A third lawsuit has been filed in a California court after a firey crash occurred on April 10 near Orland. The accident involved a large FedEx tractor-trailer and a charter bus containing a number of high school students on a trip to visit Humboldt University.
The accident occurred when the tractor-trailer crossed the median and smashed into the bus. The family of an 18-year-old student who died in the crash filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior court. The student had helped other people escape from the bus. However, a report says that he was unable to leave the wreckage and died at the scene.
The most recent lawsuit was filed against FedEx, Silverside Stages, and Volvo, and it seeks undisclosed damages. The other two actions only named FedEx and the bus company as defendants. The family of another deceased victim filed one of these lawsuits while a student who suffered serious injuries filed the other. One suit alleges FedEx has a history of problems with its trucks, and the other suit alleges negligence by the bus company because it did not have proper emergency exit procedures in place. An attorney involved in one of the cases is seeking to combine all the individual lawsuits into a single action.
Families of the students killed may be eligible for wrongful death compensation under California personal injury laws. An attorney may be able to help families during negotiations with defendants as they attempt to receive a fair settlement. However, if litigation becomes necessary the attorney may be able to build and present a case demonstrating negligence in court.
Source: Overdrive, “Third lawsuit filed in FedEx truck crash that killed 10“, Jill Dunn, May 23, 2014