injured on a bus

[shuggler]

Hi there seeking advice please, My wife was going to work on the local bus and people stood up when approaching the stop she was in the que to get off when the bus driver braked hard she went headlong to the front of the bus and ended up facing the wrong way with a black eye and bruising, the driver said he was sorry, that it was his fault, but braked hard as he thought he was going to hit the car in front which had stopped in front of him. Does she have a claim for compensation, thank you.

[SRPO]

Im sure the ambulance chasers will get her a few quid in an out of court settlement without any problems.

[shuggler]

Thank you for your reply SRPO but can you explain what you mean by ambulance chasers? please

[dx100uk]

no win no fee co's.

 

however, just be aware, there will be reference to signs on the buses that will read, 'do not get up from your seat until the bus stops'

 

dx

[Stigy]

no win no fee co's.

 

however, just be aware, there will be reference to signs on the buses that will read, 'do not get up from your seat until the bus stops'

 

dx

Indeed, there are usually these signs on buses, so as to prevent such claims. Much like McDonald's warning that their coffee is hot, on the cups because some dodgy American burned himself.

[sailor sam]

no win no fee co's.

 

however, just be aware, there will be reference to signs on the buses that will read, 'do not get up from your seat until the bus stops'

 

dx

 

Having worked as a bus driver for many years, I have never driven a bus with such a sign. Buses allow standing passengers so such a sign would be contridictory.

 

Secondly as your wife was injured and as it was vehicle related, the police should have been called as technically it is an injury caused as a result of of a road traffic incident. Did your wife need medical treatment?

 

Have you got the details of the bus? (i.e. fleet number, time and place incident occured ect) If you had a ticket, it is likely that the information needed is printed on it. If you have this info, the bus co will be able to identify the bus easily and also obtain the CCTV footage from it (most modern buses now have CCTV which can be uesfull in these cases). Did the driver record the incident and take any names of witnesess? Did your wife do the same?

 

Sorry for all the questions but these are the bits of info that will be needed to persue any claim.

 

__________________

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[dx100uk]

i think if you look under your co's T&C's for travel its listed.

only stand when no seats

otherwise sit down till the bus stops.

 

certainly been on every arriva bus since about the mid 90's.

and first express or whatever their name is now.

 

the rest of your post is by far the best way though.

 

 

dx

[sailor sam]

i think if you look under your co's T&C's for travel its listed.

only stand when no seats

otherwise sit down till the bus stops.

 

certainly been on every arriva bus since about the mid 90's.

and first express or whatever their name is now.

 

the rest of your post is by far the best way though.

 

 

dx

 

In my 17 years experience as a bus driver, I have never come across this t & c. The only stipulation for standing passengers as far as I am concerned are; Not allowed in the upper saloon and staircase, on the platform (until the bus has stopped), forward of the back of the driver's cab or anywhere else indicated by signage. All buses now have to display signs stating the maximum capacity including standees. In my opinion the max allowed standees is far too many (somtimes it can be 20 or more!)

 

Having said this, I actually agree that passengers SHOULD remain seated until the bus has stopped but in reality most of them seem to be unable to use the bell-push buttons which are on nearly every hand rail throughout modern buses and within easy reach of a seated passenger. So perhaps they think they will get an electric shock or somthing by using them! This is why they are there so a seted passenger can indicate to the driver that they want the next stop but in the majority of cases, they simply don't use them. The mentality is that when they want to get off, they stand up so the driver is aware. What most don't realize (especially buses fitted with bandit screens) is that sometimes the driver cannot see them because of blind spots and reflections ect.

 

In any event, In all such cases I have been aware of I have never known a passenger prejudice their case by standing before the bus has stopped. If the driver in the OPs case had to take evasive action because of some idiot car driver and as a result a passenger is injured, then the bus driver is supposed to take the car's VRM and report it to the police as it is regarded as a road traffic incident as the injured party was travelling in a vehicle.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

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[dx100uk]

the bus driver might even be lucky to have internal/external cctv too

 

dx

[sailor sam]

the bus driver might even be lucky to have internal/external cctv too

 

dx

 

Hopefully Yes, which is what i said in my post #6.

 

Need a bit more info from the OP to advise further.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[shuggler]

Thanks for the reply SAILOR SAM, The bus driver did not call the police, nor did he take down the VRM of the other vehicle involved, no witness statements were taken,asked my wife to write down her details on a scrap of paper and said he would report it, but his main concern was to keep to his timetable and get my wife off the bus as soon as possible, along with an OAP who was also injured. There were no signs about standing while bus in motion, my wife attended the doctor after work but did not require medical treatment, as it was a local bus she knew some of the passengers who witnessed the incident, time and fleet number were noted by my wife. I would be grateful for any info on how to proceed with this matter, also if the driver had reported this would the bus company then contact my wife? Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

[dx100uk]

he prob didn't even see the reg no with all those people flying around.

 

SS i'm sorry im not sure what co you work for nor does it matter, but i can assure you if its public carrying then it will be part of the conditions of travel etc . every co had to do the risk assessment when the rules changed sev years ago.

 

if the buses dont display such signs or make ref to such info inside the bus or on its tickets to read conditions of travels etc then they are leaving themselves wide open to the sort of american conpensation claim culture being sought against them.

 

the target should be the car driver for making the bus brakehard when the passengers were standing up before they should of, not the driver not bus company.

 

i would findout if the bus was fitted with fwd facing CCTV .

 

incidently, how do we actually reconcile this...............

 

we sue the driver because he quite rightly braked to avoid a collision, or should he have shouted out sit down or hold tight or have braked not so sharp as to avoid hurting his passengers that even common sense surely dictates should have been seated?

 

tell you what, they won't do that in a hurry again!

 

sorry but i hate to think what would of happened if he hadn't braked.

 

dx

[sailor sam]

he prob didn't even see the reg no with all those people flying around.

 

SS i'm sorry im not sure what co you work for nor does it matter, but i can assure you if its public carrying then it will be part of the conditions of travel etc . every co had to do the risk assessment when the rules changed sev years ago.

 

if the buses dont display such signs or make ref to such info inside the bus or on its tickets to read conditions of travels etc then they are leaving themselves wide open to the sort of american conpensation claim culture being sought against them.

 

the target should be the car driver for making the bus brakehard when the passengers were standing up before they should of, not the driver not bus company.

 

i would findout if the bus was fitted with fwd facing CCTV .

 

incidently, how do we actually reconcile this...............

 

we sue the driver because he quite rightly braked to avoid a collision, or should he have shouted out sit down or hold tight or have braked not so sharp as to avoid hurting his passengers that even common sense surely dictates should have been seated?

 

tell you what, they won't do that in a hurry again!

 

sorry but i hate to think what would of happened if he hadn't braked.

 

dx

 

Dx, i've actually worked for 2 different companies in different parts of the country. With respect, I am fully up on the carriage of passenger t & c's. You are correct that certain signage is essential on buses and at the bottom of a sign giving 'general conditions' will have the sentance; 'full terms and conditions are available by request'. The reference to standing passengers in my experience on the signage inside the bus is as I stated in my post #8. In any case, as i said previously, it makes no differnce to the OP's position.

 

To the OP; I would suspect that the driver hasn't reported it. I would suggest that you write to the operations manager at the bus co concerned outlining the incident and include the time/route/fleet number and request the details of their insuers as you wish to make a claim. From your infomation, the CCTV footage (if available) will be obtained. Mention that you have witnesses to the incident. It is up to you whether you want to report the matter to ther police but if you do, the driver may be prosecuted.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[rebel11]

Make sure you take some pictures of the misses, that would be good evidence, also buses have CCTV. Act quickly. Good Luck.

[shuggler]

Thanks for the replies folks, took photo's on the day it happend and also today as the bruising looks worse as time goes on, dont want the driver getting into trouble by contacting the police, jobs are hard enough to find, but hopefully it can be resolved to both parties satisfaction. Thank you very much for the advice folks will let you know how it goes.

[sailor sam]

Thanks for the replies folks, took photo's on the day it happend and also today as the bruising looks worse as time goes on, dont want the driver getting into trouble by contacting the police, jobs are hard enough to find, but hopefully it can be resolved to both parties satisfaction. Thank you very much for the advice folks will let you know how it goes.

 

Unfortunately if the driver hasn't reported the incident to his line manager, it will be inevitable he will be in 'trouble' when you put your claim in. In any event that's not your problem.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[sailor sam]

Is there any news on this?

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[shuggler]

Sorry SS, yes the bus company's claims dept have confirmed they got a letter from my wife and they have since studdied CCTV footage from the bus and have also confirmed that the driver was negligent, and asked my wife for approval to contact her doctor regarding his report of her injuries, and also any photographic evidence. Sorry for not replying sooner been on holiday.

[sailor sam]

Ok Shuggler, please do let us know how you get on.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[Mydogsawestie]

Shuggler, just came across your thread tonight. My mum got £3500 going through a solicitor who did the case for her against stagecoach , all worth pursuing. She had a witness as it happened, also there was photographic evidence along with her damaged spectacles but she was sitting at the front of the bus at the time when the bus came to an abrupt halt causing her to fall off her seat against a pole & onto the floor. The driver stopped & got out of his cab to help her & documented it down for her which probably all helped towards this settlement. It made her very nervous afterwards going on buses for awhile, she's 78 now & I take her & collect her if I'm not working when I can to her Bingo & OAP Pensioners clubs nowadays, think she was about 74 at the time when it happened.

 

Good luck in your claim & I hope your wife recovers fully for the future too

[gadgetgirl79]

I'm perhaps out of touch with the real world, but how does a black eye and bruising require financial compensation? Did she have to miss a day of work and end up out of pocket? (your post doesn't actually say)

[sailor sam]

I'm perhaps out of touch with the real world, but how does a black eye and bruising require financial compensation? Did she have to miss a day of work and end up out of pocket? (your post doesn't actually say)

 

It appears you are out of touch. A passenger boards a bus (or any other form of public transport for that matter) to be transported from A to B with the expectation that they arrive in one peice. The operator has a duty of care to his passengers and has to have insurance to cover them in the event of injury. I would certainly say that a black eye and bruising (especially if we are taliking an elderly person) constitutes an injury whether they loose time off work or not.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[dx100uk]

so in the meantime, the driver gets reprimanded / looses his job, the car driver gets away scotfree, and the person injured, who should of been seated, gets the money............

we are becoming america......

 

dx

[wheelergeezer]

When I was a bus driver in 1990, working for London transport as it was then, my instructions were very clear in circumstances like this. As the bus driver you do not slam your brakes on to avoid another motorist - you hit them. Then they are not going anywhere and you have the cause of the problem right there. I kid you not, this was their official advise. Needless to say, I was a real fly in the ointment and would not crash a double deck bus if I can avoid the collision.

 

Can you imagine the court case if some car driver ended up as a quadraplegic. 'Well, I could have stopped but I wanted to make sure I had proof they pulled out in front of me, so I rammed them with my 13 tonne bus.'

[sailor sam]

so in the meantime, the driver gets reprimanded / looses his job, the car driver gets away scotfree, and the person injured, who should of been seated, gets the money............

we are becoming america......

 

dx

 

Another one out of touch!

 

Again speaking as an ex bus driver, the guide lines in these kind of situations are quite clear for drivers and is covered during their training. If you don't follow them properly you leve yourself wide open. Obviously in the OP's case the driver indeed did not follow the correct proceedure. What you have to realize is that if a passenger is injured on a bus which is moving, it becomes an RTA (or RTC as it is known now days) and should be treated as such. And as I have said before, the passenger should not necessarilly have been seated.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.