The wife of a Boston University professor who fell to his death through a rusted-out staircase near an MBTA train station last September has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the MBTA and Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the two entities believed involved in the maintenance of the property.
David K. Jones fell to his death on Sept. 11, 2021, through a broken staircase near JFK Station. Jones, a 40-year-old avid runner, was on a run when he attempted to ascend the unrepaired stairs, which had been blocked off and unattended for more than a year.
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No criminal charges were filed in the death, with was officially ruled an accident. In the lawsuit, the family accuses the agencies of not properly maintaining the staircase or warning the public about the potential danger of the condemned structure.
The NBC10 Investigators obtained surveillance video of the incident as well as crime scene photos that showed the deteriorated conditions of the staircase at the time of Jones' death. The photos also did not show any clear signage warning of the dangerous staircase, a subject touched upon in the lawsuit. Signage and more fencing was installed in the aftermath of his death.
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A gap can also be seen between the gate and the staircase where Jones entered the area, as seen on the security footage.
"The defendants failed to follow their own policies, practices and procedures which called for the posting of signage at and around the 'subject staircase' that intended to adequately warn the general public of the potential dangers associated with a staircase that was so dilapidated that it necessitated condemnation," the lawsuit reads.
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There was confusion at the time as to which agency was responsible for maintaining the property. MassDOT eventually removed the stairs several days after the incident.
Jones, who lived in Milton, Massachusetts, with his wife and three children, was an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University’s School of Public Health. His research focused on the politics of health reform and the social determinants of health.
The death of Jones was investigated by state police and the district attorney, who said at the time they were looking at how Jones accessed the stairway that had been closed for some 20 months after being deemed unsafe. Both the top and bottom of the stairs had been blocked off.
Jones had an undergraduate degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and advanced degrees from the University of North Carolina and the University of Michigan, his university profile showed.
He was originally from New York City, where he once worked as a pretzel vendor at Yankee Stadium, the university said.
He was founding editor-in-chief of the Public Health Post, an online forum for public health policy launched in November 2016; was awarded an Association of University Programs in Health Administration prize for young investigators; AcademyHealth’s Outstanding Dissertation Award; and the BU School of Public Health Excellence in Teaching Award.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
