Woman hit by two Tube trains takes TfL to High Court

Sarah de Lagarde was struck by two Tube trains at High Barnet Station

A woman who lost an arm and leg after being run over by two Tube trains has issued a legal claim at the High Court against Transport for London (TfL).

Sarah de Lagarde was travelling home from work on 30 September 2022 when she fell on to the track at High Barnet.

She was run over by the train she had been travelling on as it left the station and then by a second train.

TfL's Nick Dent said his thoughts were with Ms de Lagarde following the "devastating incident".

Ms de Lagarde, who is from Camden, north London, said she slipped on a wet and uneven platform.

She had to have her right arm and right leg amputated as a result of her injuries.

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She has since been fitted with a prosthetic leg and an arm that uses AI technology.

Ms de Lagarde was on the tracks undetected by staff for 15 minutes, despite her screams for help, due to a series of safety failings by TfL, her legal claim states.

The claim questions whether TfL breached its own safety procedures and whether those procedures are fit for purpose.

'People at risk'

Ms de Lagarde said: "This incident has left me with devastating injuries which affect every aspect of my life, yet TfL continues to deny any responsibility or address the serious safety concerns that have been raised.

"What happened to me could have happened to anyone and, since my accident, I have been contacted by many people with safety fears or who have experienced near misses on the Tube network.

"I believe TfL is putting millions of people at risk every day.

"It is vital that it learns lessons from my case to make a safer network for everyone and stop incidents like this happening again."

'Inappropriate'

She said that the mayor of London's office turned down her requests for a meeting with Sadiq Khan, despite an intervention from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Khan is chairman of the TfL board.

She said: "My local MP, Keir Starmer, asked Sadiq Khan to meet me to discuss the wider safety issues that my case raises and whether any lessons can be learned.

"Sadiq Khan's office turned my requests down. They felt a meeting was inappropriate."

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "The mayor's thoughts remain with Sarah and her loved ones. He has asked to be kept updated and is very keen to meet with Sarah once the claim is resolved."

Mr Dent, director of customer operations at London Underground, said: "TfL is responding to a legal claim which has been brought by solicitors on behalf of Sarah De Lagarde and I am not in a position to comment publicly further.

"However, our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following the devastating incident at High Barnet station and we have offered her direct support through the Sarah Hope Line.

"Safety is our top priority and we continue to take every possible measure to learn from any incident and put in place appropriate improvements."

An investigation into Ms de Lagarde's accident was carried out by TfL and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch was notified, but concluded no further investigation was necessary.

Law firm Leigh Day issued the claim against TfL at the High Court on Ms de Lagarde's behalf.

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