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NON-MANDATORY STANDARDS WHICH ARE GENERALLY ACCEPTED CONSTITUTE SOME EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE, EVIDENCE OF SIMILAR ACCIDENTS AT OTHER SUBWAY STATIONS PROPERLY ADMITTED IN THIS SUBWAY-PLATFORM GAP SLIP AND FALL CASE (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department affirmed the plaintiff’s verdict in this subway “gap” slip and fall accident case. Plaintiff’s leg slipped through the gap between the subway car and the platform. The fact that the defendant New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) was in compliance with its own six-inch-gap rule was not conclusive on liability. Plaintiff’s expert’s testimony that non-mandatory gap standards promulgated by the American Public Transit Association and the Public Transportation Safety Board were generally accepted was admissible. Evidence of similar gap accidents at other stations was also admissible:

… [P]laintiff’s expert’s testimony regarding gap standards promulgated by the American Public Transit Association (APTA) and the Public Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) did not misleadingly establish industry standards that were non-mandatory guidelines. While mere non-mandatory guidelines and recommendations are insufficient to establish a standard of care, an expert’s testimony regarding “generally accepted” standards, which are promulgated by an association such as APTA and the PTSB, and generally accepted in the relevant community at the relevant time, constitutes some evidence of negligence and may establish a standard of care … . Moreover, the expert noted in his testimony that the standards were voluntary and did not suit all transit systems. His testimony merely served to help the jury determine whether NYCTA’s own policy of a six-inch gap was reasonable, in light of the evidence … .

The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of gap accidents at other stations or precluding NYCTA’s witnesses from testifying. Plaintiff demonstrated that the relevant conditions of the subject accident and the previous ones were substantially the same, though they occurred at other stations … , and the probative value of the gap accident statistics outweighed any prejudice to NYCTA … . Daniels v New York City Tr. Auth., 2019 NY Slip Op 03000, First Dept 4-23-19

 

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