First train I took in Tokyo was the Narita Express. It was 20 minutes late so I missed the connection for the last "JR Pass"-eligible bullet train to Kyoto of the night. I had to buy a ticket for 18,000 JPY (~$150)
When was this? The NEX was notorious for suicides because of the speed it passed through stations along the way. I read a few years back that they did something to fix that.
If you had made a big enough stink about it they would have let you ride the Shinkansen using your pass. This is the country where rail operators give out "late passes" to workers if their train is more than a few minutes late after all.
I hadn't bought a ticket for the first one. I had a "JR pass" which gives unlimited access to a variety of lines, but not the one I ended up having to take.
That said, I didn't think to ask about getting a free ticket on the later train.
As far as I know, no one killed themselves.