Brian Panish of Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP has another successful verdict!.The following was taken from Business Wire.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP Announces Record $17 Million Verdict against Los Angeles County for the Death of a Blind Man Killed by a Metro Train
Cuthbertson v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency
On January 28, 2009, Cameron Cuthbertson, a 48 year-old legally blind man, attempted to board a three-car train on the LA Metro Blue Line in Compton, California. Mistaking the gap between the second and third cars as the doorway of a train car, he stepped off the platform and into the gap, falling onto the tracks below. While attempting to climb back onto the platform, his body was crushed and severed when the train began to move prematurely, and Mr. Cuthbertson died from the injuries.
Mary Cuthbertson, the man’s mother, courageously brought the lawsuit against the County to make trains safer for blind people. Today a Los Angeles jury awarded her $17 million. For over 100 years, the hazard presented by gaps between train cars has been a well-known issue affecting visually impaired persons using transit systems throughout the country.
Mrs. Cuthbertson was represented at trial by Brian Panish and Deborah Chang of the California law firm Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP. Mr. Panish said of the verdict: “This verdict is a monument to the visually impaired residents of Los Angeles, and the world. There is no reason accidents like this should happen when there have been devices protecting the blind from the gaps between train cars for over 100 years. This verdict will be heard around the world, and will create change. Cameron Cuthbertson and his mother and family are heroes.”
CUTHBERTSON v. LACMTA
Case No. BC413070
Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County
The Hon. Yvette Palazuelos, presiding