Susie, aged 12 year was on her way home from school on the school bus. At her usual stop she got off and proceeded to walk around the front of the bus to cross the road. Unfortunately Susie was knocked down by a car.

She suffered loss of consciousness and a fractured arm. She regained consciousness but was in hospital for a number of weeks recovering. Her arm healed but the head injury she suffered left her with mild brain damage.

Susie’s parents took a claim against the driver of the car and the owners of the school bus. The claim was successful on the basis the driver of the bus was held to have a duty of care to make sure his passengers (children) waited until the bus had moved off before crossing the road. The driver was also held responsible as he had failed to take account of the children alighting from the school bus. In this case liability was apportioned between the bus driver and the car driver on a 50/50 basis.