According to a July 19, AP report “The operator of a light-rail train that crashed [in San Francisco], injuring dozens of passengers as well as the operator, came under scrutiny on Sunday as federal investigators tried to figure out why he turned off the automatic controls moments before the accident. Ted Turpin, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the operator switched the controls from automatic to manual in a tunnel near the West Portal Station and that he never engaged the emergency brake. Had the operator kept the autopilot on, Mr. Turpin said, the train would have slowed down before arriving at the station and most likely not have careened into a parked train while going 23 miles per hour.”
Recent Fourth Department Case Law
April 6, 2009
In Kmiotek v Chaba ____ A.D. 3d ____ the Appellate Division, Fourth Department set a minimum value for spinal disc injuries. The Appellate division also upheld the trial Court’s Order directing a verdict on the issue of serious injury. This case involves an appeal from a judgment of