Bus passengers involved in a crash that killed a 14-year-old girl are trying to launch a class-action lawsuit against the bus company.
Last month, the driver and 55 passengers were travelling from Trois-Rivieres to New York City when the bus ran off I-87 in North Hudson, N.Y. at about 8 a.m.
Chelssy Mercier, a teenager from Levis died upon being ejected from the bus. Dozens more were injured.
The group has decided to launch the case in New York State in hopes of a larger payout.
In Canada, the maximum compensation for a personal injury lawsuit is about $326,000 – in the U.S., it can be much larger.
The Fleur-de-Lis bus company, which had owned the bus, subcontracted it out to another company.
New York State Police are still investigating the exact cause of the crash, but they have determined that the bus was in good condition.
In spite of that, the lawyer representing the passengers on the bus believe that the 61-year-old bus driver did fall asleep.
Police have not confirmed this at this moment, but attorney Edward Jazlowiecki said the passengers are due some compensation.
“You have people in a common carrier. They pay money and they get injured. We've got negligence, gross negligence, and we haven't gotten a police report yet, so we don't know. He may have doctored a logbook. He was driving at least eight hours before the accident happened,” he said.
The police report is set to be released later this week, said Jazlowiecki.
The American legal system will have to approve the lawsuit for it to proceed further.
