Posted By malcolm
I have been asked a question that I hope other members will be able to help me with.

An old lady 80+ was travelling on a public bus. The seats were all taken up including those allocated to elderly. The conductor allowed her to travel standing in the aisle. The bus stopped sharply, the old lady fell and broke her shoulder.

How does she stand with claiming compensation?
Does the Bus Company owe a duty of care?
Was the Bus Company negligent in allowing an obviously frail lady to travel standing up?
As they had seats allocated to elderly persons did they already accept that it could be hazardous for elderly people to travel standing up.

Am I looking at Tort of negligence? Duty owed, Duty breached, Loss incurred.

Posted By David Mains
The company operating the bus have the responsibility and the driver is their employee. Any case would have to be made against the company.
Aren't buses designed for both seating and standing?
Are the seats that are reserved for elderly/frail passengers not a courtesy as oppossed to any kind of legislation. Much the same as the spaces reserved for those with prams/buggies?

Sounds like there is still a case though - expect another 50 claims from others claiming to have been on the same journey.

Posted By Chris Turner
I agree with all comments so far, however you need to consider, if in fact she was offered a seat, but declined (unlikely I know....but!). What I am getting at consideration must be given to the fact that did the bus company apply ALARP?

Posted By Ian Mycroft
I have every sympathy for the lady in question and she may have a strong claim against the company concerned. I also have sympathy for the bus company. The conductor (or was it the driver, very few have both) might have allowed her to travel standing, but did not force her to, or make standing a specific condition of her travelling. As Gregg says, does the driver refuse to take her as a passenger and have the company face the public outcry (the press love stories like this). It seems that in this compensation culture everyone forgets that they also have some responsibility for their own safety. Did the other passengers on the bus who refused to give her a seat also fail to excercise duty of care? Morally, at least, I would consider that they did. The problem when dealing with public transport is that you can provide everything for safety that is reasonably practicable and in most cases better than that, but can't enforce its proper use by memebrs of the public. If you don't believe this come and spend a day with me on site visits!!

Posted By Mark Jarman
I do remember seeing a legal case similar to this (although cannot lay my hands on it at the moment).

An elderly person had got on a bus, and the driver moved off before they could sit down. The person fell and suffered an injury as a result.

The court found that it was not reasonable for the driver to wait for everyone to be seated before driving off and the action failed.

I would feel that in this case a similar line may apply, in that it is not reasonable for a public transport driver to ensure that every elderly person has a seat. Think how difficult things may become if you add to the equation all the other people who could be considered at a higher risk of falling - the disabled, the young, even people who have had a drink or two! All of us have the potential to loose our balance if standing on a bus that brakes sharply.

One must also consider that no matter how careful a driver is on the road, the action of others may cause harsh braking and that passengers on a bus should expect that this may happen.