Over the past few months, I’ve been following the tale of Michael Dion somewhat closely. In mid-December, Dion fell off the IRT platform at Union Square and found himself pinned between the gap-fillers and a 4 train for 30 minutes before rescue workers could free him. In January, he vowed to sue the MTA for $15 million. At the time, I noted how his sobriety would become a major issue in the case, and indeed it has.
As both The Post and Daily News note today, the initial police report and subsequent MTA assessment allege that Dion was visibly intoxicated. “Witnesses reported seeing him staggering about the platform while holding a can of Budweiser,” the report says. It also notes that the train operator “observed a Budweiser can beside Mr. Dion, and in his opinion, Mr. Dion appeared to be inebriated.”
Dion’s lawyer, of course, denies this charge and questioned again why the gap fillers have remained as unsafe as they were when first built over 100 years ago. The beer can, the lawyer claims, was placed near Dion by another passenger. “He was not slugging beer on the platform,” Jay Dankner, the lawyer, said. “He refutes anybody saying he was carrying an open can of beer in a bag or not on the platform.” Clearly, Dion’s sobriety or lack thereof will be a major issue of fact for the jury if and when this case reaches trial. A lot of money in damages could hinge on it.
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