In this waving pedestrian injury case(Heyman v. South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, 2013 BCSC 1724) the pedestrian was hit by a public transit bus as it pulled away from a bus stop at the Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver. The pedestrians ankle was run over by the rear of the bus and he also suffered a broken shoulder. He denied trying to punch the bus, rather he described it as him simply trying to signal the bus to stop.
In finding the bus driver 40 % at fault the Court reviewed the internal West Vancouver Transit Policies and Procedures Manual finding that there was no policy requiring drivers to immediately close the doors to the bus and leave the stop as soon as there are no more passengers waiting at the stop. In reviewing the common law duty of public transit drivers generally the court pointed out at paragraph 61:
…In this case, the standard of care imposed on the bus driver is the conduct or behaviour that would be expected of the reasonably prudent bus driver in these circumstances. The test is an objective one and takes into consideration both the experience of the average bus driver and anything the driver knew or should have known.
In accordance with s. 3(1) of the Negligence Act such the claimant was entitled to receive 40% of his costs.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness