Mother hit by two trains in ‘horror’ incident on London Underground says ‘avoidable mistakes’ led to loss of arm and leg
A woman who lost an arm and a leg after being hit by two trains has told Sky News “avoidable mistakes and failings” led to her life-changing injuries.
Sarah de Lagarde slipped on a puddle on the platform at High Barnet underground station in north London and fell in a gap between a stationary train and the platform in September 2022.
The fall alone was enough to break her nose and two front teeth but no one could have predicted the horror that was to follow – especially Ms de Lagarde, who remained conscious throughout the entire ordeal.
“The train then departed and took my right arm with it,” she told The UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee.
Despite shouting for help nobody heard her – so the next train came into the station, claiming Ms de Lagarde’s right leg.
“I was still conscious after that and still determined to make it home,” she said.
“In my mind’s eye, I could see my two daughters and they were telling me ‘Mummy, you have to come home’.”
Ms de Lagarde said the thought of her daughters kept her going
Ms de Lagarde remained on the train track for around 15 minutes before someone raised the alarm, and it took another hour for emergency services to arrive.
“There was a series of things that delayed my saving,” she told Sky News.
“I was told that switching off the power line took ages because no one knew who to contact, so the paramedics couldn’t get under the train to get me out of there.
“There were so many avoidable mistakes and failings that Transport for London (TfL) has allowed to happen.
“I have to live with the fact that it could have been just a slip and someone could have found me, and I could have just got away with just a broken nose.”
Ms de Lagarde was told it was a ‘miracle’ she survived
Ms de Lagarde was told by doctors that she nearly died 10 times the night of the accident, and it was a complete miracle she survived.
“It sounds like something from a horror movie,” Sarah-Jane Mee said to Ms de Lagarde, a mother-of-two who now has a robotic arm and prosthetic leg.
They have, to some extent, allowed her to carry on with normal life, but the implications of her accident are still felt by all of those around her.
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Ms de Lagarde now has a robotic arm and prosthetic leg
“It has been a really tough year,” she said.
“I hold on to the fact that if I survived, I survived for a reason, and it is to highlight the fact that these safety procedures, that TfL think they have, are not sufficient – otherwise I would not be here with these injuries.”
The London Underground network is used by two million people every single day. Every month, there are an average of 16 incidents of people falling between the train and the platform, according to TfL figures covering 2006 to 2018.
Since 2003, the London Underground has been a subsidiary of TfL.
Asked what needs to be done to make the London Underground network safer, Ms de Lagarde said: “In my thinking, it is not just a money question – it is the fact that we are led to believe that CCTV is being watched live: it is not.
“Why are there no sensors on the tracks? Why is there no staff in the stations?
“I didn’t sacrifice an arm and a leg for nothing to happen.”
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In full: Wednesday’s UK Tonight
Nick Dent, the director of customer relations at London Underground, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah de Lagarde and her family following the devastating incident at High Barnet station last year.
“We have offered her direct support through our Sarah Hope line service, and we remain receptive to Sarah’s views about the network.”
He said safety remains the top priority at London Underground and measures are continually put in place to improve the network.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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