Massachusetts Appeals Court Grants New Trial in Trolley Crash Suit

A Massachusetts appeals court has set aside a $1.2 million jury award and ordered a new trial in a lawsuit stemming from a 2009 subway trolley crash in Boston.

Colleen Fyffe, of Scituate, sued the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, saying she was unable to return to her job as a result of the neck injury she suffered in the accident in the Government Center subway tunnel.

The trolley operator, Aiden Quinn, admitted he was texting his girlfriend just before the crash that sent nearly 50 people to hospitals.

The MBTA appealed after the jury awarded Fyffe $1.2 million after a 2012 trial.

A three-judge appeals court panel, in a 2-1 decision Monday, cited “transgressions” by the plaintiff’s attorney, among them improperly arguing facts that were not in evidence.