Nia Wilson family attorney says claim against BART will be filed next week

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Calls for safety improvements to BART are getting louder.

Attorneys for Nia Wilson's family say they are preparing to file a claim alleging BART failed to meet the duty of common carriers to provide riders with the highest standard of care.

John Cowell is charged with murder and attempted murder for stabbing Nia Wilson and her sister Letifah at the Macarthur BART station July 22nd.

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"She didn't do nothing to nobody I didn't do nothing to nobody and for this to happen is just outright crazy," said Letifah Wilson to ABC7 News the day after the stabbing.

Cowell had been cited for fare evasion four days before he allegedly killed Wilson.

"Because of the lack of security at the turnstiles, the suit will claim criminals freely enter the system and preventable crimes occur in stations on a daily basis," said the attorneys in an emailed press release.

In an emailed statement BART says in the last several years its launched a multi-prong approach to reduce fare evasion including a new proof of payment ordinance, inspection teams and infrastructure changes to make it harder to bypass fare gates.

A BART spokesperson writes quote, "Arrests surged last year by nearly 40 percent due to the fact our officers were in the right place at the right time."

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Rodney Alamo Brown says he and his friends have been offering BART passengers escorts to their cars.

Attorneys for Wilson's family say they will file the claim against BART next week.

ABC News Legal Analyst Gil Soffer says the case will hinge on the following: "Is there something they should have done that they didn't do is there some duty of care that they failed to exercise that they were required to exercise."

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