Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
Plaintiff, NANCY KLEIN, hereby submits the following Mediation Brief.
I. BACKGROUND
At the time of the incident, plaintiff, NANCY KLEIN, was 60 years of age. She lived with her husband of 33 years, Kevin, on their 60 acre plant farm outside Sacramento, California. Together they also leased an additional 50 acres of land for fruit farming. Prior to the bus accident, NANCY was a very active farmer of 34 years working 10-12 hour days on their farm. She did not smoke. She did not have any respiratory complaints. She also went on yearly scuba dives, and loved to bicycle and work on the farm. Today, because of her injuries she can perform only 15 percent of her previous duties as a farmer and land owner.
II. INCIDENT
NANCY and her husband are members of the California Rose Farmers Association. It is a non-profit organization for farmers and growers who enjoy roses and plants. Each year the group charters a bus from the defendant bus company to take the group on a two-day fun-filled “Rose Tour” visiting farms and orchards in Central California.
On May 12, 2006, plaintiff was a passenger on a chartered bus operated by defendant, XYZ CHARTER TOURS and driven by its employee, BOBBI JONES. This was the group’s two-day bus trip to the Central Valley for 2006. As the bus was traveling down Interstate 5 in Elk Grove, an unidentified car passed in front of the bus. Defendant JONES slammed too hard on the brakes. The brakes were applied so hard it even caused the bus to “dip down.” Because the driver slammed on the brakes, NANCY fell, injuring her right side.
Driver JONES had recently undergone surgery and chemotherapy for lung cancer. She had driven on previous years but this year her driving was not up to par. Although she had been released to work by her doctor, she was not able to drive with the care and diligence required to safely operate the large 55-passenger bus. Witnesses described her as speeding, slamming on her brakes, missing turns, and blowing out the windows on the left side of the bus. This will be described in more detail in Section VII. (See Part 2 of 6.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.