Diana Morgan-Hill 1990 accident

[GodAtum]

Does anyone know if there is a RAIB report on this accident? She has released a book but I'd rather read the accident report.

 

[John Webb]

Does anyone know if there is a RAIB report on this accident? She has released a book but I'd rather read the accident report.

There won't be a RAIB report - RAIB was formed well after this date. It will be a report by the Railway Inspectorate, who in 1990 were part of the Health and Safety Executive.

Go to http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/ who have copies of virtually all the Railway Inspectorate reports since they were formed in the 19th Century!

Out of curiosity, which accident was this lady involved with?

 

[GodAtum]

I just saw an article in the DM about her being sued by BR for falling over http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...friend-split-second-life-changed-forever.html. Unfortunately does not not give much details like date or location.

 

[Matt Taylor]

I was unaware of this incident but a quick search provides this SM story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...friend-split-second-life-changed-forever.html

'I lost both my legs under a train - then the rail company sued me!' Diana Morgan-Hill was rushing to meet a friend when, in a split second, her life changed forever

The last time Diana Morgan-Hill ran, it was for a train. A day has not passed since when she has not wished she’d missed it.

Instead, as it pulled into a suburban London station one summer evening, she dashed to catch it and in so doing set in motion a string of events that changed the course of her life profoundly and irrevocably.

Diana opened a carriage door, put one foot on the step under it, then the train jolted forward and she lost her balance and fell...

Essentially it was August 1990 and she ran for a train at Wandwsorth Common which had slam doors (probably a Class 416/3), she attempted to board a moving train by opening the door, slipped, fell under the train and lost both legs-and somehow got a £634,000 payout (over £1m in today's money).

The RAIB was not in existence in 1990 but we did have the HMRI, not sure whether there would be a report though.

 

[hwl]

I just saw an article in the DM about her being sued by BR for falling over http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...friend-split-second-life-changed-forever.html. Unfortunately does not not give much details like date or location.

Tried to board a Victoria service at Wandsworth Common so P2 unless engineering work.
Service frequency quoted is half hourly so probably a Sunday though I would have though it would have been 4tph as the Sunday service hasn't changed in years.

1829 service so probably a Victoria via Crystal Palace service?

 

[John Webb]

I've looked through the Railway Archive site and can find no matching Accident Report. It is possible that HMRI didn't investigate the accident at the time; they would not necessarily investigate if the cause seemed to be an obvious one, such as someone trying to board a moving train. It seems that BR apparently claimed at the time this is what happened.

 

[Ploughman]

Wonder if the train was actually booked to stop?
If Engineering work was going on in the area then trains may have been stopping for signals or cautioning out of normal pattern.

 

[John Webb]

I've now read the Daily Mail article. It seems she was catching a scheduled train; she says that it was stationary as she opened the door, but moved off with a sudden jerk as she had her foot on the step below the door, causing her to fall down between the train and platform.
BR tried to sue her, claiming the train was moving off when she tried to board. But (without reading her book) it seems she eventually was able to convince BR or their lawyers that it was their fault - hence the sizable compensation sum she eventually got. (See the quote in post #4 above by Matt Taylor.)

 

[Busaholic]

Even if BR (or, probably more accurately, their lawyers and insurers) considered that they were in no way to blame for the horrific accident, surely suing her in turn was an inhumane course of action, and may have led to an eventual higher pay-out than may otherwise have been the case. Regrettably, such incidents were not uncommon on the Southern in the sixties, seventies and eighties and I don't think many led to official reports, or even newspaper stories, as BR wanted to downplay them, just as London Underground did. Stories might have come out of inquests, I suppose, but I never remember any.

 

[oldman]

I wonder what BR were going to sue her for. Having read the article, I plan to sue the original poster for making me read a load of unbelievable nonsense from the Daily Mail (although I accept I am 30% to blame, as she was found to be).

 

[ralphchadkirk]

She was found to be 30% to blame, and BR 70% to blame - because IIRC there was something about the guard not looking out/shouting a warning/applying the brake.

 

[scott118]

she was interviewed on 'This Morning' today, promoting her story, or book, depending on how you look at it...