THE INJURED STUDENT
Note: The names of the clients in these case summaries have been omitted in
order to protect their identity.
Our client was a junior in high school. On the morning he was injured,
he had exited a city bus and was crossing the road in front of his school in order
to get to school. As he crossed the road, a dump truck coming from the
opposite direction hit him and drug him 91 feet before coming to a stop. The
city bus, unlike a school bus, was not equipped with a stop sign or flashing lights
which would have required vehicles on both sides of the road to stop for the students.
Witnesses stated that the student stepped from behind the bus into the path of the
dump truck. The student suffered orthopedic injuries and a traumatic brain
injury. He was not able to return to school that year and never fully recovered
from his injuries. Claims were brought against the driver, the driver’s
company, and the school system. Through discovery it was learned that the
driver had several accidents and traffic violations on his record and had been reported
by a concerned citizen about a year before for speeding in another school zone.
Through the use of accident reconstruction experts, we were able to prove that the
driver was speeding on this occasion. An exhibit was created that showed all
of the various school, bus stop, and pedestrian warning signs that the driver would
have had to pass prior to hitting our client. We also created an exhibit which
showed the stopping distances for the dump truck at various speeds. The school
system was also found to be responsible for our client’s injuries. The
school system had given the student vouchers to ride the city bus even though the
school principal knew that the city bus was not equipped with the warning devices
that are required on school buses, that motorists are not required to stop for a
city bus as they are for a school bus, and that the section of road where the accident
happened was at the bottom of a hill and at the end of a curve. And although
there were off-duty police officers at the school at all times, the school provided
no crossing guard to help the students safely cross the street. We were able
to overcome claims of the student’s contributory negligence raised by the
company and the school system, and recover damages that fully compensated
the student over the remainder of his life for the damages he suffered.
Plaintiff Attorney: Guy Crabtree, Esq., Pulley, Watson, King, Lischer, PA,
P.O. Drawer 2600, Durham, NC 27701