Woman Who Lost Arm And Leg In NYC Subway Accident Awarded $82M

NEW YORK CITY — A tourist whose left arm and left leg were severed after she fainted and was struck by a train at a Brooklyn subway station nearly 10 years ago has been awarded around $82 million.

Luisa Janssen Harger Da Silva of Brazil was awarded the sum after a jury sided with her in her civil case against the MTA in Brooklyn federal court, according to court records.

Da Silva claimed the train operator should have been able to stop the train before it hit her, and that the MTA failed to take the issue of people falling onto train tracks seriously.

On Aug. 2, 2016, Da Silva, then 21, was on the B and Q lines platform with her boyfriend when she fainted and fell onto the Atlantic Avenue tracks, an oncoming train then ran her over.

Da Silva's left arm was severed above the elbow, and her left leg was amputated above the knee, according to her lawyers. The tourist was treated at Bellevue Hospital for 24 days and underwent multiple surgeries.

The jury ruled that the MTA was negligent, and Da Silva was awarded $70 million for physical pain, suffering, and emotional distress. She will also receive another $10 million for medical expenses and an additional $1.7 million for future lost earnings.

Da Silva's lawyers argued that "almost all the deaths and the more than a thousand catastrophic injuries could have been prevented had the authorities used platform edge protection to stop people from falling onto the subway tracks."

The MTA has appealed the case. They have not offically commented as of Wednesday.