An MTA conductor is to blame for a mishap in Brooklyn that left a 9-year-old boy with two broken legs, his mom says in a newly filed lawsuit.
Melissa Capers says her son and was boarding a Manhattan-bound “L” train at the Atlantic Avenue Station on Dec. 10, 2017, when the conductor closed the door on the child, trapping half his body as it dragged him about 40 feet, according to papers filed Wednesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Capers’ attorney, Daniel Leav, said the boy, who was with his mom’s boyfriend, suffered two bilateral fractures to both femurs, and had to undergo extensive surgery to correct the damage.
“He was dragged approximately 40 feet before he fell,” Leav said, adding the child has been wheelchair-bound since the incident and only recently began learning to walk again.
The conductor only stopped the train because “people were screaming,” the lawyer said.
The child, who is identified only as “J.C.” In court papers, “was attempting to enter the train that was in the station when suddenly the train doors closed upon infant plaintiff without warning,” the documents read. “He was caused to fall between the train gap and the platform, he was caused to be twisted and dragged for several feet.”
Capers, citing negligence, is suing for unspecified damages.
“We think the NYC transit system was obviously negligent,” Leav said. “The was a little boy who was trapped in the doors.”
The MTA did not immediately respond to request for comment.