SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 34-year-old man who lost his legs when hit by an Amtrak train is suing the passenger operator, a Marysville, Calif., hospital, and doctor at that hospital, saying they are responsible for his injuries — and seeks more than $32 million in damages in a federal trial that began Thursday in Sacramento.
The Sacramento Bee reports the trial is over the events of Dec. 24, 2016, when Yuba City, Calif., police found Joe Nevis on a sidewalk, decided he was too drunk to take to jail, and took him to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville, Calif. There, lawyers say, Dr. Hector Lopez noted he was wet and smelled of alcohol, but was medically stable and could be released.
Nevis left the hospital without his discharge papers at 2:02 a.m. and less than an hour later ended up lying on nearby railroad tracks, where his legs were amputated by the passing Coast Starlight. Unaware of the incident, the train’s crew kept going.
Court filings by Nevis’ attorney, Raymond McElfish, say he will ask more than $7.6 million in economic damages, and $25 million for pain and suffering.
Lawyers for the defendants view the events differently. During Thursday’s opening arguments, Amtrak attorney Jason Schaf said, “When a person trespasses on private property in the middle of the night and lays his legs on tracks that he knows to be active, he cannot blame a train for running over him.” Attorneys for the hospital and doctor argue he was assessed and treated properly.
The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.
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