PATH workers file Lawsuit against Port Authority

posted by ewing2001 on Thursday October 09, @07:40PM

PATH workers claim they should have been diverted on 9-11

Newsday -October 9, 2003

NEWARK, N.J. -- Six PATH conductors and engineers who claim they suffer lasting injuries because the transit agency failed to divert their trains from the World Trade Center station after the terrorist attacks have filed suit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The workers, who inhaled smoke and continue to be anguished, are seeking unspecified compensation, according to the lawsuits.

"All of these people are going to have continuing problems, and at this point, they might lose work in the future," their lawyer, Samuel J. Rosenthal, said Thursday. "All these people have suffered emotional, post-traumatic stress and tremendous guilt, as some of the disembarked passengers perished."

Advertisement

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the PATH light rail passenger service, declined to comment on the lawsuit, spokesman Greg Trevor said.

However, he said, "It is important to note that more than 5,000 lives were saved on the PATH system on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, thanks to the quick thinking and heroism of PATH and Port Authority personnel. Not a single life was lost on the PATH system on that terrible morning."

PATH operates between Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark and New York.

Rosenthal said his clients were working on different trains on Sept. 11, 2001, and believes that all but one are still working at PATH.

The lawsuits claim that the workers were injured because PATH was negligent, and failed to maintain a station that was "free from the presence of a dangerous and/or hazardous condition, including but not limited to fire, smoke, fumes and/or other hazardous substances..."

<  Michael Moore in Guardian: "Answers please, Mr Bush" | 9/11 Books Dominate Debate at Frankfurt Book Fair  >