Wrongful death of child in school bus accident—$1,300,000 Settlement
Decedent, a 14-year-old middle school student, was killed on Jan. 2, 2006, after exiting a school bus. The bus driver failed to activate the bus’s amber warning lights as the bus approached decedent’s stop and the red warning lights once the bus came to a stop.
Decedent exited the bus and began crossing the street to get to a church parking lot where her aunt/guardian was to have picked her up. She crossed the westbound lane in front of the bus and, as she started to cross into the eastbound lane, was struck by the mirror of an oncoming vehicle. Decedent fell into the middle of the oncoming lane and was in the fetal position when a second oncoming vehicle ran over her. The bus’s warning lights/devices were not activated until two seconds before the second oncoming vehicle ran over the decedent. The decedent died from her injuries shortly after being run over by the second vehicle.
The sole beneficiary in this case was the decedent’s aunt and legal guardian.
The parties’ first effort to mediate the case was unsuccessful. A second mediation, held approximately two weeks before trial, was also unsuccessful. Continued settlement discussions through the mediator after the failed second mediation resulted in the settlement of the case for $1.3 million a few days before trial. As part of the settlement, the New Kent County School Board agreed to reconvene the Bus Safety Task Force it originally assembled in 2006 to examine school bus transportation safety in the county and to permit the decedent’s aunt and uncle to appoint one representative to the task force.
Type of Action: Wrongful death of child in school bus accident
Name of Case: Maria Carlin, Administratrix of the Estate of Fatima Shana’a v. New Kent County School Board
Court: New Kent County Circuit Court
Award or Settlement: Settlement
Amount: $1,300,000
Amount of Specials: $22,265 in medical and funeral expenses
Insurance Carrier: Utica
Attorneys for Plaintiff: Irvin V. Cantor, Elliott M. Buckner
