Tube driver sues for £1m over turnstile injury
‘At the time of the accident the turnstile was in proper working order’
A tube driver who claims he suffers from “unprompted rudeness” after tripping over a turnstile and banging his head is suing London Underground for £1 million.
Sean Matthews, from Yalding, fell and struck his head on metal steps after he finished his shift.
The 62-year-old claims he suffered brain damage and multiple injuries as a result of the incident two years ago, causing him to have rude outbursts and laughing inappropriately.
He says he is now unable to work and is “socially isolated”.
Mr Matthews blames his accident in February 2019 on a faulty turnstile at Stratford Market depot, while the company denies liability and says the revolving gate was working properly, blaming Mr Matthews for not being careful enough.
The grandfather was allegedly knocked over after the turnstile barrier rotated and hit him.
Documents for the High Court case claim Mr Matthews fractured his forearm, as well as injuring the soft tissue in his knee and damaging his teeth.
It adds fault logs for the underground equipment reported it as “defective” previously, due to it “spinning freely”.
In its written defence to the claim - which has not yet reached court - London Underground barrister John Brown said the company denies liability.
He said the turnstile was always set up to be “free-flowing” when exiting the depot and only locked into place when being used to enter.
He added: “As the turnstile was free flowing upon exit, it is denied that it was supposed to lock when the claimant was in a position to leave the turnstile.
“It is therefore further denied that the turnstile ‘suddenly and without warning’ continued to rotate as alleged.
“At the time of the claimant’s accident, upon exit the turnstile was in proper working order.
“Any issue with the turnstile having an intermittent fault in failing to lock related only to its use when entering the depot and therefore has no causative relevance to the claimant’s accident.”
The case will be set for trial at a later date.