Woman is Awarded $7.2 Million for Back Injuries from Distracted Driving Greyhound Crash

By John Cooper, Norfolk, VA Mass Transit Injury Attorney

Distracted driving may have been the cause of a bus crash in Texas (TX) that led to a Greyhound bus to rollover. Now a passenger who was hurt has been awarded $7.2 million by a jury.

The 24-year-old woman from Colorado was  injured in a roll-over crash early in the morning on a Greyhound bus in December 2007, the Sacramento Bee reported.

“Bus passenger Ashley Reedy alleged the Greyhound driver was using a cell phone while driving in icy conditions on Interstate 40 in Wheeler County, Texas,” the Sacramento Bee reported.

According to testimony heard during the trial, the driver braked improperly as he approached a wreck ahead of him on the highway, losing control of the bus that then rolled over.

Although Ms. Reedy survived, she suffered serious injuries to her head, neck and back.

Her attorney Ryan Zehl said:  “The verdict will enable Ashley to have lower-back surgery next month for injuries received in the crash. We hope it sends the message that companies like Greyhound will be held responsible for any injuries they cause. In this case, we alleged that Greyhound hired an unqualified driver, that he was improperly trained, and that he ultimately failed to control his speed, which caused the bus to flip over.”

See this video about a fatal NewYork City bus crash.

Lawyers in the Texas case presented evidence that this bus driver had received three speeding convictions before Greyhound hired him and used his cell phone 17 times in just three hours before this accident.

The accident raises questions of how adequately Greyhound screened this driver before hiring him. If a company takes on an unqualified driver or fails to train him, it can be held liable in a lawsuit for its actions, or in this case, its inactions.

As Norfolk-based lawyers who specialize in spine and back injuries we know how serious and painful these can be. Operations to treat conditions in these sensitive areas can be difficult and costly.

In 2011 a number of serious bus accidents made headlines. In May 2011, in Caroline County, Virginia (VA) a tour bus traveling to New York City crashed off I-95 and flipped on its roof killing four people and injuring many more.

Driver error was again to blame. Investigators said the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

DM

The Norfolk based personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles car, truck, and motorcycle injuries. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have over 40 years of combined experience in handling auto injury accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of the our clients first.. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards. If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us ( 757) 455 -0077. For a free consultation with a specialized Hampton Roads, Virginia personal injury lawyer contact us through this website.