NEW YORK — A federal appeals court in New York has made it easier for railroad workers to file negligence suits by ruling that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is a common carrier under federal law, reports the New York Times.
In a ruling issued on Feb. 11, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the M.T.A.’s argument that it was merely a holding company that did not operate the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.
By rejecting the M.T.A.’s argument, the court allowed Sean Greene, an injured M.T.A. police officer, to sue the authority for negligence under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. If the court had ruled that the authority was not a common carrier, Mr. Greene would have been limited to help under the state’s workers’ compensation system and would not have been allowed to sue the M.T.A. for negligence under state law.
“In this case, the M.T.A. attempted to remove these federal protections from a segment of its employees,” said Mr. Greene’s lawyer, Michael Flynn.
Mr. Greene said he suffered disabling injuries in a 1998 collision that occurred when he was rushing in an L.I.R.R. jeep to the Ronkonkoma train station to investigate a reported car theft. In his lawsuit, which has yet to go to trial, Mr. Greene asserted that the M.T.A. was negligent in failing to furnish the jeep with adequate emergency lights.
Mr. Greene had been a police officer with the L.I.R.R. until 1998 when that railroad’s police department was phased out, and he began working directly for the M.T.A.
The court, in a decision written by Amalya Kearse, ruled that the M.T.A. was so involved in the operations of the Long Island Rail Road by, for example, raising funds for its operations and marketing its services, that the authority should be considered a common carrier.
The court noted that only M.T.A. employees engaged in the interstate operations of its commuter railroads could sue under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
Lisa Schwartz, an M.T.A. spokeswoman, said the authority was reviewing the decision.