A 17-year-old high school student from Los Angeles has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) and Silverado Stages, Inc., claiming that negligence on the part of both parties led to a horrific crash on April 10, 2014, between a FedEx truck and a Silverado Stages tour bus. The lawsuit, which was filed on May 28, 2014, Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, names Delaware-based Federal Express Corporation, Arkansas-based Federal Express Freight, and California-based Silverado Stages Inc. as defendants.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges that at approximately 5:40 p.m. on April 10, FedEx employee Timothy Paul Evans was driving a 2007 Volvo tractor-trailer southbound on Interstate 5 near Orland, California when suddenly and without warning, the tractor-trailer departed southbound lanes and crossed over the highway’s grassy median. The FedEx truck, which was hauling two trailers, entered the northbound side of Interstate 5 traveling at a high rate of speed until it collided head-on with a 2014 Setra S417TC bus owned by Silverado Stages.
As a result of the collision, the plaintiff claims that he was violently thrown about the interior of the bus, sustaining severe and permanent injuries. In the aftermath of the crash, the plaintiff claims that he was trapped inside the bus for a period of time while the fire was spreading throughout the interior. He and other passengers frantically searched for a way out of the burning wreckage until the plaintiff was finally able to force open a window. The crash and its aftermath killed five high school students and five adults. Dozens more sustained injuries.
The lead Baum Hedlund attorney handling the FedEx crash said, “The FedEx driver caused this crash and FedEx must be held accountable. There is no question about that. In addition, the bus company should answer for any deaths and injuries resulting from inadequate evacuation procedures, emergency exits, and fire protection and suppression systems on that bus.”
The lawsuit alleges that injuries suffered by the plaintiff were caused by negligence on the part of FedEx and Silverado Stages. The plaintiff claims that Evans, while in the employ of FedEx, was driving at an unsafe speed, failed to remain in the lawful and proper lanes of travel, and failed to control the tractor-trailer prior to the collision. Furthermore, the plaintiff claims that FedEx failed to maintain the accident tractor-trailer in a safe and operable condition, and knew or should have known that failure to maintain the accident tractor-trailer in operable condition created an unreasonable risk of injury to occupants and other motorists. FedEx also knew or should have known that the accident tractor-trailer was operated in a dangerous condition, creating a foreseeable risk of injury to occupants and other motorists, the lawsuit claims.
In addition to negligence on the part of FedEx, the plaintiff claims that Silverado Stages failed to provide a vehicle with adequate fire protection components, fire suppression systems, and emergency evacuation exits. The plaintiff further claims that Silverado Stages failed to maintain the accident bus in a safe and operable condition, which created an unreasonable risk of injury to passengers. Finally, the plaintiff claims that Silverado Stages failed to provide safety guidelines for passengers in the event of an emergency. As a result of this conduct, the plaintiff claims he was trapped inside the burning wreckage amidst panic and chaos.
About Baum Hedlund
Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman has handled nearly 300 major truck and bus accident cases across the nation, including cases against:
Allied Waste Industries; American Stage Lines; American Tour & Leasing Co; Bluebird; CR England; Eagle Systems; FedEx; Food Express, Inc.; Food 4 Less; Ford Motor Co; GARDA, Inc; Greyhound; J.B. Hunt; Kimberly-Clark; Lucky’s; Roadway Express; Ryder Truck Rental; San Diego Metropolitan Transit; Schneider National Trucking; Sky Express; Swift Transportation; Tyson Foods; and Werner Enterprises