The Chicago Transit Authority is being sued by a man who fell on L tracks last year and was badly injured.
The lawsuit alleges that a CTA employee negligently moved an L train forward on Dec. 3, 2017 at the Kedzie-Homan station on the West Side as the man was attempting to enter the train.
“The act of the train pulling away caused [the man] to be flung on the rails of the train track, causing him to suffer severe injuries,” the lawsuit states.
The man suffered burns across his body, required one of his legs to be amputated and lost sight in one of his eyes, according to the lawsuit.
A police narrative of the incident challenges the lawsuit’s claim that the train caused him to fall.
Police reported that the 49-year-old man was walking on the platform with a bike when he lost balance and fell on the tracks by himself, Chicago police said at the time.
He suffered burns and bruising and was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, police said.
The lawsuit claims the CTA employee operating the train was improperly trained, and that the design of the Kedzie-Homan station platform is unsafe.
The man is seeking over $50,000 in damages.