On Sept. 6, 2019, the plaintiff who was hit in the crosswalk by a New Jersey Transit bus, won $12.75 million.
Plaintiff lived in Springfield, Union County and was hit by a New Jersey Transit bus, in the crosswalk at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Union Place on Nov. 2, 2016. The strike left him with a permanent brain injury, multiple brain hemorrhages, skull fractures, a right clavicle fracture, and multiple rib fractures leaving him no longer work or care for himself.
NJ Transit argued during the trial, which was underway before the settlement was reached, that the plaintiff was high at the time of the crash and should have not made the agency liable. However, the attorney representing the plaintiff presented evidence against the argument, leading to the settlement. The state Office of the Attorney General agreed to the settlement on September 6.
In a similar bus crash case, where the Cuyahoga County jury ordered Greyhound Lines, Inc., a bus company to pay more than $27 million to a Cleveland resident. The verdict passed in Ohio’s 8th District Court of Appeals.
The court documents stated that the bus driver fell asleep while driving on a Pennsylvania highway and hit the rear of a tractor-trailer. The crash resulted in the victim's crushed lower body and losing his right leg. The victim underwent more than 30 surgeries to repair his heart, crushed bones in his foot, pelvis, arms, and torn muscles in his shoulder.
The jury granted $23 million for pain and suffering, medical expenses and other monetary losses along with $4 million in punitive damages — adding up to $27 million in total. The trial judge further added nearly $1.6 million in prejudgment interest and attorney fees in addition to the jury’s award of compensatory and punitive damages.
