Almost everyone has gone to work when they were sick. The COVID-19 pandemic, despite the public messaging that people should stay home when they are sick in order to avoid exposing others to contagious diseases, further increased the economic pressure on most members of society, especially those whose jobs require workers to report to the work site in person. Taking over-the-counter medication and powering through your shift at work, despite how ill you feel, is part of the American experience. In certain jobs, when people work when they are sick, the consequences can be worse than simply the spread of germs. Two years ago, an Albuquerque city bus driver drove the bus while he was under the weather, and by the time his shift was finished, he had caused an accident that killed one passenger and injured many others. If you have suffered serious injuries in a bus accident because the bus driver was in no shape to drive, contact a Santa Fe car accident lawyer.
Driver Was in No Shape to Drive at the Time of the Accident
In April 2022, a bus driver reported to work to drive an Albuquerque city bus, even though he was not feeling well enough to drive. The driver had a fever and cold symptoms, and he had been taking over-the-counter medication, although news reports did not specify what kind. While he was transporting a bus full of passengers on his route, he lost control of the bus and collided with the wall of the I-25 underpass near Lomas, causing some of the passengers to fall from their seats.
The passenger who sustained the most serious injuries was a woman who was sitting on a bench seat across from the driver’s seat. When the bus collided with the wall, she was ejected from her seat and collided with the metal compartment behind the driver’s seat. She sustained severe head trauma and multiple bone fractures. The woman died from her injuries a month after the accident. She was 69 years old.
The victim’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Albuquerque, also naming the driver as a defendant. The plaintiffs allege that the city should not have allowed the driver to drive the bus on the day of the accident and instead, should have sent him home. They also allege that, when the driver was admitted to the hospital after the accident, doctors did not test his blood alcohol content (BAC) or test his blood for the presence of medications that are incompatible with safe driving, even though it should be standard practice to do this if a driver causes an injury accident and admits to having taken medication. The victim’s family is requesting $750,000 in compensatory damages.
Contact Slate Stern About Bus Accident Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in bus accidents. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-of-albuquerque-faces-lawsuit-over-fatal-bus-crash
Photo by Egor Litvinov on Unsplash