On October 19, 2017, principal, Marianne LeBlanc was quoted in an article on MassLive.com, an online news and information site, entitled Why the spike in MBTA train deaths? And what is Massachusetts doing about it? Here is an excerpt:
“According to Massachusetts General Law, if an individual is on a railroad right of way, that is an incident of trespassing,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
Sometimes, though, they do, and sometimes, a victim is mislabeled a trespasser in the immediate aftermath of an accident, according to Marianne LeBlanc, a principal partner at Boston personal injury law firm Sugarman & Sugarman PC.
“Typically when a pedestrian is hit by a commuter rail train, the MBTA will reflexively call them a ‘trespasser,’ and that initial statement is often the only information reported in the press, before any investigation is conducted,” LeBlanc said.
She added, “If someone is a trespasser and killed — and this is crucial, legally — you can only prevail against the defending railroad operator if you can prove reckless conduct, which is a much higher standard, and harder to prove, than simple negligence.” To prove reckless conduct in court requires a demonstration of a “very significant degree of inattention,” LeBlanc said. Her firm, LeBlanc added, has taken the MBTA to court on behalf of victims’ families a number of times over the years and been able to prove the “trespassing” label was misapplied in multiple cases.
For full article, visit: masslive.com/news/index