Duff train door left me in agony but all I’ve been getting is the cold shoulder
Bank worker Samantha in fury at ScotRail
A train passenger injured by a faulty train door claims ScotRail have blanked her over the incident.
Samantha Ebur y, 35, dislocated her shoulder as she went to the aid of a disabled man who’d become trapped as the door shut.
And she says she is still waiting for an apology from the rai l operators – f ive months on.
Bank employee Samantha, who has a medical condition which causes her joints to dislocate, needed two days off work after the incident at Bathgate station in West Lothian on July 7.
She said: “Whenever I phone ScotRail, I just get told because it’s a personal injury matter they won’t tell me anything and they don’t have to tell me anything.
“The whole reason the accident happened is because the door malfunctioned and nearly tripped up a disabled man.
“The man, who was using two walking sticks, was hit by the door.
“I tried to open the door with a few other passengers but due to my own disability, my shoulder got dislocated.
“Staff say they’re waiting on CCTV but the incident happened in July. It shouldn’t take so long.
“I ’ m just gett ing the runaround.”
Samantha, a business customer services adviser, has the hypermobility form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder which causes joints to extend further than normal.
She said: “I stayed on until reaching my destination at Edinburgh Haymarket but the pain was unbearable.
“I was driven to hospital and by the time I got there, I had relocated my own shoulder.
“When it was X-rayed, the doctors said it was back in.
“When my shoulder is pul led out by force, it ’ s exceptionally sore. It goes burning hot and feels like a stabbing pain.
“I’m right- handed and it
was that side which was affected so performing even the most basic tasks was impossible afterwards.
“The lack of care and at tention from the rai l company has really upset me.”
Samantha, from Bathgate, who pays £151 per month for a rail ticket, has flagged up her complaint to the rail ombudsman and is awaiting a response.
She added: “ScotRail didn’t report the accident and when I tried to do so, I was met with one unhelpful episode after another.
“I spoke to someone when I reached Haymarket but they said I would have to fill in a form online.
“I reported and waited 28 days but nothing happened.
“It just felt like they hope people with a complaint will just givegiv up and go away. I just wanted them to acknowledge I’d had an accident.
“I had to take two days off work due to the pain in my shoulder.”
David Sidebottom, director of independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “It’s disappointing that ScotRail have been slow to respond to this case.
“Train operators have a target to respond within 20 working days of receiving a complaint.
“These targets are monitored by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.”
A ScotRail spokesman said: “We are very sorry to hear about our customer’s experience.
“The safety of our customers is our top priority. We are looking into this matter and will contact the customer directly.”