if that wasn't bad enough, I remained on the tracks undetected until the second train came into the station, crushing me for a second time. 'A few weeks before I was hit by the two Tube trains, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with my husband, which was a lifelong dream of mine. 'I felt on top of the world, and overnight all that changed. I am now severely disabled for life.' TfL say that the driver of the second train did not see Ms de Lagarde lying on the track, despite the train's headlights being on. However, TfL said their purpose was 'not to illuminate the tracks or the platform' but to make the train visible to workers on the track. Ms de Lagarde was on the tracks for 15 minutes before the alarm was raised and London Fire Brigade and London's Air Ambulance medics rushed to the scene, Three air ambulance medics helped save her life, with Dr Benjamin Marriage and paramedics Chris Doyle and Kevin Cuddon receiving a national bravery award. Mr Cuddon said: 'Sarah was trapped in a very awkward position so I crawled under the train to help the London Fire Brigade get her out. 'Together we had to carry her about 30m under the train and put her on a device to lift her up to the platform. 'She was really quiet, pale and had lost some blood.' Ms de Lagarde had stepped onto an 'accessibility hump', a slope of a ramp that is designed to make it easier for wheelchair users to board trains. An investigation by TfL found that the ramp was 'in principle compliant' with TfL's standards and that 'passengers stepping onto the base of the platform ramp is considered a sub-optimal arrangement' but was nevertheless Ms de Lagarde says 'remained conscious and continued to cry out for help'. Her claim states: 'She was left lying partially across the first rail of the track, closest to the station platform. 'The claimant attempted to manoeuvre her right foot and leg across the first rail in order to retrieve her mobile telephone. She cried out for help, but nobody came to her assistance.' She was unable to move into a recess space in the platform wall as it was blocked by a steel frame and 'excess ballast', it is claimed. It is disputed by TfL that there are different safety procedures for trains departing from a terminus station, as opposed to a station elsewhere on the line. 'The same checks are required on dispatching a train from a terminus station and a non-terminus station,' TfL said. Ms de Lagarde was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel where where she underwent surgery before being transferred to the Amputee Rehabilitation Unit in Lambeth on October 20. She was discharged home on December 1, 2022. Ms de Lagarde receives ongoing care at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. A TfL spokesperson said: 'We are responding to a legal claim brought by Sarah de Lagarde. 'It is not appropriate to discuss details of our defence while this case is ongoing. 'Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following this terrible incident, and we will continue to make every possible effort to learn from any incident on the Tube network.
