The settlement will pay Brian Beneville, 32, of West Babylon, $4 million upfront, and at least an additional $1.6 million in the future.

(Beneville is a member of UTU Local 645, Babylon, N.Y.)

Beneville's attorney said the LIRR's "lack of safety is what resulted in [Beneville] now being permanently disabled. It is obviously not a safe place to work."

LIRR officials said they settled the lawsuit, which had just gone to trial in state Supreme Court in Queens, because Beneville suffered his injuries while on duty and was prevented from returning to work because of them.

The suit said Beneville had been trying to break up a fight that had erupted between two groups of riders on a train traveling from Penn Station to Port Washington on Aug. 9, 2006.

Beneville separated the brawling factions into separate train cars. When one of the groups exited the train at Broadway station in Flushing, Beneville stood at the train door to make sure the other group did not get out and continue the fight on the platform, according to the suit.

It was then that a passenger pushed Beneville, causing him to take a step backward, and fall into what he said was an 11-inch gap, the suit said. LIRR officials say the gap was 7 inches.

Beneville's right leg sunk all the way up to his crotch. He aggravated a pre-existing back condition and also injured his knee, requiring surgery, according to the suit.

In the suit, Beneville accused the LIRR of negligence because of the gap size and the LIRR's failure to provide for his safety.

The dangers posed by the gaps first gained attention after the 2006 death of a visiting Minnesota teenager, Natalie Smead, after she fell into a gap at the Woodside station. Smead's death sparked a Newsday investigation that found there had been more than 800 gap accidents from 1995 to early 2007.

Since the investigation, the LIRR has done much to shrink the gaps, and is expected to complete most of that work this year, railroad officials have said.

"This unfortunate employee incident was not related to gap issues that the LIRR has addressed throughout its system by installing edge boards at station platforms and new threshold plates to narrow the gap," LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said in a statement.

Beneville, who is now out on sick pay, said he still lives in constant pain because of his injuries. He said he is satisfied with his settlement, but wishes he could erase the entire ordeal.

"This was my dream job," Beneville said. "I hope everybody learned a lesson."