Morrison Mahoney Partner Janelle Gordon recently secured the dismissal of a large public transit system from a lawsuit arising out of a multi-vehicle accident involving severe injuries pursuant to the Massachusetts “Defective Way” statute.
The plaintiffs were passengers in a ride share vehicle when it collided with another vehicle. As a result of the collision, the plaintiffs’ vehicle was knocked through a fence and over a ledge, falling approximately 20 feet down onto active train tracks. The plaintiffs sued multiple defendants, including Janelle’s client, a public transit system, on grounds that it failed to properly maintain the fence, which the plaintiffs argued was intended to serve as traffic barrier between the roadway and train tracks.
Janelle argued that the plaintiffs’ claims were governed exclusively by G.L. c. 84, § 15, commonly referred to as the “Defective Way” statute, to the extent they allege that the defendant, a government entity, failed to properly maintain its traffic barriers. Pursuant to G.L. c. 84, § 15, the plaintiffs were required to provide the defendant with notice of their claims within 30 days of the incident, a condition precedent to bringing suit for personal injuries against a government entity responsible for defects in public ways. Here, however, the plaintiffs failed to provide the defendant with requisite notice as required under G.L. c. 84, §84.
Following a motion to dismiss hearing, the court agreed with Janelle’s arguments that the plaintiffs’ claims arose from an alleged defect on a public way, and that failure to provide notice under G.L. c. 84, §84 was fatal to their case. Ultimately, the Court dismissed all claims against the defendant.
