Trucking Company Sued After Bus Collision

Lawsuits are flying after a 18-wheeler struck a school bus full of hockey players. The teens were on their way to a hockey tournament when the accident occurred. 16 members of the team have filed personal injury lawsuits against the employers of the truck driver claiming their injuries resulted in compensable damages.

The suit against the driver is on strong footing. The plaintiffs allege that the driver was drunk at the time of the crash and ran a red light, resulting in the accident. They are asking for the dashcam footage. The driver is facing 26 separate counts of criminal misconduct related to the accident. There is a good chance he faces prison time over this.

Most of the players survived the incident with bumps and bruises, but some are still recovering in the hospital. The team held a practice and there were enough uninjured players to hold that practice.

Analyzing the lawsuits 

Typically, lawsuits such as these target the employer of the driver on the grounds of negligent hiring and retention. In this case, they allowed the driver access to a truck without ensuring he was operating that truck safely. We are all very lucky that the injuries appear to be temporary. However, when a semi-truck collides with a bus, that usually isn’t the case.

As for the driver, he is implicated on two counts of negligence. The first is operating the vehicle while drunk. The second is the traffic violation of running the red light. The plaintiffs will accuse the companies of hiring an unfit drunk driver and not exercising supervisory control over their drivers to ensure they were safe.

Damages 

Damages are directly related to the severity of your injuries, whether or not they require intensive medical treatment, and elements of willfulness or wantonness when violating the rights and safety of others. In this case, the injuries don’t appear too severe with only one individual still in the hospital as of the writing of this article. That means that damages will be limited to hospital expenses and inconvenience fees, but even a broken bone can cause permanent nerve damage and worse. It could also prevent players from finishing out the season.

Punitive damages, however, are not out of the question since the violations that gave rise to this accident are willful and not mere negligence. All truck drivers know that they are supposed to be driving with a BAC of less than .04. So, if they’re blowing up breathalyzers with their tox screens, then you know the violation was wilful.

Further, the companies that hired the driver did not pay attention to what he was doing, meaning that they completely disregarded their duty of care to the public and then kept happening until, inevitably, someone got hurt.

Talk to a Florida Truck Accident Attorney Today 

The Florida personal injury lawyers at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert can help you and your family recover damages related to a truck accident injury. Call today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

wndu.com/2022/11/30/lawsuit-filed-against-trucking-companies-driver-involved-warsaw-bus-crash/