A MUM who lost an arm and leg after she was run over by two Tube trains “contributed to her own injuries”, Transport for London claim.
Sarah de Lagarde slipped on a wet platform at High Barnet station in North London and fell down the gap between the train and the platform.
Sarah de Lagarde was run over by two Tube trains[/caption]
The 46-year-old desperately cried for help but no one came to her aid as she lay undiscovered on the track for 15 minutes.
Sarah was eventually rescued but needed to have her leg and arm amputated after she was run over by two Tube trains.
The PR executive, who now uses two prosthetic limbs including a bionic arm, has launched a £25million legal battle against London Underground Ltd (LUL), part of Transport for London (TfL).
In defence documents submitted to the High Court, TfL has instead shifted the blame to Sarah – claiming her injuries were a result of her own negligence.
Denying liability, lawyers argued she “placed herself in a position of danger” because of how she got off the train, Mail Online reports.
TfL also suggest the horror was “caused or contributed to by the claimant’s negligence”.
Sarah was returning home from work at around 10pm on September 30, 2022, when she fell asleep on the train.
The mum was woken up by another passenger when the train reached the end of the line at High Barnet.
After getting off the train, Sarah noticed it was returning back the same way and stepped backwards to get back on.
But she slipped and fell through the gap on to the track.
Lawyers for TfL say: “The claimant took a few steps forward on to the platform and then took a few steps backwards, before the rear of her body struck the rear side of the door of the train she had exited from.
“The claimant continued to move backwards and, approximately seven seconds after exiting the train, she fell into the gap between carriages five and six of the train.”
Around five minutes later, the Northern Line driver walked back through the train to start the return journey southbound.
He noticed Sarah’s bag wedged between the train and the platform, which he later handed to lost property, but did not hear her screams or investigate further.
As the train left the platform, it caused devastating injuries to Sarah’s right arm.
She attempted to open her phone but her face was so badly injured the face ID did not work and it was too wet from the rain for the touch screen to respond.
A second train then drove over Sarah – this time running over her right leg.
Speaking previously, she said: “Twenty-two tonnes of steel crushed my limbs, and, if that wasn’t bad enough, I remained on the tracks undetected until the second train came into the station, crushing me for a second time.”
A judge indicated an eight-day trial would be listed at the High Court for early 2027.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We are responding to a legal claim brought by Sarah de Lagarde.
“It is not appropriate to discuss details of our defence while this case is ongoing.
“Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following this terrible incident, and we will continue to make every possible effort to learn from any incident on the Tube network.
“Safety is our top priority and we will always place it at the forefront of our thinking.”
She is suing TfL for £25million[/caption]
