A tube driver suing in the London Underground has hit his head after injuring his brain.
Shawn Matthews, 62, is taking the transportation company to court for up to 1 million in damages. He claimed that they were responsible for his injury, which occurred on February 26, 2019.
Mr Matthews said he was thrown from a rotating turnstile at a train depot and hit his head on a metal step.
But underground officials have denied responsibility, and blamed the tube driver for “not taking enough care” to get out of the station.
Mr Matthews said he was suffering from brain damage and was prone to rude resentment and ‘inappropriate laughter’.
He claims he is socially isolated and unable to work and blames Turnstile for the accident.
His barrister Jeremy Crother said: ‘He enters the turnstile and pushes the gate clockwise.
‘The gate began to revolve around – as expected – but instead of locking when the claimant was in a position to leave the turnstile, it spun abruptly and without warning.
‘This immediately caused the claimant’s back gate to hit the back of his left foot, causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward.
“As soon as he fell, he hit his head on a metal step on the bridge in front of him.”
Mr Matthews of Yalding, Kent, suffered a fracture in his arm, a soft tissue injury to his knee and left a damaged tooth, Mr Crouther said.
The barrister added: ‘Most notably, he suffered a brain injury that led to a variety of neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, impaired memory and speech problems.
‘She is suffering from behavioral, cognitive and sensitive symptoms … she is prone to unrestrained, inappropriate laughing and unprepared push of rudeness.
‘She is very socially isolated and unable to work.’
The logs show that the turnstile was previously reported as ‘defective’ due to ‘free rotation’ when inspected.
In a written defense of the claim – which has not yet reached court – Barrister John Brown for the London Underground said the turnstile was always set to be “free-flowing” when leaving the depot and was only locked in place when entering.
He said: ‘Since the bend was free flowing at the time of exit, it was denied that the claimant was supposed to lock it when the turnstile was in the position to leave.
‘It is therefore further denied that the turnstile continues to revolve as a‘ sudden and without warning ’allegation.
‘At the time of the plaintiff’s accident, the turnstile was in proper working order at the time of departure.
‘Any problem with the turnstile has a non-stop error due to the failure to lock only when related to its use when entering the depot and therefore there is no causal relevance to the claimant’s accident.’
He is to be tried in the High Court.
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