Riding in an airport shuttle, most people worry about making a plane on time or whether they will remember where they parked their car. A few recent riders, however, now have to worry about recovering from injuries sustained in a truck accident.
Seventeen people were injured in the accident, which occurred in Atlanta when an 18-wheeler truck was attempting to make a U-turn on North Loop Road. The shuttle, which was carrying 16 passengers, skidded 160 feet before slamming into the truck. All the passengers and the driver were injured. Both the driver of the semi truck and the driver of the shuttle have been charged in relation to the crash. After investigating the accident, state officials found many safety violations at the shuttle company, including deficiencies with the tires, brakes, emergency exits, lighting and drivers’ licenses. The state has suspeneded the shuttle company’s operations until it can demonstrate that its vehicles and drivers are safe.
Passengers injured in a mass transit accident like this will likely have claims against both drivers, as well as against the trucking company and the shuttle company. Under a legal doctrine called respondeat superior, a company is liable for any negligent act of its employee, as long as the employee was acting within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred. In addition, the shuttle company and the trucking company could be directly liable if any equipment failures were factors in the crash.
Recovering from an accident can be a long and grueling process. A personal injury recovery can help an injured victim focus on their recovery without worrying about lost income and mounting medical bills.
Source: WSBTV 2, “State suspends operations of shuttle company after crash,”, June 28, 2013