Agency Wants To Settle Jacksonville Bus Death Lawsuit
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s (JTA) board has authorized its lawyers to offer up to $200,000 to the family of a man who was run over and killed by a JTA bus in October of 2011.
The JTA bus driver had actually stopped and helped the victim out of the bus before the horrendous accident occurred. According to The Florida Times-Union, the wheels of the bus had been turned in towards the curb and the bus driver forgot to straighten them out before she started to re-accelerate the bus to leave.
The JTA bus run over the curb and then hit two signs, a fence, the victim, and an oak tree before it stopped. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The bus driver had a checkered past when it came to traffic incidents, according to JTA records. In May of 2010 she had to undergo advanced driver training after side-swiping a pole with a passenger-side mirror.
After an internal investigation into the Florida bus accident and death, the driver was fired.
A lawsuit brought by the victim’s family alleges that the driver was negligent and that JTA and Jax Transit Management Corp. were also negligent because the driver worked for them.
There is still a dispute over whether JTA bus drivers should be considered state employees, and therefore subject to sovereign immunity laws. The Florida Supreme Court considered a case brought by attorneys of another JTA bus accident victim relating to that issue late in 2011, but hasn’t issued a ruling on the matter yet.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a mass transit accident due to the negligence of a transit driver, you may be entitled to compensation. A Jacksonville mass transit accident attorney at Farah & Farah can evaluate your case and will implement a plan of action designed to protect your legal rights. Call us at (800) 533-3555 for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
By Eddie Farah
