Family of Woman Who Died in MBTA Escalator Accident Files Suit

In February, an 82-year-old Dorchester woman was killed in an MBTA escalator accident when her hair and scarf got caught in the escalator. Although the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority suggested that the woman died of cardiac arrest, a suit filed in Suffolk Superior Court states that a medical examiner found that the woman actually died of strangulation. The occurred at the Orange Line’s State Street stop near escalator accidentCity Hall.

Some passerby tried to free the woman but she was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital after struggling against the machinery. According to the suit, the MBTA had a watchman booth at the State Street stop, but it was unmanned at the time of the accident. The emergency button failed to stop the escalators, and the emergency call box used by bystanders to call for help reportedly did not work.

A spokesperson for the MBTA says the agency has not yet seen the lawsuit and that a state inspector did not find anything wrong with the escalator.

Escalator is cited in death at T station, Boston Globe, November 3, 2009
Contact our MBTA accident lawyers if you or a loved one has died on a bus, train, escalator, or other public transportation.