Articles Posted in Bus Accidents

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this bus accident/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

Plaintiff Molly Chance moves this court to vacate judgment in this matter and order a new trial under C.C.P. section 657.

INTRODUCTION

Following five days of testimony, a jury rushed to verdict within minutes of electing a foreperson. Despite sworn testimony of all four non-party eyewitnesses clearly seeing Plaintiff Molly Chance ( Chance ) before being struck by a bus, a jury found Defendant’s employee, Paul Davie ( Davie ) who had a closer and less obstructed view than any of the other witnesses, not negligent in failing to see Chance either before or while making a left turn consequently hitting her with his employer’s bus. As will be discussed in the following points and authorities, this travesty of justice was the product of jury misconduct motivated by extreme prejudice fomented against Chance by objected, inflammatory, irrelevant and otherwise inadmissible evidence.

In contravention of the court’s instructions, there was no deliberation concerning the law and evidence that addressed Davie’s duties and conduct. Only the jurors’ collective recall of an investigating traffic police officer’s unfounded opinion that Chance was jaywalking when struck by defendant’s bus was deliberated. Already biased against Chance due to irrelevant and prejudicial evidence of a ten-year-old accident, the policeman’s opinion was enough for a majority of the jurors to place all the responsibility for the incident on her In the interest of serving justice, this verdict should be set aside and a new trial ordered. (See Part 2 of 13.)

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

Through the present, Diane Cash continues to treat with Dr. S. and Dr. C. and continues to receive counseling from Dr. Y., for her injuries sustained in the bus accident of February 6, 2005. Additionally, as prescribed and instructed by Dr. S., Ms. Cash receives cognitive, speech, physical and occupational therapy. Diane Cash remains disabled by her injuries through the present time.

Medical bills to date total in excess of $50,000.00.

Plaintiff’s counsel has retained the services of Life Care Planner, Carol H.. Plaintiff anticipates future expenses for medication and transportation or attendant care in excess of $20,000 per year.

C. Future Medical Expenses.

Diane Cash continues to receive cognitive retraining, physical therapy and speech therapy at St Luke’s Hospital. The monthly charges for this therapy are as follows:

Cognitive retraining $186.00
Physical therapy $186.00
Speech therapy $294.00
TOTAL: $666.00
Ongoing medical expenses, including medication, reduced to present cash value, are anticipated to be $507,000.00.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

In 2006, Diane Cash continued to treat with Drs. S. and C., and continued counseling with Dr. Y., for her continuing injuries sustained in the bus accident. In Interrogatory Responses of January 19, 2006, Diane Cash described her continuing symptoms as follows:

Response to Interrogatory 6.4:

Plaintiff continues to have the following: loss of balance, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, impaired speech, disorientation, blurred vision, to be emotionally labile, memory loss, decreased mentation, passivity, difficulty making decisions, loss of confidence, depression, difficulty walking, preclusion from driving. Plaintiff also continues to have pain and/or discomfort at the top of his head, forehead and behind her eyes, and in her back, right foot, and right shoulder (including an area underneath the clavicle).

Diane Cash remained disabled by her injuries in 2006. She continued to take medication prescribed by Dr. S., for vertigo, nausea, depression and pain. She was referred for speech therapy in 2005, continuing into 2006. Ms. Cash used a cane and/or a walker to ambulate, and received some home health care from Professional Health Care providers.

On October 24, 2006, neurologist Dr. S., plaintiff’s primary treating physician for her injuries, described his continuing treatment of Diane Cash as follows: “Ms. Cash was referred to me for monitoring of treatment of brain damage sustained in a bus accident where her head hit the ground. Ms. Cash’s symptoms of physical brain damage include headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, loss of balance, blurred vision, memory loss, decreased mental ability and comprehension, and impaired speech. I have treated Diane Cash for these symptoms for the last one-and-a-half years. Ms. Cash’s symptoms are within the acknowledged range of symptoms caused by brain damage.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

In June 2005, Dr. Y. recommended to Dr. S. that Diane Cash be evaluated by a neuropsychologist in order to assess the extent of cognitive impairment resulting from the brain damage. In addition to continuing to treat with Dr. S., Dr. C. and Dr. Y., as instructed, Ms. Cash obtained a neuropsychological examination from James W., Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, beginning in August 2005. The neuropsychological evaluation, completed in early 2006, revealed, on the basis of extensive testing, that Ms. Cash had sustained brain damage resulting in considerable loss of cognitive function. Dr. W. also concluded, on the basis of the administered testing, that Ms. Cash’s anxiety and mild to moderate depression, experienced following the bus collision, were sequelae of physical injury to the brain, and not of psychopathology.

Dr. W. declared under oath as follows: The extensive neuropsychological testing conducted during the evaluation of Diane Cash evidenced that Ms. Cash sustained acute physical injury to the brain. The organic brain damage sustained by Ms. Cash has resulted in significant loss of cognitive function. Additionally, as a result of the physical injury to the brain, Ms. Cash suffers from decreased memory, inability to concentrate, mental fatigue, anxiety, irritability, mild to moderate depression, vertigo, stammering, stuttering, blurred vision and headache.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

On Monday, February 9, 2005, Diane Cash obtained further treatment for her bus collision injuries from her primary care physician, Kerry C., M.D., in Sacramento. Dr. C. reported the bus accident, and he noted complaints of nausea, rib pain and cervical radiculopathy. At her re-examination on February 17, 2005, Ms. Cash continued to have head pain, to feel slow and confused, as well as having continued neck and back pain. Dr. C. believed that Ms. Cash was suffering from post-concussion syndrome, and he ordered a CT Scan of Ms.Cash’s head and neck.

Diane Cash returned as instructed for further examination by Dr. C. on March 1, 12, 15, 22 and 29, 2005. Ms. Cash continued to have constant right-sided headache, where her head struck the pavement the pain was only slightly relieved by medication. She continued to feel slow and drowsy, and to have blurred vision. There was related neck, right shoulder, knee and right heel pain. Dr. C.’s diagnosis was of post-concussion syndrome with attendant concern for traumatic head injury. Dr. C. prescribed physical therapy and referred Ms. Cash for consultation for head injury to a neurologist, Roberta S., M.D.

On April 5, 2005, Diane Cash was examined by Board Certified Neurologist, Roberta S., M.D. Dr. S. reported bifrontal and occipital headaches, blurred vision, positional imbalance, slow thinking and reduced memory, as well as low back, hip, right side, knee and heel pain. The physical complaints of heel pain improved somewhat since the time of the collision. Ms. Cash was taking Neurontin, Flexeril, and Ibuprofen as prescribed. Dr. S.’s diagnosis was of post-traumatic head syndrome, with reduced memory, slowed mentation, positional vertigo and post-traumatic headache, and paraspinal thoracic and lumbar strains. Dr. S. prescribed continued Neurontin and Ibuprofen, and advised Dr. C. that Ms. Cash would continue to be disabled from her job as an architect, at least through June 1, 2005.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

DAMAGES
A. Physical Injuries.

The bus struck Diane Cash from the left, as she walked eastbound on Campus Commons Road across University Avenue. Ms. Cash fell and hit her head and her right side on the street pavement. Her first recollection is of waking up and lying on wet pavement, staring at the headlights of the bus. She was disoriented and felt like she was going to die. As she laid on the ground, she heard her friend, with whom she had been speaking on her cell phone, calling out to her. Ms. Cash dragged herself in the direction of her friend’s voice. She felt for her cell phone and found it nearby on the pavement. She was able to call 911.

The Sacramento Fire Department responded to the emergency, assisted Ms. Cash, and the medics reported a chief complaint of head pain. Ms. Cash was transported by ambulance to Mercy General in Sacramento.

At Mercy, Ms. Cash was found to have headache, head contusion and cephalic (head) hematoma, in addition to right shoulder, right leg, and back pain. The examining physician stated: There was questionable loss of consciousness although the patient states she felt disoriented. X-rays were taken of the cervical and lumbar spine. The clinical impression, was as follows:

CLINICAL IMPRESSION:

1. Acute motor vehicle accident.
2. Closed head trauma without acute loss of consciousness secondary to number 1.
3. Cervical/lumbar strain secondary to number one.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

According to the police report concerning the bus-pedestrian collision, Diane Cash was approximately two-thirds of the way across the intersection at the time of impact. The impact knocked her to the ground, and her head struck the pavement.

Prior to the collision, defendant Terry James, driving the University bus on its regular route, was traveling westbound on University Avenue. According to defendant James, he came to a stop at the limit line for the stop sign at Campus Commons Road, and then began executing his left turn onto University Avenue. While executing his turn, James saw a shadow in front of his bus which he later determined to be Diane Cash. Defendant James testified that he struck Ms. Cash with the right front portion of the bus.

The investigating officer determined that the primary collision factor was a violation on the part of defendant James of California Vehicle Code Section 21950(a) (failure to yield to a pedestrian within a marked crosswalk). Defendant University investigated the circumstances of the collision, and it concluded that driver James was at fault, and that the accident chargeable to driver James’s record.

At the scene, driver James did not mention any equipment failures to the investigating police officer. At deposition, however, defendant James testified that the windshield wipers on the University bus were not functioning at the time of the collision. Further discovery confirmed that the windshield wipers, and possibly the defroster system on the bus, had not been functioning for a period of at least several days before the collision.

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

PLAINTIFF’S TRIAL BRIEF
NATURE OF CASE AND PARTIES

This is a personal injury action for damages sustained by plaintiff Diane Cash when she was struck by a University bus in a crosswalk on February 6, 2005, in Sacramento. Defendant Terry James was the driver of the University bus that struck Diane Cash. At the time of the collision, defendant Terry James was acting within the course and scope of his employment for the defendant University. The bus operated by defendant Terry James at the time of the collision was owned and maintained by defendant University.

LIABILITY

Diane Cash is a 41-year-old senior architect, who has worked for a prominent architecture and design firm for 15 years. She has served as president, vice president and secretary of the local professional architects society with approximately 225 members. She has a degree in architecture from U.C. Berkeley, a residence in El Dorado Hills and numerous friends.

On the evening of February 6, 2005, Diane Cash was walking across Campus Commons Road at University Avenue in Sacramento, on her way to dinner when she was struck by the bus. The intersection is illuminated by street lights. Ms. Cash was using her cell phone, which she held in her right hand. It was raining and Ms. Cash also held an open umbrella, with her left hand. Diane Cash is legally blind in her left eye.

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In an effort to be better prepared for an actual bus crash emergency, Yolo County emergency personnel used .

Rumsey Rancheria firefighter Joseph Perez yelled, asking if anyone inside an overturned bus could hear him. As instructed, the 20 Esparto High School students played their roles as victims of a bus crash well. Some moaned, some whimpered for help, and a few who only had minor “injuries” walked out. Heather Lopez, 15, slumped over a cracked and “blood”-stained window, pretended to be lifeless. Mock injuries on the teenagers’ faces, parts of their bodies and clothes made it look like they were bleeding.

Saturday’s simulated exercise comes at the heels of a spate of high-profile bus crashes in the past year and bears many similarities to the one that killed 10 people near Williams in October.

The real-life deadly crash took place on a small farm road, with a chartered bus bound for Colusa Casino Resort carrying mostly Hmong-speaking elderly residents from the Sacramento area.

Saturday’s mock exercise took place along rural Highway 16 in Yolo County, near Cache Creek Casino Resort.

During a briefing before the drill, Rumsey Rancheria Fire Chief Michael Chandler said many lessons were learned from the fatal crash.

“One of the problems was who are our patients and where do they go?” Chandler said.

A review of the deadly crash showed failure in a communication system led to troubled transits for helicopters carrying patients. One had to hover over UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, low on fuel, because the helipad was full. Meanwhile, the paramedic coordinating transport at the scene wasn’t aware that Sutter Roseville and Mercy San Juan medical centers had helipads.

On Saturday, nurse Joaquin Franz said the agencies practiced using an electronic system that informs users of the load that each hospital can manage during a mass-casualty incident.

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