Nine members of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Denton, TX recently filed suit against the driver of their tour bus, which crashed on an icy Colorado road in December 2010 and caused them injuries. The suit also names the driver’s employer, a bus company located in Fort Worth, according to an article published in The Forth Worth Star-Telegram.
According to the church members, the bus driver is responsible for their injuries because he was driving too fast on icy roads when the bus accident occurred. The driver reportedly passed multiple cars and was traveling too fast for the ice on the roads and the snow and darkness that obscured the road ahead. The bus slid off the road near Gunnison, Colorado, where it rolled down a hill and struck a post. The driver was cited for speeding by Colorado police.
In addition, the nine injured church members claim that the driver failed to meet federal requirements while on the job. These included failing to keep track of the bus’s stops, including a meal break, and failing to use adaptive equipment while driving, even though the driver’s right foot had been partially amputated.
The nine church members who decided to sue the bus driver all suffered injuries in the December crash. The group includes four children, their parents, and another adult couple who were injured.
Bus accidents are dangerous to everyone involved. The large number of passengers a bus can hold, plus the bus’s size and weight, make a bus accident a prime scene for injuries. Often, injuries in a bus crash are severe, requiring expensive medical treatment and long-term care or rehabilitation. While most bus drivers take their safety responsibilities seriously, drivers who are reckless or distracted put everyone on the road at great risk. If you have been injured in a bus accident, an experienced Texas bus accident attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options, as well as help you seek compensation for injuries and related losses, if needed.
