SKETCHES OF COURT: Man survives subway fall, sues for damages
In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Arthur M. Schack listens as Mark Yagerman (standing, right), trial counsel to defense attorney Wallace D. Gossett, conducts a direct examination of a witness in the case of Johnny Searcy v. NYCTA & MTA last week in Kings County Civil Term. Testimony by Transit Authority Sgt. Benjamin Au (seated, far left), placed him at the scene in April 2011, on the platform of the Bay 50th St. Brooklyn subway station just after the accident when the plaintiff was being removed from the tracks. Searcy survived being run over by a train. He is represented by Alan Shapey (seated, right) of the law firm Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman, PC.
The parties’ counsel invoked scenarios involving several factors including plaintiff’s proximity to the platform edge and the influence of alcohol, the plaintiff’s visibility, the conductor’s braking distance from victim impacting whatever achievability of stopping the train in time to avoid the accident, among other factors. Train was operated within speed limits.
The unified trial continues next week. Court reporter Hank Horowitz (second from left) transcribes the proceedings.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.