An 18-year-old Washington teenager was killed in a bus accident in June. The teen had been walking to work when she was hit by a transit bus. Recently, the driver of the bus that failed to stop for the woman has been criminally cited. She has been charged with failing to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian and for driving carelessly. The teen was killed just three days before she was due to graduate high school.
The teenager’s mother has filed a lawsuit as a result of her daughter’s death. She is suing both the bus driver and the driver’s employer. In the suit, she is asking for $5 million in damages.
While criminal charges can help to hold negligent drivers responsible for their actions, they cannot compensate families the way that a civil suit can. A bus accident can cause serious financial, emotional and physical injuries to those involved.
Bus crash victims can suffer serious physical injuries because of the sheer size of these large vehicles. These injuries can be extensive to victims on the bus, pedestrians and people in other vehicles. They often require medical care and rehabilitation. Additionally, people may have to spend significant time away from their jobs and therefore lose valuable income.
People who are killed in bus accidents leave behind grieving family members. Families of fatal bus accident victims — like the family in this case — have funeral expenses, medical expenses, lost wages and damages for loss of companionship. While a suit cannot take away their emotional pain, it gives them the financial resources to cover these expenses and focus on their healing.
Source: KIRO, “Bus driver cited in fatal downtown Portland crash,” Aug. 21, 2014