Greyhound Bus Crash Victims File Lawsuit

A greyhound bus crashed last September in Ohio, en route to Detroit.  There were approximately 50 passengers on board, 34 of whom suffered non-life-threatening injuries.  Six were flown to local hospitals for treatment.

A Detroit man and two other passengers have filed a suit against the bus company, asking for at least $75,000 in damages, claiming the driver had fallen asleep or became otherwise distracted as he operated the vehicle, resulting in the passengers’  “severe mental and emotional disturbances… stress, anxiety, fear, tearfulness (and) trembling.”

Interestingly, a federal suit was filed in October in Detroit for the same crash.   In its response to the October suit, the bus company said the driver had suffered an acute medical emergency, thereby precluding him or the company from any liability.  The company also noted that the case should have been filed in Ohio, not Detroit.

As of this writing the company had not responded to this latest suit.

But it does bring into question the legal notion of a common carrier.  As we wrote in an earlier post, transportation providers like buses, subways, trains, railroads, ferries, and shuttle services fall under the category of common carrier, and as such are held to a higher standard when it comes to preventing harm to innocent victims.  This means Greyhound has a duty to protect the public by providing safe conditions on its buses.

In a case involving an accident caused by the driver’s medical emergency, a full examination into the company’s practice on requiring medical clearance for its drivers may come into play when determining liability for the crash. Bus accident lawyer Doug Landau and his team at Abrams Landau, Ltd. have helped the victims of other common carriers’ negligence.  In some cases, the Defendant transportation company has tried to avoid responsibility by claiming “sudden emergency” or “unavoidable accident.”  To overcome these defenses, a skilled and experienced trial lawyer will conduct thorough investigation into the liability (fault) of the corporate wrongdoers.

If you have been involved in an accident and injured while a passenger on a common carrier like a subway, bus, trolley, shuttle, train, tram, Metro, etc. and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call Abrams Landau, Ltd. at once (703-796-9555),