Brown-Boyd v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth., 2024 Pa. LEXIS 168 (Cmmw. Crt. Pa. July 15, 2024) (Wallace, J.)
Brown-Boyd v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth., Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decided, July 15, 2024.
SEPTA appeals in the Court of Common Pleas which deny their motion for summary judgment because it fell that Brown-Boyd’s negligence action fell within the vehicle exception to sovereign immunity at Section 8522(b)(1) of the
Judicial Code, the Commonwealth Court affirms.
Brown was exiting a bus and asked to have the handicap ramp lowered. The driver refused, compelling Plaintiff to exit by placing her walker outside the bus door and stepping down. When she attempted to step down, her right leg twisted and fractured her left femur. She was taken to the hospital where she had surgery. It was alleged the position of the bus caused her injuries, because she was unable to place her walker down entirely on the road or sidewalk due to her disability. There was video. After stepping down from the bus, Watts stood with her walker apparently unable to move until others assisted her. The Court said that the vehicle exception did not apply. The bus was not “in operation” in a way which would invoke the statute or exception.
