The woman struck by falling equipment at the Harvard Red Line station said Wednesday she plans to sue the MBTA.
Joycelyn Johnson said she suffered injuries, including a detached collarbone, after she was hit by a metal box while waiting on a train platform on May 1.
Johnson’s attorney, Thomas Flaws, told GBH News part of the motivation behind the suit is to find out why safety incidents keep happening. In March, a woman was nearly struck by a falling ceiling tile at the Harvard Station.
“What was done to ensure additional safety at that point?" Flaws said. “Did a falling object need to hit someone in order to have a real investigation and a real safety inspection of the MBTA stations?”
Flaws said after his client's ordeal, he hoped the MBTA would finally address the issues facing riders.
“There’s been a real gap between what the MBTA says and what they actually do,” Flaws said. “We hope that it’s not just words from the MBTA and they actually follow through on what they’ve said.”
According to Flaws, Massachusetts state law requires his client to give the MBTA six months notice before filing suit. Flaws said after those six months expire, further legal action can then be taken. “If we had our way, we’d file the lawsuit today,” he said.
“We want answers,” Flaws said. “I would anticipate it would end in a lawsuit where they have to turn over maintenance records to us, notice of prior incidents, things like that. We want to figure out what the T knew.”
MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in a statement the T could not comment on pending litigation, but that General Manager Phillip Eng had reached out to Johnson to express concern for her well-being. He also said safety remained a top priority for the MBTA.
“The MBTA deeply regrets that this incident occurred,” Pesaturo said. “We continue to work every day to ensure safety for all.”
The MBTA said in a statement earlier this month that the box that fell on Johnson was one of 14 installed in 2011 as part of an MIT-led pilot program that installed sensors to detect and identify biological agents. The program ended in 2013 but boxes at Harvard, Davis and Porter stations remained in place despite no longer serving any function.
Pesaturo said all boxes have now been removed from stations.
Johnson, a PhD student at Harvard, said injuries she sustained have impacted her studies, hampering her ability to complete her coursework. “It’s impacted my immediate trajectory of continuing my studies,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she has now begun driving herself from her home in Quincy to Harvard, saying she’s uncomfortable taking the T since the incident.
“It’s already hard enough finding housing in this area,” Johnson said. “To know that we aren’t able to be safe while taking the transit system is honestly ridiculous.”
