New Jersey: Man Injured While Assisting Elderly Woman on Bus

Counsel Financial

Plaintiff was a 71-year-old man who rode a bus which served as the regular mode of transportation for him and several other seniors, including a 93-year-old woman who was confined to a wheelchair. Although the bus had a working wheelchair lift, it was common practice for the bus driver to allow passengers to assist in the loading and unloading of the woman's wheelchair because she was not properly trained by the township in how to operate the lift. On the day in question Plaintiff was walking backwards down the bus's main entrance, helping to pull the woman's wheelchair, when he fell from the top step onto the curb. His head struck concrete, resulting in a spinal injury that left him a quadriplegic in need of constant third party care. A year after the injury Plaintiff filed suit against the township for negligent training.

SETTLEMENT: $3,575,000

Ruixiang Shen & Mei Rong Gao v. Montgomery Township, et al.