posted in Brain Injury on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.
Teenagers from the Queens Catholic School boarded a party bus at the start of the Labor Day weekend likely expecting a carefree time. However, the party quickly turned to tragedy after a 16-year-old boy suffered a severe head injury when he stuck his head out of a hatch in the roof as the bus went under the Fletcher Avenue overpass.
The accident happened around 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 31. Sixty-five teenagers were on the bus at the time. The bus was on its way to a Sweet 16 party in New Jersey.
The teenager was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center after the accident. However, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A security guard on the party bus insists that he told the teenagers on numerous occasions not to open the hatch on the roof. He says he walked to the lower level of the bus and was gone for a matter of minutes when he heard screams coming from the upper level.
A head injury can be devastating. People may be left with long-term effects. However, as evidenced by this most recent tragedy, a head injury can often be fatal.
It is not clear who is liable in this specific situation. However, accident victims who suffer serious head injuries and their surviving family members may wish to pursue legal action against any negligent parties. After all, people who are reckless and those who fail to take necessary precautions to protect people from harm should be held responsible.
Residents of New York City who suffer a head injury as the result of another person’s negligence may find consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney to be highly beneficial.
Source: New York Daily News, “Teen killed after sticking head through party bus roof near George Washington Bridge,” Kerry Willis and Shayna Jacobs, Aug. 31, 2012
