The wife of the late Boston University professor who plummeted to his death through the decrepit staircase near a Dorchester MBTA station has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the MBTA and Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Milton’s David Jones, 40, fell to his death through the rusted-out stairs near the JFK/UMass stop last September. The staircase had been closed for nearly two years, but Jones somehow accessed them while out on a run and plunged through the staircase.
Jones’ family in the wake of the tragic incident called his death “preventable,” and the family is now suing the state — filing a lawsuit against the MBTA and MassDOT on Thursday.
Jones’ wife Sarah Sacuto filed several counts against both state agencies in Suffolk Superior Court.
“The defendants, by their neglect, had allowed the ‘subject staircase’ to degrade and fall into disrepair thereby causing it to be a danger to the public,” the lawsuit reads, in part.
“The defendants failed to take reasonable and adequate measures to prevent the public from accessing the ‘subject staircase’ due to its dangerous and compromised condition,” the lawsuit adds.
The state agencies caused his “premature and wrongful death,” according to the suit.
His “wrongful death and the damage to his estate were the direct and proximate result of the carelessness, recklessness and negligence” of the MBTA and MassDOT, the lawsuit reads.
Jones, who was an associate professor of Health Policy and Law at Boston University, was a father of three.
Both MassDOT and the MBTA declined to comment on Thursday.
“MassDOT does not offer public comment on pending litigation,” MassDOT spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard wrote in an email.
MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo added, “It is also the MBTA’s practice to not comment on pending litigation.”
Following Jones’ death, MassDOT first further secured the site. Then, a weekend later, crews removed the dilapidated staircase.
“MassDOT demolished the staircase over the weekend after checking with investigatory authorities,” MassDOT said in a statement last year.
In January 2020 — about 20 months before the fatal incident — the “structure was fenced in, a cement barricade was installed, and a sign was installed by the MBTA stating that the stairs would be closed,” MassDOT said after the incident.
The lawsuit notes that following Jones’ death, the state posted warning signs and made the staircase completely inaccessible.
Sacuto is bringing the lawsuit in her individual capacity, on behalf of her late husband’s estate, and on behalf of her children.