Man Hit by Train Sues Las Vegas’ Main Street Station Casino

• Injured man alleges broken fence let him reach railroad tracks
  
• Boyd Gaming and Union Pacific named in negligence lawsuit
  
• Defendants declined to comment, railroad urged public track safety

A California man who snuck through a hole in the fence at Main Street Station and onto nearby railroad tracks before being run over by a train is suing the casino’s owner, Boyd Gaming, and the Union Pacific Railroad Corp. for negligence.

Ryan Pettway, who required partial amputations of his right leg and left foot following the December 2023 incident, argues in his lawsuit that the defendants failed to properly maintain and repair the fence, which was designed to prevent access to the tracks.

Ongoing Harm

“Defendants failed to maintain, repair, or otherwise keep the property abutting and upon which the railroad tracks were located in their intended proper state and condition, and to prevent conditions from existing which caused or contributed to causing the incident at issue herein,” claims the lawsuit, filed December 23, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“As a result of breach of duties and negligence of the Defendants herein, Mr. Pettway will suffer continuous and ongoing harms and losses, highly likely for the remainder of his life,” it added.

Pettway is expected to require additional major surgery and will need long-term specialized medical care, according to the complaint.

His lawyers assert that Boyd and Union Pacific should have known there was a hole in the fence big enough for people to fit through because there was a homeless encampment on the other side.

When contacted by LVRJ, Boyd said it was not its policy to comment on pending litigation and declined to say whether the hole had been fixed.

A spokesperson for Union Pacific cited a similar policy but warned people to be careful near railroad tracks.

The safety of the communities in which we operate is a top priority for Union Pacific Railroad,” the spokesperson said. “We remind the public that for their safety and others to only use designated railroad crossings to cross railroad tracks and never walk on or near the tracks. Do not ever try to climb on or through trains and always expect a train: trains can come from either direction at any time.”

Pettway is seeking more than $75K for past, future, and punitive damages, as well as legal costs.

Potential Hurdle

The case may be difficult to win. People who enter railroad tracks without permission are usually considered trespassers, and companies are generally not held responsible for injuries caused by obvious dangers like moving trains.

Any decision could also come down to how much blame a jury places on Pettway for going through the fence and onto the tracks, which could limit or even eliminate any compensation.