A woman who was run over by a public bus in Champaign was able to receive a sizeable damages award that reflected the substantial injuries she suffered, which included the loss of both of her legs. According to news-gazette.com, a Champaign County jury assessed the woman’s damages at $9.4 million and her husband’s damages at an additional $450,000.
The woman, who was from Mahomet, Illinois, was visiting downtown Champaign and was attempting to cross the street when a city bus ran over her. The injuries she suffered created massive blood loss, with concerned onlookers removing their belts to use as tourniquets, news-gazette.com reported. The woman survived, but she lost the use of both of her legs.
The woman sued both the driver and the transit district for her injuries. She alleged that she was walking in the crosswalk and had the right-of-way when the bus ran into and over her. She asserted a claim of negligence against the driver and sued the transit district under a respondeat superior theory of liability. Respondeat superior means that, in certain tort cases like injury matters, an employer can be liable for the actions of an employee.
In addition to the claims advanced by the injured woman, her husband also sued the driver and the district. His claim was one of “loss of consortium.” This claim referred to the harm the husband suffered due to the lost relationship benefits he incurred as a result of his wife’s injuries.
In its defense, the transit district initially argued that the woman’s injuries were the result of her own negligence in that she walked into the side of the bus, and that action was the cause of her getting run over. According to news-gazette.com, the district eventually backed away from these assertions, but it was a “long hard process.”
When the case went to the jury, the jurors took relatively little time in deciding the case. The jury decided that the injured woman’s damages entitled her to a $9.4 million award, and the jury awarded her husband an additional $450,000. The $9.85 million award was significantly higher than the $6.4 million sum that the defendants’ lawyer suggested to the jury as a fair amount of compensation.
When one has suffered the magnitude of injuries that this woman did, the types of bases for the recovery of damages can be many. In this woman’s case, the jury awarded her damages for her medical care ($2.56 million), disability ($2 million), disfigurement ($2 million), emotional distress ($1.5 million), pain and suffering ($1 million), and lost earnings ($355,000).
When you’ve been injured in an accident, especially one involving a public bus, there are many things with which you’ll have to deal. Your case may involve suing both a driver and a transit authority. You case will involve collecting the necessary evidence to hold liable those who were at fault. And all of this will go on while you have to deal with what are likely serious injuries. To make sure your case gets the attention it needs, talk to the experienced Chicago car accident attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. Our attorneys have been helping injured people seek fair compensation for many years. To set up a free case evaluation, contact us at 312-724-5846 or through our website.
More Blog Posts:
What Happens When You’re Injured by a Lyft or Uber Driver in Illinois?, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, Jan. 12, 2017
New Electronic Logs May Help Prevent Truck Driver Fatigue, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, May 31, 2016