A man who was stripped of more than $1 million in damages awarded after he fell from a NSW train 14 years ago has won an appeal and will have the money restored.
Corey Fuller-Lyons suffered severe injuries in 2001 when, aged eight-years-old, he fell from a train about two minutes after it departed Morisset Station on the NSW Central Coast.
He sued the state of NSW, the train's operator, for negligence and won $1,536,954.66 in damages but the state successfully appealed against its liability, arguing what led to Fuller-Lyon's fall couldn't be proven.
That decision was overturned on Wednesday after an appeal to the High Court, which found the initial appeal judge erred.
During the first hearing the court found it was most likely Mr Fuller-Lyons had been caught in the train's doors as they closed, pinning him with half of his body hanging outside.
As the Newcastle-bound intercity train was travelling about 100 km/h, Mr Fuller-Lyons fell.
The state was held responsible for the failure of a railway employee to keep a proper lookout before signalling for the train to depart.
Morisset station has a curved platform and guards cannot see the front carriage.
They would rely on an "all clear" signal from a station assistant.
But at the initial appeal, lawyers for NSW argued there were ways Mr Fuller-Lyons could have been trapped in the doors which didn't result from station staff failing to do their job properly.
The High Court unanimously allowed the appeal and ordered the full restoration of the damages.
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