NJ Transit doles out millions of dollars
each year to settle claims related to pedestrians who have been struck
by NJ Transit buses, resulting in brain injuries, crushed hands and
feet, disfigurement or — in a few cases — death, records show.
Passaic police examining the scene where a man was
killed by an NJ Transit bus last year. Fatal accidents are not common,
but the agency spends millions to fight injury claims.
Over a nearly three-year period, the agency paid $20.5
million to people who said they were injured when bus drivers ran red
lights, failed to yield to pedestrians or ignored their surroundings.
The family of Rosalina Barbosa-Ortiz said in May 2010
she was knocked down by a speeding NJ Transit bus driver in Camden. The
accident, the family said in legal filings, left her with injuries,
including fractured ribs, that ultimately resulted in her death. NJ
Transit settled with her estate last year for $990,000. And a pending criminal case in Passaic, in which a former bus driver was indicted on vehicular manslaughter charges in February, could spawn a civil filing as well.
Yet, in a dozen other cases that NJ Transit litigated
during the nearly three-year term, the case was closed and the claimant
got nothing.
Experts say dealing with tort claims and accidents is a
reality for transit agencies that are in the business of moving
millions of people in heavy equipment
each year. In 2012, there were 23 bus-pedestrian accidents, the same
number as in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, there were 21. Of the incidents
between 2006 and this year, NJ Transit officials said, 17 were in Bergen County, six in Passaic County and 55 in Essex County. So far this year, there has been just one incident.
It’s “a part of what you have to deal with,” said Jack
Lettiere, former commissioner of the state Department of Transportation,
who headed NJ Transit’s board from 2002 to 2006 and now operates a
transportation consulting agency.
“That sounds very cold,” he said, “but there really
isn’t anyone in [a transit agency] that has an ‘I don’t care’ attitude.
They don’t want to see any of their customers or passengers or any of
the folks working in the area injured.”
Bus-pedestrian accidents are a topic both transit
agencies and bus driver unions shy away from. The Amalgamated Transit
Union, which represents NJ Transit’s 5,500 bus employees, didn’t return
repeated phone calls seeking comment. Transit agencies, meanwhile, want
to avoid the public scrutiny that comes with publicized payouts, and
worry that those that climb into millions will trigger a windfall of new
claims.
The Record reviewed cases in which NJ Transit spent
money, either to settle a bus or rail claim, or to litigate the case
between Jan. 1, 2010, and October 2012. The Record also looked at
accidents that occurred during that period for which money was spent on
litigation. There were 80 such cases. Ten were related to train
incidents and 70 to bus accidents.
Of those, 39 were settled, but 13 were closed without a
payout. But that doesn’t mean taxpayers were spared any costs. During
the nearly three-year period, NJ Transit spent $1.25 million on legal
fees, administrative costs and court costs on cases, including those in
which no payment was awarded.
NJ Transit won a case against a woman who claimed her
arm was fractured after she was struck on Broad and Market streets in
Newark in 2010. It was the only case during the nearly three-year period
that went to trial, and while the agency was successful, it still spent
$12,617 on litigation.
John Durso Jr., spokesman for NJ Transit, said about
140 claims are filed against the agency each year for bus and rail
accidents involving pedestrians. He said about $14 million per year is
budgeted to deal with claims, including settlements. The agency pays the
first $10 million on a claim, before insurance kicks in. All of the
payouts reviewed by The Record were below the insurance trigger.
The claims most frequently blamed the incidents on bus
driver negligence. Many list gruesome injuries to their skin, feet and
limbs that have left them disfigured or unable to perform tasks. One
involved a woman who suffered a concussion after being struck by an
unsecured luggage door on a bus.
The largest settlement was to Mercedes Perez, a Paterson
woman whose leg was amputated after she was struck by an NJ Transit bus
while crossing Market Street at Cianci Street on Oct. 9, 2008. NJ
Transit spent $102,356 in legal and administrative costs to fight the
case before settling it for $7.85 million, according to records.
Her attorney, Brad S. Schenerman, declined to comment.
Most settlements were not so large. Chong H. Hwang, who said he was crossing Anderson Avenue near Edgewater Road in Fairview
when he was struck by a NJ Transit bus, took a $40,000 settlement.
Malcah Yaeger-Dror, who said a bus struck him in Philadelphia as it
tried to beat a light, accepted a $5,000 settlement.
Others got nothing.
One woman claimed she was waiting for a bus on Broad
Street in Newark when a bus swerved and struck her, causing her to fall.
She said in her claim she suffered neck and lower back injuries and
fractured ribs. NJ Transit spent $96.25 to litigate the case. In the
end, the case was closed and the claimant collected nothing.
The region has seen its share of high-profile
bus-pedestrian crashes. Just last month, former NJ Transit driver
Catherine Collier was indicted on vehicular manslaughter charges after
the bus she was driving allegedly struck a pedestrian in Passaic in September.
Collier was driving the route 74U passenger bus on Sept. 27 when Joseph Currier, a 49-year-old Passaic
resident, got off near Main and Brook avenues. Currier was in the
crosswalk on Main Avenue when he was struck by Collier’s bus,
authorities have said.
A passenger on the bus said Collier accelerated as the
traffic signal turned from yellow to red and ran the red light,
investigators have said. The passenger also saw the victim’s face hit
the windshield as Collier drove through the intersection, and that the
bus traveled 40 to 50 yards after the impact before it stopped,
authorities have said.
Her attorney did not return a call for comment.
Collier, 65, faces 10 years in state prison if she
convicted of vehicular homicide, a second-degree crime. She would have
to serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
She pleaded not-guilty to vehicular homicide after her arrest.
Durso said she left the agency on Dec. 28, but did not say whether it was voluntary or if she was fired.
NJ Transit uses a variety of measures to reduce the
chances of a pedestrian getting struck, including equipping more than
1,430 buses with equipment that audibly announces, “Caution, bus
turning,” to alert pedestrians of buses turning at intersections, Durso
said.
There is also an emphasis on defensive driving for
bus operators. It includes lessons on scanning the roadway and its
surroundings for dangers like parked cars or people exiting vehicles in
the street.
“Operators are taught that, when discharging or picking
up customers, to scan their mirrors for customers still attempting to
board, and before departing to close all doors and wait for all
customers to be seated,” he said. “They are taught to put on the turn
signal and check their mirror before reentering traffic.”
Durso said each case is different, but once an accident
is reported, a probe begins. Investigators interview the bus driver,
photograph the scene, review police reports and vehicle maintenance
records. Investigators also review the Drive Cam, on-board equipment
that records bus speeds at the time of the accident, as well as
high-risk behaviors among drivers. It develops training in response, he said.
“The goal for NJ Transit is to reduce incidents through extensive bus operator training,
regular vehicular maintenance and review of driving activity to
identify areas for further training and improvement,” Durso said. The
union is involved in the process, he said.
He said driver discipline varies by incident, but all
are investigated. That involves interviews with the bus operator,
reviewing the scene and police reports, and checking bus maintenance
records.
Lettiere said accidents occur for many reasons,
including road design. “In the inner city, where bus accidents and
pedestrian accidents occur, streets were not designed for the amount of
traffic that they have and the size of the vehicles. It’s very difficult
for everyone to navigate.”
Lettiere said for transit agencies across the country,
settlements — while headline-grabbing — are secondary to safety. The
primary issue is finding the root cause of the incident.
“What happened? Why did it happen? Is it a recurring thing?” he said.
Email: rouse@northjersey.com http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/other_state_news/Injury_lawsuits_are_a_costly_part_of_NJ_Transit_lie.html?c=y&page=3
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