$2.5M Settlement to Calif. Bicyclist Struck by a Bus

A California woman has received a $2.5 million settlement for serious injuries suffered in 2012 when a mass transit bus struck her while she rode her bicycle home from a gym in Emeryville, Calif.

The victim, Cara McClendon of Oakland, suffered a brain injury and a shattered face in the crash, which happened July 17, 2012, when she was struck by an AC Transit bus while maneuvering around a second bus that was stopped at a green light, according to an Oct. 22 story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“As she made her way into the intersection at 45th Street, an AC Transit bus heading the other way made a quick left turn into her path and hit her,” the story reported. The driver of the bus that struck McClendon, Lynn Jackson, radioed in to the bus company after the impact and said “I think I just killed someone,” the paper reported.

McClendon was placed in a drug-induced coma in the hospital where “doctors used titanium plates and screws to piece her face back together, while they monitored her brain, which suffered a minor injury” the story reported.

The bus driver allegedly had another accident one month before the McClendon crash “when she ran a red light, took a turn too fast and rolled a passenger out of her seat,” the story reported. The driver was apparently fired after the crash that injured McClendon.

A story from San Francisco’s CBS Channel 5 reported that the bus driver was “taking a turn three times faster than the agency’s internal regulations allowed” when the collision occurred.

The AC Transit board approved a $2.5 million settlement to McClendon “because of both the crash, and the driver’s past problems,” the CBS story reported.

These kinds of tragic legal cases occur every day when innocent victims are severely hurt or killed in vehicle crashes through no fault of their own due to the actions, inattentiveness or indifference of others. That’s why it is critical to have a legal team on your side that uncovers every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in a vehicle incident or accident anywhere in the United States. We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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