May 19, 2009 10:49 pm US/Eastern
How Safe Is It To Ride The T?
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Are you really safe when you ride the T?
WBZ
Broken bones, people hit by buses and head injuries -- they're all medical injuries resulting from a ride on the MBTA. So how safe is it to ride on an MBTA train or bus?
In the wake of a
recent Government Center crash that's a question on many of your minds.
I-Team reporter Kathy Curran did some digging into MBTA documents and discovered the T's mistakes are costing you millions, and the number and kinds of injuries are in the thousands.
Banged up, bleeding and broken, Samantha Mattei says, "I have five stitches, a fractured vertebrae, (and) I have a concussion. Mattei is one of dozens hurt when two green line trolleys crash underground. Mattei also suffered neurological damage and is having trouble with her memory and speech.
"Makes it hard to make myself understood and to know the right words," she said.
They're all injuries caused by a 24-year-old trolley operator who MBTA officials say was texting his girlfriend at the time of the crash.
MILLIONS SPENT ON MBTA INJURY CLAIMS
The green line crash that injured Mattei is the latest accident to make headlines, but the I-Team found there are hundreds of injuries on MBTA trains, trolleys and buses each year, costing the financially strapped transport system millions of dollars.
In 2007, the T paid out $5,474,000 for 1,202 injury claims.
In 2008, it paid $6,748,327 for 1,206 injury claims.
Gina Loubeau, a victim of an earlier MBTA accident, said, "That's a lot of injuries and a lot of money dished out by the T."
Sam Tyler with the Boston Municipal Research Bureau said, "There ought to be steps taken to try to reduce that as much as possible in terms of public safety, and these are costs that also get filtered down to cities and towns in the district."
Millions of taxpayer dollars dished out to MBTA riders because of the T's own mistakes, some were severely injured after hopping on board.
SOME REPORTS INCLUDE SERIOUS INJURIES
The I-Team sifted through the T's injury claims that were settled in 2008.
One woman needed staples in her head and oxygen after a bus came to an abrupt stop. Another rider had two discs removed after being injured on a trolley. A pedestrian was hit by a bus, and in this case, a blue line train hit something on the tracks, sparks flew, the passenger hit his head and had a cervical sprain.
Curran asked MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas about the injury reports.
"You say the T is safe. What do you say to the riders injured in this last crash and the hundreds of others who have been injured riding the T over the past couple of years?" Curran said.
"I guess I would say to you I'm not happy about any injuries that take place on the MBTA, and safety is a paramount concern," Grabauskas said.
"I went flying, and it snapped sideways," said Gena Loubeau, who broke her ankle when an MBTA bus driver hit the gas before she made it to a seat. "I was getting on the bus, it was raining and before I swiped my card the driver departed and that's when I slipped."
Doors have been closed on passengers arms and legs, tires have exploded, glass has shattered and people have flown through the air, all with MBTA-trained drivers behind the controls or at the wheel.
Thousands have been hurt in the past few years.
WHAT THE T IS DOING ABOUT IT
"Is that acceptable in the T's mind?" Curran asked a lawyer for the MBTA.
"I don't think any number's acceptable," said attorney Jonathan Feltner. "We wish damages and injury claims were zero."
"We're a large organization; we carry a significant number of riders. We carry $385 million a year, and by comparison the small number of claims that are paid -- I think the proof is we run a safe operation, but we can do better financially," Feltner said.
Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi says the state will look into these claims as part of an overall review of safety policies and procedures.
"As we go through the process of review I'm going to look at how many claims have been filed and what they look like," Aloisi said.
"If there's many people getting hurt, there's probably something going on," Mattei said.
"You want to go in, park your car, feel relaxed and go on the T, and you don't want to hear at the end of the day, wow I got in an accident on the T," Loubeau said.
Right now, there's no cap on damages paid out by the MBTA for these injury cases, unlike other state agencies, which have a $100,000 cap.
But Gov. Deval Patrick and Aloisi have proposed a liability cap as part of the transportation reform bill.
The MBTA believes a cap would save 25 percent or more on overall payments each year. We also found out that 18 MBTA drivers were disciplined for improper cell phone use last year. None of those drivers were involved in accidents.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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