Subway Surfing Challenge Lawsuits
You have legal options if your child or teenager has been harmed by participating in the subway surfing trend after viewing videos about it on social media. You may be able to sue the responsible social media platforms and maybe even the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). To learn more, contact our experienced social media addiction attorneys at the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC).
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Attorney Matthew Bergman
- Content last updated on:
- October 24, 2024
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by
Attorney Matthew Bergman
- Content last updated on:
- October 24, 2024
Social media companies like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook use their addicting algorithms to maximize time spent on their platforms. Unfortunately, this often leads to dangerous “challenges” and trends being pushed to young users, including the “subway surfing challenge.” The popularity of subway surfing videos on social media has led to a resurgence of this dangerous practice, resulting in the tragic deaths of multiple children and teens in New York.
What is the Subway Surfing Challenge?
Subway surfing involves filming yourself while riding on top of a subway carriage, hanging on the sides, or hanging off the back. Though the practice has been around since the 1980s, it regained popularity in recent years thanks to social media and has since killed multiple teenagers in New York City. Some subway surfing videos on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have hundreds of thousands of views and likes.
In most subway surfing challenge videos, teens start inside a train, but once it begins moving, they open the carriage door and climb up to the roof. If the train passes through a tunnel, they lie down. However, most subway surfers target elevated train lines so they can stand up and move between carriage roofs. Many videos include running on the tops of trains.
The New York MTA has seen an increase in subway surfing in the last few years. In 2023 alone, there were four deaths in New York due to subway surfing, compared to five between 2018 and 2022. Though the MTA has partnered with the New York Police Department in a public information campaign to discourage subway surfing, many believe they haven’t done enough to prevent the practice.
The Story of Zackery Nazario
In February 2023, 15-year-old Zackery Nazario was subway surfing on a Brooklyn-bound train on the Williamsburg Bridge. Nazario climbed to the top of the train but hit his head on a steel beam, causing him to fall onto live electrical lines and be run over by another carriage. Zackery’s mother, Norma Nazario, filed a subway surfing lawsuit against TikTok and Meta, arguing that these companies were responsible for exposing her son to subway surfing. He began uploading videos in 2022.
Founder of SMVLC
“When I was contacted by Norma, it became very clear—particularly when you looked at Zachary’s social media feeds—that he was being deluged with material promoting challenges, promoting subway surfing. Again, not that he wanted to look at it, but that he was directed toward that.”
The Nazario Lawsuit
On the one-year anniversary of Zackery Nazario’s death, SMVLC filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, ByteDance, Inc., and the MTA. The lawsuit seeks to hold the social media companies responsible for promoting and profiting from the viral subway surfing challenge, alleging that they targeted, encouraged, and inspired Nazario to participate in the dangerous trend. Zackery’s mother noted that the platforms encouraged him to buy ski masks, gloves, and other subway surfing “gear.”
Additionally, the Nazario subway surfing lawsuit seeks to hold the MTA responsible for failing to address a serious and foreseeable risk of harm by not:
- Locking subway doors to prevent riders from moving between cars.
- Installing safety barriers to prevent access to train roofs.
Are TikTok and Meta Doing Anything to Stop Subway Surfing Content?
Though Meta, TikTok, and ByteDance, Inc. (TikTok’s parent company) have tried to prevent subway surfing content by removing more than 3,000 videos and photos of the trend in 2023, that has not stopped teenagers from participating in the dangerous trend. There are still videos of subway surfing on the platforms being pushed to users.
“Social media needs to be more responsible,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a 2024 press conference with the MTA. “They should not post any subway surfing video. That is helping to proliferate this problem—they get millions of views.”
Adams has repeatedly criticized social media’s influence on young people, calling out videos glorifying gun violence and dangerous activities like subway surfing. For the most part, social media companies have ignored his criticism, aside from removing some content. This lack of accountability and preventative action has led to countless lawsuits against TikTok and Meta, not just regarding the subway surfing challenge but also the presence of harmful content on their platforms in general.
Can I Sue if My Child Was Harmed by the Subway Surfing Trend?
Yes. You may be able to sue social media companies if the subway surfing trend harmed your child, but you must prove that they were influenced to participate in this dangerous activity. The New York MTA may also share liability.
Founder of SMVLC
“There’s a concept called ‘attractive nuisance. If you make something that’s attractive to a young person that’s dangerous, you have some responsibility.”
Our firm has pointed out lawsuits that related to the concept of “attractive nuisance” in which courts required electrical companies to install barriers on their electrical towers to prevent children and teens from climbing them. We believe the MTA has a similar responsibility, and social media companies have a duty to prevent harmful content on their platforms.
Founder of SMVLC
“There has been a huge increase in subway surfing incidents over the past year driven by social media challenges on Meta platforms and TikTok that has been aided by the MTA’s inability to secure its trains. Meta, TikTok, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority share responsibility for this dangerous trend.”
How Social Media Victims Law Center Can Help
The Social Media Victims Law Center was founded by Matthew P. Bergman in 2021 to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users. Bergman is a lawyer, professor, philanthropist, and community activist who has recovered more than $1 billion in compensation for his clients.
We seek to hold social media companies accountable for the harm they cause children, teens, and their families. Our ultimate goal is to force these companies to prioritize consumer safety and design platforms that protect users from foreseeable harm.
If your child or teen was harmed by a social media trend like subway surfing, you may be eligible to file a social media subway surfing lawsuit against the platforms responsible for promoting dangerous content. Contact our legal team at The Social Media Victims Law Center today to learn more in a free case evaluation.
Subway Surfing Lawsuit
Case Review
If your child or teen was harmed by the viral subway surfing trend you may have legal options.
