Lawsuits over 2005 bus crash still ongoing

As the two-year anniversary of a deadly Greyhound bus crash in Santa Maria nears, personal-injury lawsuits continue to be filed in connection with the incident.

Nov. 27, the anniversary of the incident, is reportedly the cut-off point by which such lawsuits can be filed, with some exception.

As of Friday, two personal-injury suits had been filed this month in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria.

A Greyhound Lines bus driven by Samuel Bishop was traveling north on Highway 101 in the early morning hours of Nov. 27, 2005, when the San Francisco-bound vehicle ran off the highway south of Betteravia Road and tipped onto its right side before it slammed into a tree.

The county District Attorney's Office determined in June 2006 that the driver may have suffered an epileptic seizure, which could have caused the crash. California Highway Patrol officers initially said Bishop may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Killed in the crash were Martha Contreras, 22, of Santa Maria, who was seven months pregnant, and Faro Jahani, 50, of San Francisco. Forty-three people were injured.

Neither Bishop nor Greyhound was criminally charged. However, they were faced with a slew of civil complaints.

The latest in a series of personal injury lawsuits filed against Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Bishop in connection to the crash was filed on Oct. 24 in Santa Maria by Carole Pitts.

That unlimited civil case alleges personal injury and property damage, and seeks in excess of $25,000.

According to paperwork filed in the case, Pitts suffered wage loss, loss of personal property, hospital and medical expenses, property damage, loss of earning capacity, general damage and future hospital and medical expenses, wage loss and loss of earning capacity.

Pitts' attorney, Michelle Kennedy of Monterey, could not be reached for comment late Friday.

There was no attorney listed for the defendants Friday, according to the Santa Maria civil clerk's office.

The case is due back in court Feb. 27 for a case-management conference.

Juan Martinez, as guardian of minor Joseph Martinez and on his own behalf, filed a personal-injury suit Oct. 15 in Santa Maria.

The unlimited civil case in which the amount sought exceeds $25,000 alleges personal injury, property damage and interest according to law.

The suit claims that the plaintiff suffered wage loss, loss of use of property, hospital and medical expenses, property damage, loss of earning capacity, general damage and interest on damages according to law.

That case is due in Santa Maria court on Feb. 19 for a case-management conference.

The attorney for the plaintiffs in the matter, John Lewman of Livermore, could not be reached for comment.

The civil clerk's office in Santa Maria did not have an attorney listed for the defendants in the case.

On Sept. 11, bus passenger Julieta Palaganas filed a complaint for negligence and negligent supervision or retention against Greyhound and Bishop.

Palaganas, 59, of San Francisco was traveling with children from the Young Ideas Community Home, where she was a counselor, when the bus crashed, said her attorney, Mark Epstein of San Francisco.

Palaganas worked at the same children's home as other bus passengers who also filed a personal injury suit, her attorney said.

She has not worked at the youth home since the crash, according to someone who answered the phone at Young Ideas Community Home.

Her injuries were “fairly extensive,” Epstein said, and consisted of torn cartilage in her knee, a head injury that did not puncture the skull and abrasions on her face and body.

Palaganas is seeking an unlimited monetary amount which exceeds $25,000.

The plaintiff alleged in court documents that the crash was caused by Bishop's unfitness to drive, which was contributed to by sleep deprivation and fatigue, and/or his prior history involving substance abuse. Epstein alleged that Bishop fell asleep at the wheel, and that Greyhound knew or should have known that Bishop's lack of sleep constituted a danger.

The attorney for Greyhound and Bishop in the case, Alfred Gerisch, Jr of Los Angeles., responded to the complaint in a court filing. Gerisch could not be reached for comment.

He said in the document that any injuries and damages sustained by the plaintiff were contributed to by the plaintiff's failure to exercise due care, and that Palaganas knowingly and voluntarily exposed herself to risk.

Epstein said they waited as long as they could to file the suit because they wanted all Palagana's medical procedures to be complete before they filed the complaint. Her procedures are not entirely complete, however, he said.

A case-management conference in the case is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Santa Maria.

A personal-injury lawsuit filed against Greyhound and Bishop in Santa Maria court last December by a family who was on the bus when it crashed is also due in court on Dec. 5 for a case management conference.

Rodolfo Leon, Cristina Fernandez and Lizabeth Leon are seeking an amount exceeding $25,000 in the unlimited civil case.

The plaintiffs allege general negligence and breach of contract, and said in court documents that they suffered wage loss, hospital and medical expenses, general damage, loss of earning capacity and potentially other damages.

The plaintiffs allege in court papers that Bishop drove so carelessly and recklessly that he veered off the highway, causing injuries to plaintiffs and damage to their property. They named Greyhound in the suit as they said the company allowed Bishop to carelessly and recklessly operate the bus.

The attorney for the plaintiffs in that case, Los Angeles-based Jacob Emrani, could not be reached for comment.

Likewise, Gerisch, the attorney for Greyhound, and John Czeshinski out of Fresno, who is representing Bishop in the Leon suit, could not be reached.

A wrongful-death suit filed in Santa Maria by Contreras' family against Greyhound was settled in March, and a wrongful-death suit filed in Fresno by Jahani's survivors was settled in August 2006.

A personal-injury suit filed in Santa Maria against Greyhound and Bishop by Young Ideas Community Home Director Keith St. Clare and staff members Takafumi Okajima and Kin Ming Cheng, all passengers on the bus, was settled earlier this year.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

October 28, 2007