The woman who was hurt when a utility box fell earlier this month at the Harvard MBTA station in Cambridge, Massachusetts, plans to file a lawsuit against the transit agency, according to a news release that cites the woman's lawyer.
The incident happened on May 1, when a utility box became dislodged and slid down a column, bringing with it a supporting bracket that hit the woman, according to MBTA officials.
Attorney Thomas Flaws of Boston-based Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys said that the woman who was hurt is a 28-year-old PhD student at Harvard, and has injuries that require "ongoing and long-term medical treatment," including a detached clavicle from her shoulder.
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“We are troubled by the ongoing issues at Harvard station and throughout the overall MBTA transit operation," Flaws said in a statement. "With reasonable attention and maintenance, this incident would have been prevented. We intend to find out exactly what is causing dangerous objects to repeatedly detach or fall from the ceiling at the Harvard station. We want to ensure no rider utilizing public transportation is ever injured in this manner again.”
An MBTA spokesperson said earlier this month that the cause of the incident was determined to be corrosion on the support straps that secured the box to the column. General Manager Phillip Eng visited the site and directed that every station be immediately inspected for the presence of the boxes and the condition of the support straps, according to the transit agency.
The agency said the box was part of a 2011 pilot program and contained sensors that could detect biological agents. The program ended in 2013 and the box had no further purpose.
