First Lawsuit Filed Over Smoke-Filled D.C. Train

WASHINGTON (CN) - A woman who suffered smoke inhalation earlier this month when an electrical malfunction trapped a train on the D.C. metro outside L'Enfant Plaza sued the Transit Authority for negligence.

Brittany Cobb, of District Heights, Md., says she was one of the passengers on the Yellow Line train that filled with smoke because of an electrical malfunction just 800 feet from the busy L'Enfant Plaza stop at about 3 p.m. on Jan. 12.

The six-page complaint filed on Jan. 21 in D.C. Superior Court makes no mention of the Alexandria woman, Carol Inman Glover, who was reportedly found dead near the front of the train where smoke was heaviest.

Dozens of other passengers were hospitalized, NBC reported.

Cobb says, "Facts indicate that the smoke was caused by an electrical malfunction, stirred by electrical arcing in the tunnel connecting the L'Enfant Plaza and Pentagon metro station."

The 45 minutes of smoke inhalation before the train was evacuated allegedly caused Cobb deep fear, unnecessary anxiety "and an undetermined length of emotional distress."

Cobb seeks punitive damages from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authoirty (WMATA) for negligent creation a defect, negligent response time, and negligent maintenance, inspection, repair and failure to warn.

She is represented by Darlene Jackson.

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