Trains, buses and even ferries are efficient forms of mass transit. They help large numbers of people travel quickly and efficiently to routine and planned destinations. Communities that have strong public transit systems can facilitate economic participation even by those who cannot or will not purchase and maintain their own vehicles. Therefore, such systems represent a net positive for society.
As with most parts of life, public transportation comes with certain risks. Big mass transit vehicles can cause severe injuries in their failure. The people who work in public transportation, like train operators, are also in the position to do far more harm with a single mistake than those in personal vehicles could ever imagine causing.
A recent light rail train crash in Malaysia shows how one person could endanger the lives of hundreds of other people.
A train operator drove in the wrong direction
A crash between any two vehicles can produce devastation, but that is especially true when the vehicles involved are light rail trains. On Monday, May 24, 2021, two light rail trains in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia collided. Although one was empty besides the operations staff, the other, fully automated train had 213 passengers on board.
The collision, which left more than 20 people hospitalized, was the result of a mistake by the employee operating the empty train. They traveled the wrong direction and put hundreds of lives at risk with that one mistake. This crash is a perfect example of how a seemingly perfect system, which had operated 23 years without a crash, could quickly fail and leave many people fighting for their lives.
Those hurt on mass transit often have legal rights
Injuries that occur on mass transit can happen for all kinds of reasons. If you get on a train while under the influence of alcohol and lose your balance because you didn’t sit down, you probably don’t have a very strong liability case.
However, in a scenario where it is clear that faulty maintenance played a role or where employee negligence or misconduct led to your injuries, you may be in a position to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and even property damage that you suffered because of that transportation incident.
