Verdict Against Greyhound
A federal court jury in Winchester has returned an $8M verdict against Greyhound for injuries to a passenger after a man attacked the driver who then lost control of the bus. You can read another press report of the story here.
The injuries were substantial; the plaintiff had some $1.6M in medical expenses.
The Plantiff was able to prove that the company knew of at least 43 prior incidents where passengers attacked drivers and yet it had done nothing to protect its drivers.
This verdict tells us that jurors recognize in a modern society people with the knowledge of the risk of criminal acts of others have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent those criminal acts from occurring.
No, this verdict tells us that jurors are stupid and easily manipulated.
"43 prior incidents" tells us nothing of the seriousness of those incidents (does slugging the driver in the arm once the bus has stopped count? How about a fist-fight OFF the bus?), nor is it compared to something "safe" to show that it is worse.
The person responsible for this terrible occurence is the crazy guy with the knife - Greyhound is just the nearest deep pocket.
Gentle Readers:
Isn't it nice to know that someone as intelligent and all-knowing as Deoxy is reading this blog? I mean, heck, Deoxy is so smart he or she is able to judge the intellect and sophistication of people he or she has never even met! How does Deoxy do it?
What is even more remarkable is Deoxy's courage - no real name, no email address.
I guess Deoxy is afraid that one of those "stupid" jurors might take offense and undertake to administer some out-of-court rural Tennessee justice.
Keep reading and commenting, Doexy. We all enjoy hearing from you.
Whatever happened to the idea that if you take money from someone, that you have to give them back a product or a service? And hopefully would have to be a good product or service? In this case Greyhound, offered a service-a busride. Would it be unreasonable for a customer who paid good money to ride this bus to expect a safe, quality ride? I think not and I think thats why the Jurors found the way they did. As for the 43 prior incidents Deoxy spoke of, maybe Greyhound should have been aware of them prior to allowing him on their bus? Makes sense to me? Maybe its a good thing he wasnt an ax murderer or something?
I'm sorry, I misinterpreted the 43 incidents but doesnt affect my comment. You offer a person a product or service, it should be a requirement for it to be a good product or service. Since Greyhound already knew about 43 incidents, they should have done something prior to this incident to protect its customers and drivers.
Yesterday I was assaulted on a greyhound bus. After being hit in the back of my head from behind, I was then punched 20 or 30 times in the face and the back of the head. It had been ovr 20 years since I've ridden a bus. Since the man was allowed to run from the scene and off of the property immediately police (at this time) have not arrested him. I hope this message can help me find precedence in this case, and possibly an attorney that would take the case.