"Hung on these iron bars." A Minsk resident's leg was broken by a turnstile in the subway

"My mother went down to "Malinovka" station, applied her travel card to the validator, and when the green arrow lit up, she started to pass through. At that moment, the turnstile gates sharply hit her leg," wrote Andrey, the victim's son, on Onliner.by. — "As a result — a fracture of the large bone in her leg in two places."

After the incident, the woman contacted the metro management with a request to conduct an investigation and pay insurance.

"After some time, an official response arrived: apparently, my mother was to blame herself, and the incident is not an insured event," says Andrey.

"Felt sharp pain — and couldn't stand on my feet"

Alena Ivanovna is counting the weeks until the cast is removed from her leg. According to doctors' forecasts, she will have to wear it for eight weeks; only the fifth week is currently in progress.

— That morning I was going to visit my mother-in-law. She is 93 years old, and my other sister-in-law and I take turns on duty: a week her, a week me. On Tuesday, April 28, at approximately 08:10, I went down to the underground passage of "Malinovka" station from the intersection of Yesenina Street and Dzerzhinsky Avenue, — the Minsk resident describes. — I had a travel card for all types of transport, including the metro. I approached the first turnstile, applied the card, and after a short sound signal and a green "checkmark," I took a step forward (we emphasize that the enterprise has a different version: payment was allegedly not recorded). At this moment, according to the heroine, the protective frames unexpectedly compressed and hit her legs.

— Everything happened instantly: I felt a sharp pain, couldn't stand, and just hung on these "iron bars." Metro employees — two young guys — immediately ran up to me, lifted me, and sat me on a chair. They asked for my travel card, thinking the document was expired.

But it was valid until May 2 inclusive, I even had a receipt, — Alena Ivanovna recalls. — Then I heard one of the employees calling somewhere, saying: "Check the line" and named, apparently, the apparatus number.

Then a girl, also a metro employee, came up and asked me to write a statement that I "had no claims." But I refused. As the pain in my leg intensified, an ambulance was called. She was already carried to the vehicle on a stretcher. In the hospital, a CT scan was done: a fracture of both condyles of the tibial bone of the leg was diagnosed.

— They put a splint on me from my thigh to my foot. Here I sit and wait. At the end of June, a control CT will be done, and it will be clear if I can at least step on my leg. In general, I really got stuck! Now I can only move with crutches or a chair. Doctors warned that at my age (66 years), recovery will take a long time.

Павялічыць

According to Alena Ivanovna, she has been using the subway for many years and has never encountered such problems.

— To be honest, now I'll be afraid to walk through these turnstiles. I will only pass where an employee is on duty. Before this incident, I couldn't even imagine that these iron gates could cause such serious injury. My mother-in-law is 93 years old, she needs care, and I myself am bedridden...

Metro: "Payment for travel not recorded"

After the incident, the injured woman wrote an appeal to the management of the Minsk Metro with a request to conduct an investigation into the incident. She also asked for insurance payment and to provide video recordings from surveillance cameras for April 28 — from the moment of entering the vestibule until transportation to the ambulance.

It should be reminded that compulsory civil liability insurance for carriers to passengers operates in Belarus. A person injured in the subway can count on compensation, but under several conditions. Firstly, the injury must have been sustained directly in the process of transportation (in the car, on the escalator while observing rules, or on the platform). Secondly, the incident must not be the result of gross negligence or violation of metro usage rules by the passenger themselves (for example, an attempt to pass as a "fare dodger"). And, of course, the injuries must be documented by medics.

However, the Minsk resident was denied insurance payment. This was stated in the company's response, which she received at the end of May.

The document stated that an internal investigation was conducted into the emergency: the turnstile was checked, the video surveillance system archive and the fare payment control database for April 28 were examined. The metro claims that the turnstile (automatic control point - ACP) was fully functional, and the injury was not sustained due to the carrier's fault.

"Based on the analysis of the video surveillance system archive materials, it was established that at 08:12 you entered vestibule No. 1 of "Malinovka" station, proceeded to the ACP, applied your travel document to the validator and, without making sure of the presence of a permissive signal in the form of a green arrow on the front panel, entered ACP No. 0642, where the gates closed," the response states.

Павялічыць

The document also states that, according to the fare payment control database, during that time period "no payment for travel using a contactless smart card was recorded."

Павялічыць

In this case, the carrier explains, the turnstile operated in accordance with its functional algorithm: if a passenger attempts to pass when the red signal is on, the gates close.

The company further explained why Alena Ivanovna cannot count on compensation. To translate from legal language to simple terms: at the moment of injury, since the fare payment was not recorded, the woman was not officially considered a passenger.

"Passenger - an individual who, in accordance with the carriage contract, boards a vehicle (including a carriage) or disembarks from it. The conclusion of the contract is confirmed by paying for travel using a token, electronic ticket, travel document with a mark in the validator, or by presenting a document for benefits. The carriage contract is considered concluded from the moment the passenger passes the control turnstile (control line). Taking into account the foregoing, it is not possible to satisfy your claims, as the fact of harm to your health does not relate to an insured event and there is no fault on the part of the state enterprise "Minsk Metro"," the official response states.

Павялічыць

"We are going to court"

The transport authorities' position categorically did not satisfy Alena Ivanovna. She insists: she did not violate any rules.

— I had a valid travel card, and I am 100% sure that I heard the characteristic signal and saw the green arrow. My sister told me that she saw a similar situation at "Yakub Kolas Square" station: there, too, a turnstile malfunctioned and injured a woman. This means that technology can also make mistakes. Moreover, my son asked to personally show him the camera recordings to see with his own eyes what color the arrow was lit at the moment of my passage. But they refused him. Why? Because that would immediately resolve all questions.

According to Andrey, the heroine's son, they intend to go to court and defend their case there. The family believes that the automatic system failed, for which an elderly person is now paying with her own health.

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