SUBWAY WORKER ELECTROCUTED IN FATAL ACCIDENT

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Attorney)

Monday April 26, 2010-a rainy day. At 4:30 A.M. New York City Transit supervisor James Knell, age 45, was working with a crew on a subway station rehabilitation project, at the Beach 90th Street Station in Rockaway Beach, Queens.

Knell slipped on a wet piece of subway track and fell onto the electrified third rail of the elevated A line tracks. He died from his electrocution injury.

John Samuelson, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 who said he had worked together with Knell in the past, says that no transit worker should be near a third rail while it rained. "Nobody should be working near a live third rail while its raining or wet. You can clearly be killed," he said.

According to a senior New York City Transit official, the third rail was turned off during the work. It was then energized at the end of the job to run a test train. Knell then went back on the tracks to retrieve a bucket. It was wet, and he slipped and fell onto the third rail, a freakish accident..

While Knell's death has been ruled an accident, the NYC Transit Authority and police are nvestigating.