In November of 2016, a Chester County school bus driver caused a bus accident that led to her bus rolling over. Nearly two dozen students suffered varying degrees of injury, with three injured critically. The bus driver has been incarcerated since the accident. She was recently indicted on 35 felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of felony reckless endangerment.
An investigation into the accident found that the driver was driving too fast as she exited an interstate, where the posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour. The driver lost control, traveled off the ramp into gravel, engaged the brake and turned in the opposite direction. The forces caused the bus to strike a guardrail and flip over. Of the 48 people on the bus, 35 were injured.
BUS ACCIDENT LAWSUITS IN TENNESSEE
Generally speaking, when a bus accident occurs, lawsuits will name the bus company that owns or operates the bus as defendants. This is true even when a bus driver’s careless or reckless conduct is the cause of the accident. This is because of a legal theory (respondeat superior) that says that employers can be held liable for the negligence of employees if injuries occur while the employee is acting within the scope of his or her employment.
For victims of bus accidents to prevail in lawsuits against the bus company, the plaintiffs must prove:
- The bus company owed a duty of care to the injured person
- The company failed to meet that duty of care
- The breach of the company’s duty of care led to an injury
- The injuries result in damages that the victim deserves to be compensated for
Jeremiah 33:6, “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth.”