Woman who lost limbs when hit by tube trains launches legal action against TfL

A woman who lost her right arm and leg after being hit by two tube trains on her way home from work is suing Transport for London (TfL).

Sarah de Lagarde claims TfL has an “outdated” attitude to safety and has launched a legal battle against the local government body, which she says has failed to accept responsibility for what happened.

The 46-year-old mother slipped on a wet and uneven platform at High Barnet station in north London in September 2022 and fell onto the gap between the train and the platform “in the dark”.

She broke her nose and two front teeth in the fall, but no one heard her desperate cries for help.

After being hit by two separate trains, Ms de Lagarde was rushed to hospital and had to have an arm and leg amputated.

He now uses two prosthetic limbs, including a bionic arm.

Ms de Lagarde, who works in communications, claims the London mayor rejected her requests to meet Sadiq Khan, despite an intervention from Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Khan is chairman of the board of TfL.

Recalling the accident, she told the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Wednesday: “There were no staff on that platform and no one was looking at the CCTV. No one answered my screams for help.

“Twenty-two tons of steel crushed my limbs, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I remained on the tracks undetected until the second train rolled into the station, crushing me for the second time.

“A few weeks before I was hit by the two subway trains, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with my husband, which was my lifelong dream.

“I felt on top of the world and overnight everything changed. I am now severely disabled for life.”

After giving her statement to the press, Ms de Lagarde walked up the steps of the court to formally enter her case.

She said TfL’s conclusion that her accident was a “one-off” was wrong and believed the organisation’s management needed an “urgent wake-up call”.

She added: “TfL initially concluded that I fell because I was drunk and wearing high heels, neither of which was true.

“Is TfL above the law?

“TfL is simply saying that this was an unfortunate and unique series of events which resulted in the injured person suffering life-changing injuries.

“TfL denies any moral or legal responsibility for my accident.

“My local MP, Keir Starmer, asked Sadiq Khan to meet me to discuss the wider safety issues raised by my case and whether lessons can be learned.

“Sadiq Khan’s office refused my requests. They felt that a meeting was inappropriate.

Sarah de Lagarde

“There must be an independent and comprehensive review of TfL’s safety procedures so that significant lessons can be learned.”

Ms de Lagarde said she had since been contacted by “hundreds of people” who had either been injured or suffered an accident on the metro network.

“The bus crash in Victoria last week is the latest example of such an incident,” she added.

“Why does this keep happening?”

Her lawyer, Thomas Jervis, partner at law firm Leigh Day, said: “I don’t understand why there is such a closed minded approach to doing better about safety.

“These are not just statistics, they are human beings. We are talking about people’s lives. Sarah and all users of London’s transport network deserve much better.”