San Francisco Blog

Jim Herd

A handful of trial attorneys with years of experience litigating against public transportation agencies, train systems, and Muni told SF Weekly that elements of this weekend's West Portal train collision could come together to form a legal perfect storm that drains many millions of dollars from the city's coffers.

On Monday, SF Weekly broke the story that the Muni drivers' union claims train operators routinely flouted safety rules in the subterranean tunnels by switching off the automatic guiding system early -- and did so with management's tacit blessing as this improved the system's on-time performance (Muni officials deny this charge, albeit vaguely).

If this allegation turns out to be true -- if Muni management turned a blind eye to an everyday instance of safety violations which, in turn, led to a massive pileup that hospitalized nearly 50 riders -- then the city's liability could be astronomical.

"Bypassing safety systems? That's about the worst thing you can do," said San Francisco attorney Claude Wyle, who believes he may have litigated more than 50 cases against Muni since 1982. If a lawyer can convince a jury that Muni gave its approval -- tacit or otherwise -- for drivers to violate safety rules, then the sky's the limit as far as damages: "Drivers don't show up at work and say 'Today I'm going to bypass all the safety systems.' This doesn't happen in a vacuum. These are the kinds of facts that create bigger jury verdicts than usual. ... With this case, I don't think a lawyer will have a hard time getting a jury really angry [at Muni]." 

Newport Beach attorney Brian Chase echoed Wyle's claims. Normally the problem with handling a jury trial against a public transportation agency is that jurors -- understandably -- worry about "their tax dollars funding a verdict." Yet, in this instance, "my experience is jurors are less concerned about that when you have a 'righteous case.' If [allegations of Muni management allowing safety violations in order to pad on-time performance] is accurate, it will be devastating to the city."

By the way -- if Muni were a private agency, the potential liability could be even worse. State law prohibits suing government entities for punitive damages. Riders injured in the crash are limited to requesting compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering; the latter includes emotional distress.

None of the half-dozen lawyers SF Weekly spoke with would ballpark what sort of payout Muni could be facing beyond the vague -- and scary -- "many millions." But Chicago attorney Robert Clifford, who has handled many aviation- and train-related injury claims, said San Francisco's Muni crash reminds him a great deal of one of his more headline-grabbing cases.

In 1995, a door on Chicago's Metra train system closed on violin prodigy Rachel Barton's  instrument case -- containing a half-million dollar, 16th-century violin -- and dragged the 20-year-old nearly 400 feet. Barton lost a leg and the other was severely mangled.

During "discovery" -- the extensive research that takes place before a trial -- Clifford said that he uncovered a number of instances of Metra drivers hastily leaving the platform with the doors still open; this, the lawyer charges, was tolerated by the system's management as it aided on-time performance. Sound familiar?

Metra's attorneys argued that the blame for the accident was mostly with the violinist; she should have let go of the half-million dollar instrument. The jury disagreed: Barton won a $29 million verdict (and, incidentally, she has recovered to become a world-renowned player).

"If the allegations [against Muni] are true they have significant liability here," said Clifford. "There will be some heavy payouts."

Photo   |   Jim Herd