A Massachusetts state trooper was killed when he crashed his motorcycle due to debris in the roadway and was flung into the handrails in a Big Dig tunnel. The family of the trooper filed a lawsuit alleging that the poor design of the walkway handrails in the tunnel was to blame. In fact the rails have been blamed for the deaths of several motorists over the years.
The lawsuit against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and several contractors has been settled more than 5 years after the death of Trooper Vincent Cila. The settlement amount of $9 million was agreed upon by a personal injury lawyer and other parties.
All the money in the world won’t give this family back the loved one that they lost. Motorcycles are considered dangerous in the best of situations but within this tunnel surrounded by handrails the slightest accident can lead to death for a motorcycle rider. Times like this make it necessary for the designers, contractors and the authority responsible for the safety of the tunnels to look into removing the handrails or changing the design for the safety of all that use the tunnels.
A spokesman for the department that is responsible for the tunnels and the insurer of that department has failed to issue a comment about this settlement. However an attorney for the family of Trooper Cila stated that she hope the settlement will prompt the removal of the rails.
Motorcycle accidents often lead to death or serious injury, yet there is debate in this case that if Cila, driving the 25 miles per hour speed limit in the tunnel had crashed and hit just a concrete wall he would likely still be alive, but that the handrails essentially cut through his body when he hit them at that speed.