PEOPLE WOULD never get to work if bus drivers had to ensure everyone on the bus was seated before moving off from a stop, a judge said yesterday.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane, who dismissed a €38,000 damages claim by a nurse who twisted her right knee after entering the number 39 bus, held it would be unreasonable for the courts to impose such an obligation on a bus company. Mother-of-one Anna Pawelczyk, (34), Greenbriar, Verdemont, Blanchardstown, Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court that in April 2008 she had boarded the bus at Coolmine Road, Clonsilla, Dublin.
While she was finding a seat on the upstairs deck the driver had moved off, jolting her into the seat and twisting and striking the outer side of her knee against the seat.
She had felt some mild pain at the time but had continued her journey. Her knee had swollen up but she managed to limp to her job in the Polish Medical Centre in Dublin. Ms Pawelczyk said 15ml of blood had been drained from her knee, which had then been placed in a cast. She was given crutches and had taken sick leave. An MRI scan revealed she had sprained her cruciate ligament.
Jeri Ward, counsel for Dublin Bus, told the court that Ms Pawelczyk had not made any complaint to the bus driver on the day of the alleged incident and had not contacted the company in person.
Ms Ward said there had been no unusual occurrence on the bus on the day in question, April 26th, 2008, and the driver had no reason to note or report anything out of the ordinary. There was no obligation on drivers to check that everyone was seated before moving away from a bus stop, she said.
Judge Linnane awarded costs against Ms Pawelczyk.