Injury Case | Pedestrian Death

88-Year Old Run Over by Bus On His Mobility Scooter

Our active 89-year old client was returning home on his mobility scooter from a neighborhood shopping trip. As he crossed a busy intersection, from corner to corner, but not in a marked crosswalk, a driver of a small school bus van did not notice him, ran into him and knocked his scooter over. He was dragged a short distance and sustained a head injury. Our client was able to get up and did not want any assistance. Since he was light-headed, however, he was taken to the hospital where he, unfortunately, died two days later from internal bleeding associated with the head injury. The insurance company for the bus initially denied liability, claiming that their driver was not at fault for the mobility scooter crossing the street in an area where the crosswalk is not marked. They also argued that our client, at 89 years of age, did not have a long life expectancy. We retained a competent accident reconstruction expert who prepared a scale model of the intersection to demonstrate that our client crossed the road in an area that would be construed as an “unmarked crosswalk,” since our client was crossing from corner to corner. The case settled for a confidential amount satisfactory to the family at mediation prior to filing suit.