NEW ORLEANS – A man alleges he was injured while riding as a passenger on a Department of Veterans Affairs bus because the driver was distracted by a cellphone.
Jesse Ridgel III filed a complaint on Sept. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against United States of America alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Sept. 11, 2014, he was a guest passenger in a bus operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, when the bus hit an object that caused him to fly in the air and sustain severe and disabling injuries. The plaintiff holds United States of America responsible because the defendant's driver allegedly operated the vehicle in a careless and reckless manner, failed to see what he should have seen and failed to maintain control of the vehicle because the driver was distracted by his cellphone.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant for damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus interest, all costs of these proceedings; and for such other relief as the law and equity may provide. He is represented by Lawrence Blake Jones, David C. Whitmore and Patrick J. Eskew of Scheuermann & Jones in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-14579