Almost everyone would agree that the facts deserved a fair and just remedy. The accident was random. The injuries were horrific. The victim was blameless. But the legal result was harsh — and probably required by existing law.
The case was Zauflik v. Pennsbury School District, 72 A.3d 773, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 233 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2013), decided by the Commonwealth Court in a reported opinion July 3. The driver of a school bus owned and operated by the school district stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, went off the road and onto a sidewalk, and ran over 17-year-old high school student Ashley Zauflik, crushing her pelvis and leg and resulting in an above-the-knee amputation. The district admitted liability. The Bucks County jury awarded Zauflik $14 million, including $11.1 million for noneconomic damages. Notably, the school district had at least $11 million in insurance coverage.
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