This is no joke — the stand-up comic struck by a B train after she fell onto the tracks, allegedly while texting, plans to sue the MTA, blaming the operator for not stopping in time.
Liza Dye, 25 — who tweeted a thumbs-up photo and the words “im alive” from her hospital bed a day after her Feb. 13 fall — filed a notice of claim with the city declaring her intent to sue over her Feb. 13 slip-and-fall.
She, who studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, also alleges in the papers that the city failed to put up signs or barriers to “warn users and/or prevent them from falling” at the Broadway-Lafayette station in Soho, which was undergoing construction.
Dye was texting at around 9:30 a.m. when she slipped on the wet platform and tumbled to the tracks, a police source says. She was hit by the lead car of a southbound B train and pinned underneath, leaving her left leg mangled.
Her attorney, Jeffrey Schietzeit, called the texting claim “patently false” and said Dye had fainted.
“[It] makes little sense considering there’s no cellphone service underground,” he said.
Dye is seeking permission to sue the MTA’s NYC Transit division and the city after an error by her attorney caused her to miss a deadline.
“The MTA may be raising a defense that they weren’t served properly, so this is something to cover the bases in the event that they raise that defense,” Schietzeit said.
The filing includes a gruesome photo of Dye’s now deformed left leg, which is severely deformed from the knee down.
Schietzeit has subpoenaed the MTA for surveillance footage of the accident, which will determine whether Dye will move forward with the suit.
“The video’s going to tell a lot,” he said. “If the video gives rise to liability, then we will evaluate our options from there in terms of beginning a lawsuit, but as of now we haven’t seen it.”
The MTA declined to comment.
Dye has undergone nine surgeries and multiple skin grafts, and needs crutches to walk after losing most of the muscle and skin on her leg, Schietzeit said.
She doesn’t have health insurance, so Pals have raised more than $77,000 for her medical bills. Among them was “Scrubs” actor Zach Braff, who gave nearly $10,000.
Dye has since moved to South Carolina to live with her mom and cracks jokes on Twitter about her brush with death.
“Whatever i want for my future all i have to tell people is ‘i saw it when i was under the train’ and they believe me,” she tweeted Sunday.
whatever i want for my future all i have to tell people is “i saw it when i was under the train” and they believe me
— Liza Dye (@lizadye) August 3, 2014
But she plans on steering clear of the subway for the rest of her life.
“I should get an unlimited metrocard FOR LIFE but tbh [to be honest] i’ll never ride the train again,” she tweeted July 22.
Dye didn’t respond to requests for comment.