Nov 26, 2013 in News Rail Accidents

Rail Accidents: Accidents can happen to transit workers

[caption id="attachment_5532" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo credit: K_Man SXC)[/caption]

In the early morning of September 14, 2012, two Toronto transit workers shifted their work from the southbound tunnel site near Yorkdale subway station, to the northbound site. Neither of them alerted the TTC control office as they were supposed to.

While 49-year-old Peter Pavlovski and a co-worker continued to work on the northbound site, they were unaware that a worker car was headed southbound. The driver of that car was also unaware that the two men were working on his travelled track. Pavlovski didn't hear the car and was hit. His co-worker was injured, but survived.

If you don't consider the circumstances it appears to be solely the victims fault, however it was 4:45 a.m. and if they hoped to finish their necessary work before Torontonians clustered along subway lines, they wouldn't waste time on the phone with the control office. Tight time constraints is common for most night shift workers. Since subways weren't running during the hours that they worked, it seemed unnecessary to let anyone know which part of the track they were working on. Often, the phones that they used weren't reliable either. It was part of the reason why workers communicated their whereabouts less diligently.

This happened just over a year ago but as recently reported by the Toronto Star, the TTC has admitted that its night crew often disregarded basic safety measurements as a way to save time.

Some changes have been made since the incident. All TTC workers participate in additional safety training. Fifteen new safety experts have been hired to work on every area of the TTC. The use of a safety precaution used by workers during subway operating hours where they set up a blue light at the end of the tunnel as a signal of their presence, known as the blue-light system, might be extended to when the subway isn't running. Also under consideration is the installation of a new track warning system.

Toronto's subway system has 74 stations between its four lines ? Yonge-University-Spadina, Bloor-Danforth, Scarborough and Sheppard. Yearly, the subway carries around 460 million Torontonians, but on a typical weekday, the system shuffles about 1.6 million people across the city.

Unfortunately, Pavlovski isn't the only worker who has died while maintaining the TTC. In 2007, Antonio Almeida, 38, died in a work train accident. While driving a train through the subway tunnel, equipment made contact with the wall, snapped back, struck and killed him. Two other co-workers were injured in the accident.

Transportation accidents, accidental death and the personal damages they leave behind is a part of personal injury law. At Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers, we have over 40 years of experience in handling all types of accidents. We know the impacts they have on your life and the life of your family members and we know how to help you. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come talk with us.