The first bulletin, about a busload of people on their way to tour Humboldt State University bursting into flames and killing students, drivers, and chaperones, hit national news on April 10. The Sacramento Bee now reports that the first lawsuit, in regards to the death of one of the high school students, has been filed and seeks $100 million in damages.
R.R. filed the suit seeking both general and punitive damages on behalf of her daughter J.B. – a Humboldt-bound student who died along with four other students, three chaperones, the bus driver and the driver of the truck the bus collided with near Orland.
A. King Aminpour is the attorney representing R.R. in the suit.
At approximately 5:40 p.m. a FedEx tractor-trailer, driven by T.E., swerved across the median and clipped a Nissan Altima driving northbound. T.E. then drove into the busload of students. The FedEx vehicle and the bus then burst into flames – though some reports state that the FedEx vehicle was on fire before it drove into the bus.
According to Aminpour FedEx is named in the suit for its negligence in the operation of its vehicles, as well as for the training and disciplining of its drivers. Furthermore, both FedEx Corp and FedEx Freight Inc. have a history of their trucks erupting into flames. These instances of sudden fire have been blamed on mechanical problems, driver error or cargos being improperly loaded.
The suit states that though FedEx has been aware of the problems they have neither addressed them nor fixed them.
The spokeswoman for FedEx, Shea Leordeanu, said that it was not an "appropriate time" to comment on the filing of the lawsuit. Leordeanu added, "At this stage, our condolences are with all the families. We're still working with the authorities and fully cooperating with the investigation."
Along with FedEx, also named in the suit are driver T.E. and the Silverado Stages bus company.
Silverado Stages is named for its own negligence in failing to provide an adequate number of safety exits.
Aminpour stated that it is procedure to tie T.E. to the suit, and that R.R. will not be seeking damages from T.E.'s family. If T.E. were to be found negligent, according to Aminpour, it would be FedEx that would be the responsible party to pay for any damages awarded.
The attorney for T.E.'s family, Jonathan G. Stein, said, "At this time, we have not seen the lawsuit. We will have no comment on any pending litigation. However, we strongly believe everyone should wait until the authorities have completed their investigation before reaching any conclusions."
In regards to the swiftness in the filing the lawsuit Aminpour commented, "We treat cases like doctors treat cancer. We don't procrastinate. We want to get in when testimony is fresh and do our own investigation."
Though you may be grieving, filing a wrongful death lawsuit while the "testimony is fresh" can only help. Contact a personal injury lawyer for help.