5Yr Old Left At Wrong Bus Stop Wins Settlement

In N.J., a 5 yr old left a mile away from his stop despite his tearful pleas to the driver, won a $13,000. settlement from the school bus company.

http://www.nbc10.com/education/16789867/detail.html

That would have been terrifying for the little boy. I feel for him. BUT, I hate all the suing that goes on in the US.  it seems as though everyone wants a quick penny, so if somthing happens, the first thought is SUE!    you slip on a floor in the store, you sue.  You get bad service, you sue.  It is out of control, and the judges need to throw out so many of these cases.  It's starting to be like that a bit more in Canada now too, and it just makes me sooo mad.  Soon we will be afraid to have anyone over, cause they will sue, we will be afraid of leaving the house, cause we might look at someone the wrong way and they will sue us.  My DH ownes a business that shipps into the US.  It often weighs on our mind that if anyone is injured using our product, even if they were to blame, they will sue us and it will wipe us right out.  It's just crazy. 

Okay, rant over,

I think this was a good suit and I would have done the same. I don't know what it is like where others live, but here this kind of stuff happens alot.Kids are left on buses at the end of the line fairly frequently. Recently a couple have been found wandering around the bus lot after hours, scared to death.They had fallen asleep on the bus and the drivers failed to check the bus before leaving it in the lot. It seems as if the drivers are untouchable because they are all union. This is the first time I have heard of a bus company actually being taken to court and made to be responsible for its screw up.  

If i am remembering correctly the mother didn't want to sue, she wanted the bus company to apologize and to get the recognition so this did not happen again, but they would NOT respond to her so she sued and I am glad she won. Thye had been being way too careless with the policy that was thier own.

 Yup- that's the one. I am so glad that my years of dealing with school buses are over. Seriously- they are like the mafia - all of the problems they cause seem to roll right off of them and they accept responsibility for nothing. When my GD was in kindergarten, my DD got into an argument with the driver because she (the driver) was trying to get a boy to get off at our stop. My DD told the driver that this was the wrong stop and that she (as the guidelines given to parents at the beginning of the year stated) was supposed to bring any kids left on the bus back to the school. The driver got angry and yelled at the boy to sit back down and that he was going to make her late getting home and that she is not paid any overtime. If my DD hadn't been there, the driver would have made this kid (in kindergarten) get off the bus! She called the company to report it and said the person just sounded bored and unconcerned.

Oh man!  Our local bus garage is amazing to work with.  The drivers know each of the kids and exactly where they get on and off.  The bus garage is responsible for your child until the child is returned to your house.

I can't believe they wouldn't appoligize!  I could go on a rant about these big unions (dh was in one for years, hated it) but I wont'!

Just thought i would add:

My DH personally knows 2 men who are school bus drivers. One was a public transport bus driver who can't drive for them anymore because he had a heart attack. (Apparently no problem for the school bus companies) and the other is a man from Egypt who speaks very little english and understands even less.

  The Bus Driver was  100% WRONG !     But I still don't see any reason to sue,  even if the mother didn't get an apology which of course she should have.

    Like someone else said,  SUE HAPPY is the name of the game,  make a quick buck.  The Attorney's love it.  Since this was settled with $$$ I would hope to think that after paying off the Attorney what was left should be put in a College fund for that child.

                                            JMHO  Cassiebabe

  P.S.  Becouse of Calif's poor budget,  all our buses have been taken away here where I live and this really put the parents in a tail spin,  especially the 2 working parents.

whiteflower_pa:

 Yup- that's the one. I am so glad that my years of dealing with school buses are over. Seriously- they are like the mafia - all of the problems they cause seem to roll right off of them and they accept responsibility for nothing. When my GD was in kindergarten, my DD got into an argument with the driver because she (the driver) was trying to get a boy to get off at our stop. My DD told the driver that this was the wrong stop and that she (as the guidelines given to parents at the beginning of the year stated) was supposed to bring any kids left on the bus back to the school. The driver got angry and yelled at the boy to sit back down and that he was going to make her late getting home and that she is not paid any overtime. If my DD hadn't been there, the driver would have made this kid (in kindergarten) get off the bus! She called the company to report it and said the person just sounded bored and unconcerned.

O My Gosh, Whiteflower, that is horrible. Both stories. 

I took my kids to school myself, since it was only about a 15 minute run. I got flack from it, even from DH. But, we live way up a dirt road, muddy sometimes, rain, snow, and it is a long walk to the stop. So, I figured, might as well go ahead and take them. Plus , they could sleep a bit longer. I do'nt care what people said, they were my kids, I did what I thought best. Now, hearing stories like this, I am so glad.

But, I think our bus drivers were more considerate. I know one was, he is a neighbor, and has had the wrong one on his bus before.  To just toss them out, that is horrible.

My children have never, ever ridden a school bus for any trip longer than going to the childcare center they attended after school.  And then the workers knew what children were supposed to be on and made sure they got off.  I have seen how some drivers drive!  In fact, I have followed them back to the bus barn and told them how sorry of a driver they were!

Unfortunately, my kids did have to ride for field trips.  My oldest dh called me on her cell-phone, when she was in 10th grade, to frantically tell me her bus driver had gone off the road a couple times because he kept falling asleep!  The teacher finally made him pull over at a gas station, bought him some coffee and spent the next hour sitting right behind him talking to him!  And you know what happened to him...Nothing!

While they were driving back I called the head of the transportation who did call the driver and the driver told him it was a minor incident.  Minor, my @ss! 

I know bus drivers do have a difficult job.  While, in our state, it is against the law to have more than 25 children in a classroom with only one teacher, it's okay to put 60 on a school bus with one driver who also has to drive!  But, if they are unable to handle their job safely, they need another!

brigid

Excellent news for the boy and his mom.  After having been a party in a lawsuit vs. the schools, this is just deserts! 

 I think the settlement was reasonable.  $14,000 plus the bad press they got is enough to make the bus company sit up and take notice, but not an amount which should bankrupt them.

 I agree that there are many frivolous lawsuits, but I also see the other side.  Ultimately, businesses aim to keep costs low and profits high.  Screening job applicants costs.  Training and supervising employees costs.  So it's necessary to ensure that failing to do so costs more.