University of Texas Student Hit by Bus

An engineering student was just participating in school tradition when he ran into the middle of the street to have a foam sword fight with another University of Texas student. Little did he know that the class-end celebration would end up with him getting hit by a bus. The student describes a feeling of being pushed down, but then looked up and realized that it was a bus that knocked him down, and not one of his classmates. The Capital Metro bus clipped the student as he ran out into the street, thankfully only causing him minor injuries. The bus driver was issued a traffic citation, which he is now contesting. According to the cameras, it is difficult to tell whether the student ran into the street when the bus' light was already red or when the bus had the right of way. Capital Metro issued a statement saying that it is the company's policy to stop at yellow lights anyway. The driver had no prior traffic citations in his 20-year history with the company.

Pedestrians who are involved in accidents such as this may have a difficult time getting compensation initially because of the issue of proportionate responsibility (in other states "comparative negligence"). The victim who was hit, for example, may be issued a percentage of fault of 40 percent. What this means is that while the victim can pursue a claim against Capital Metro, the claim can only be up to 60 percent of the total damages. The reason an injury victim would want to seek legal help is because the attorney would be on their side, trying to maximize recovery. Recovery can be maximized by arguing the percentages in proportionate responsibility by way of various arguments. This is exactly what an attorney at Sloan, Bagley, Hatcher & Perry exists to do. For more information, contact us today!