Trial Magazine

Jaccolah Johnson, 66, had limited mobility and used the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) mobility bus. On one occasion, she attempted to exit the bus while carrying two bags with one arm and a bible underneath the other. She refused the driver’s offer of assistance, and the driver stayed buckled into his seat. Johnson walked down the bus’s angled steps, lost her balance, fell down the steps, and hit the back of her head on the curb. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, which left her in a persistent vegetative state.

Johnson’s daughter, on her behalf, sued MARTA, alleging it failed to train its driver to follow MARTA policy, which requires drivers to shadow riders with disabilities who refuse help as they exit a bus. The plaintiff also asserted that the bus at issue had narrow and angled steps and lacked handrails, creating a fall hazard.

The jury awarded $25 million, finding Johnson 25 percent liable, reportedly for her failure to accept the driver’s offer of assistance.

Citation: Tyler v. Metro. Atlanta Rapid Transit Auth., No. 2017CV287279 (Ga. Super. Ct. Fulton Cnty. Nov. 8, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Michael L. Goldberg, AAJ member Joseph A. Fried, and Melanie Eyre, all of Atlanta; and Donald Singleton, Alpharetta, Ga.

Plaintiff expert: Douglas Cross, paratransit, Oakland, Calif.