Fall On Bus Case

Londonderry District Judge’s Court
04 October 2005
District Judge Keegan

This matter arose out of an accident which apparently occurred on 6 October 2001 in which the Plaintiff alleged that as she attempted to board a bus in Derry, the bus moved off causing her to fall forwards, cutting her shin on the steps in the process. Despite claims that blood was “pouring” from her leg she failed to attend her GP until four weeks after the accident. She was also claiming to have sustained a muscular injury to her knee as a result of the fall. The consultant who examined the Plaintiff indicated that the shin injury might cause permanent scarring. The Plaintiff claimed that the negligence of the bus driver had caused injuries which medical records appeared to show she had sustained around this time.

Under cross-examination the Plaintiff was unable to recall whether or not the bus in question was a minibus or a larger vehicle. This was in contrast to earlier assertions that it was a larger vehicle, claims which were contradicted by Translink records for vehicles used to service the route in question. The Plaintiff was incapable of identifying the driver of the bus in question, despite her being present in court. Finally the Plaintiff, a 69 year old, was unable to recall a bizarre skipping injury sustained two months prior to this accident.

The Defendants, through the bus driver on the day in question, denied any knowledge of the accident and presented evidence of quite stringent procedures designed to report any accidents which do occur. The procedures followed by drivers prior to moving off were also outlined and these seemed to suggest that a bus driver would not have driven off as a passenger was only boarding the bus, having not even got as far as to pay the fare.

Judge Keegan in his summing up felt that there was not enough evidence to support either the claim of negligence or indeed the occurrence of the incident at all. He felt that, based on the evidence he had heard regarding the mechanics of the manner in which buses move off, it was difficult to believe that the plaintiff had fallen as she claimed. The case was therefore dismissed.