The attorney for the parents of a young girl who perished in the Woodmore Elementary School Bus Crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, has filed a lawsuit against the bus' maker, Thomas Built Buses, court records show. The bus' driver Johnthony Walker, his employer Durham Bus Services and its contractor National Express L.L.C. are also all listed as co-defendants in this case.
The family's attorney alleges that the manufacturer of bus 366 failed to equip the bus with seat belts and crash resistant windows that might have kept the young victim and others from being ejected from the bus in the incident. In their lawsuit, they allege that "had the bus manufacturer included those safety precautions, it would have drastically reduced the catastrophic loss of life and injury".
The filing is one of several wrongful death lawsuits that has been waged against the different parties said to be responsible for the fatal school bus accident that claimed the lives of six young kids and injured many others in the southern Tennessee city. This family's claim, however, is the first to accuse Thomas Built, the bus' manufacturer of the bus' defective design.
The attorney for the parents of the deceased young girl say there is a $750,000 ceiling a family can request in damages, to include pain and suffering for someone who dies in an accident such as this in Tennessee. Those parents with children with severe injuries are eligible to demand significantly more given the substantial medical bills and related expenses that may continue to accrue.
If you or someone you know has been involved in an accident involving serious injury or wrongful death that you believe can be attributed to an auto defect or faulty product design, an attorney can help. In learning more about the specifics of your case, a products liability law attorney can help you understand your rights as it relates to recovering money for your expenses and losses.
Source: NewsChannel9.com, "Wrongful death suit claims Woodmore bus had a defective design," Hannah Lawrence, Dec. 16, 2016