Assaulted on Public Transportation?
If you’ve been assaulted while on public transportation or while at a station platform, you need to contact a lawyer immediately. Although you might not have the name of the person who assaulted you, you can use a personal injury attorney to force the public transportation system to repay you for your losses.
When passengers step onto a train platform or major bus hub, they are putting themselves into the care of the mass transit system. These passengers can assume a reasonable level of security to help deter and prevent assault. Some of those deterrents include sufficient lighting, working closed circuit monitors, and security personnel. If any standard security safeguards are found to be lacking, the transit system can be held liable for endangering the passengers.
Even if you don’t notice that there are any lacking security measures, you need to contact a lawyer to help you investigate any history of problems at the location. For example, if one particular bus station has a history of violent attacks, the public transportation system has a responsibility to inform passengers and upgrade its security measures at that location.
Of course, these same rules apply if you are riding public transit and you are assaulted. The vehicle conductor has the responsibility to request on-site security personnel at any point during the ride; by ignoring the signs of an antagonistic passenger, the transit authority is putting everyone at risk.
Assault in public is random, but frequently avoidable with some simple security measures. Don’t sit in silence and assume nothing can be done to help cover the expenses of your medical bills, lost wages, and mental anguish. Contact a lawyer immediately.