Houston, TX — Six students had to be taken to the hospital after the school bus they were riding in rear-ended another vehicle on Highway 288, in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. The accident took place around 7:30 in the morning, near the intersection of Holmes Road.
Local reports say that a vehicle traveling on 288 cut off another vehicle, forcing its driver to slam of her brakes. Moments later the school bus crashed into her.
Four students were transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital, while two were taken to Texas Children’s Hospital. All six are students at Lockhart, Rice, and MacGregor elementary schools. Each sustained minor injuries.
No names were released in conjunction with the accident.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
It seems as if the bus driver was just following the vehicle in front of her too closely. There should have been no need for her to have to slam on her brakes. Is it possible that someone just cut in front of her so closely that no one would have been able to stop? Sure. Anything is possible. But if you’re following someone at a safe distance and at a safe speed, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be able to stop in time to avoid an accident. It doesn’t seem like that happened here. However, school bus drivers are offered a degree of protection many others aren’t. The bus belongs to the school district, which is a municipal entity, which ultimately belongs to the government. Well, there are laws that say you can’t sue the government except in very special circumstances, and even then, it’s very difficult. There are time constraints, as well as limits to the amount of compensation you’re able to recover. In Texas, you’re only allowed to recover a certain amount per person, per incident. This means that the governmental entity that you’re filing suit against (in this case, the school district) has limited exposure and can only ever be held liable for a certain amount of money. In this case, there are six children who were injured, which means that any compensation recovered from the school district would have to be shared between them. Again, none of this is to say that recovering those damages is impossible, just difficult to do.
— Grossman Law Offices
