Significant Verdicts

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After doing her errands for the day, 42-year-old Martha Sosa exited a Dade County transit bus at approximately 6:30 p.m. on the evening of October 27, 1995. As she stepped off the bus, she noticed that her shoe was untied. She put her foot up onto the bus stop bench and leaned over to tie her shoe, lost her balance and fell under the bus.

Two independent eye-witnesses saw the Metro bus run over Ms. Sosa and leave the scene of the accident. The bus driver was never identified.

This accident should never have happened. As Ervin A. Gonzalez told the jury during the trial this year, every Dade County bus has mirrors, which when positioned and viewed correctly, show if there is anyone who could be injured by the bus. Bus drivers are required by the national safety standards, which Dade County adopts and uses to train their drivers, to check for dangerous situations before moving the bus.

During the five-day trial, Mr. Gonzalez showed films produced by the National Safety Council which demonstrate clearly when and how bus drivers must use their mirrors. These are the very same films Dade County uses to train its bus drivers.

On the day that Ms. Sosa fell under the bus, the driver failed to check properly to see that no one was in danger of being run over or hit by the bus. When the bus began to move, Ms. Sosa's arm still was under the bus. The bus ran over her arm, stripping the muscle and flesh from the mid-shoulder to her wrist.

Following the accident, Ms. Sosa, a single mother of a teenager, was in the hospital for a month and in therapy for six months. After six surgeries, and still facing reconstructive surgery, she suffers permanent injuries to her arm. Although her arm function has gradually returned, she lacks fine motor skills.

During the first part of the trial, Mr. Gonzalez asked the jury to find Dade County liable. The jury found the County 65 percent liable and Ms. Sosa 35 percent liable. The jury then awarded damages of $2.576 million.