Trial Magazine

Carol Scott, 79, was riding an Orange Line Metrorail train in Washington, D.C. When the train pulled into Scott’s station, an announcer said the doors would be opening on the left-hand side. Scott rose from her seat and walked toward the exit doors. Without notice, the train lurched forward suddenly. Scott lost her balance and fell to the floor. She sustained a fractured femur, which required urgent surgery. As a result, she now walks with a cane and suffers from continuing pain and a permanent limp.

Scott sued the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, alleging negligence. The plaintiff asserted that the train’s operator violated the applicable standard of care and the defendant’s own standard operating procedures by failing to warn passengers that the train would be moving again after it had already stopped at the platform.

The jury awarded $1.6 million.

Citation: Scott v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth., No. 22-cv-601 (CRC) (D.D.C. Apr. 23, 2025).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Christopher J. Regan and Patrick M. Regan, both of Washington, D.C.