Wrongful death lawsuit filed in CTA bus - pedestrian accident

A wrongful death suit against the CTA was filed last week in the Circuit Court of Cook County for the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a CTA bus on the Near West Side.  The lawsuit claims that the man was getting off the bus when it began moving forward, pulling him under the bus where he was run over and killed.

One thing that is important to understand about CTA bus accidents when you are a passenger is that the CTA is considered a common carrier as to the bus passengers.  Because of its status as a common carrier, the CTA has the legal obligation to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.

The legal duty to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers exists until the passenger has gotten off the bus and reached a place of safety.  That will be an important issue in this case because the deceased man was apparently in the process of getting off the bus when he struck.  At some point, the court will have to make a determination as to whether he reached a place of safety before being struck.

One reason that you want to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer in any case involving a CTA bus or el train accident is that a lawyer that knows what he is doing will know the distinction between when the CTA is a common carrier for its passengers and when it is not and will craft the investigation to develop facts which show that the CTA is a common carrier.