School Bus Accidents: Protecting Injured Children

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A school bus injury claim in Georgia turns on who the defendant is. A school district is a government body whose immunity from suit can be waived only by law; the local-government motor-vehicle waiver excludes local school systems from its definition; and the insurance-based waiver that does reach a district extends only as far as the policy covers the injury. A private driver who passes a stopped bus is a different kind of defendant, and the child’s age adds its own rules on deadlines and settlement approval.

Why the Tort Claims Act Does Not Reach a School District

The Georgia Tort Claims Act applies to the State and its offices, agencies, and similar bodies, and its definition of the State leaves out counties, municipalities, school districts, other units of local government, hospital authorities, and housing and other local authorities (OCGA 50-21-22(5)).

The source of a district’s immunity lies elsewhere. In Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744 (1994), the Supreme Court of Georgia explained that sovereign immunity shielded governments at every level from suits they had not consented to, and it held that the immunity is waived by a legislative act that specifically provides for the waiver and states its extent, in keeping with the constitutional provision that allows the General Assembly to waive the immunity of counties, municipalities, and school districts by law. A school bus claim therefore depends on finding a statute that does the waiving and on reading its stated extent.

The Insurance-Based Waiver and Where It Stops

Georgia’s school boards must obtain insurance covering the school children who ride their buses against bodily injury or death from an accident or collision involving the buses, in an amount each board decides (OCGA 20-2-1090). The waiver comes from OCGA 33-24-51. A political subdivision may insure against liability from the ownership, maintenance, operation, or use of a motor vehicle. When it buys insurance above the amount of immunity waived under OCGA 36-92-2, its immunity is waived to the extent of that insurance, liability beyond the 36-92-2 amount exists only while the insurance is in force and only within the policy’s limits or coverage, and a verdict above the limits is reduced to the policy limits but not below the amount waived under OCGA 36-92-2 (OCGA 33-24-51(a) through (d)).

The Court of Appeals applied this waiver to a school district in Hicks v. Walker County School District, 172 Ga. App. 428 (1984). It stated that OCGA 33-24-51(b) “provides for waiver of governmental immunity to the extent of the amount of motor vehicle liability insurance purchased by a political subdivision,” and that “governmental immunity is not waived when the injury sued upon is not covered by the policy.” The child there was attacked by fellow passengers during a forty-minute bus ride. The court found no causal connection between the deliberate attack by the other children and the use of the bus, held the injury not covered, and affirmed judgment for the district. The cause of the injury and the policy’s terms therefore decide whether a waiver exists.

What the $500,000 and $700,000 Figures Cover

The motor-vehicle waiver in OCGA 36-92-2 sets limits of $500,000 for one person and $700,000 in the aggregate for two or more persons in one occurrence, with $50,000 for property, for incidents on or after January 1, 2008. Those limits belong to a “local government entity,” which OCGA 36-92-1(3) defines as a county, municipal corporation, or consolidated city-county government and which, by the same paragraph, does not include a local school system. By their terms the figures therefore do not set a ceiling on a claim against a school district.

When a Motorist Is the Defendant

The statutes above concern governmental defendants. A motorist who passes a stopped school bus is a private defendant. A driver meeting or overtaking a school bus stopped on the highway “shall stop before reaching such school bus when there are in operation on the school bus the visual signals” specified by statute, and “shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer actuated” (OCGA 40-6-163(a)). A violation for which a driver has been issued a uniform traffic citation “shall be punished as for a high and aggravated misdemeanor” with “a fine of not less than $1,000.00 or by confinement for not more than 12 months, or both.” Divided roadways and controlled-access loading zones are excepted (OCGA 40-6-163(b)).

A statutory violation supports a civil claim without ending the causation inquiry. In Williams v. Calhoun, 175 Ga. App. 332 (1985), a stop-sign case, the Court of Appeals stated that “[t]he plaintiff has established negligence per se in the violation of a statute, which is a prima facie showing of negligence,” and also, quoting Buckhead Glass Co. v. Taylor, 226 Ga. 247 (1970), that “it is ordinarily a jury question as to whether or not such negligence was the proximate cause of the injury.”

Deadlines for a Child’s Claim

The general period for injuries to the person is two years (OCGA 9-3-33). A child who is under 18 when a cause of action accrues has the same time after turning 18 to bring an action that others have, except as OCGA 9-3-33.1 provides (OCGA 9-3-90(b)). For example, imagine a child born January 15, 2019, and injured by a private driver on September 1, 2027, at age eight. The child turns 18 on January 15, 2037, and two years from that date is January 15, 2039.

Settling a Child’s Claim

If the child already has a conservator, only the conservator can compromise the claim (OCGA 29-3-3(b)). Otherwise, court approval depends on the size of the settlement. Under OCGA 29-3-3(c)(1), if the proposed gross settlement of a minor’s claim is $25,000 or less, the natural guardian may compromise the claim “without any court approval.” If the gross settlement is more than $25,000 and the net settlement is $25,000 or less, the settlement must be submitted to the probate court, or to the court in which the action is pending, for approval, and no conservator is required (OCGA 29-3-3(c)(2)). If both are more than $25,000, a conservator is required to compromise the claim and must submit the settlement for approval (OCGA 29-3-3(c)(3)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the bus driver be sued personally?
In Hicks v. Walker County School District, the Court of Appeals held that the driver, sued in an official capacity, had governmental immunity absent wilful, malicious, unfaithful, or bad faith conduct.

Does the bus driver report a motorist who passes the stopped bus?
The statute authorizes and directs a school bus driver who observes a violation to record the vehicle description, the license number, and the time and place on forms furnished by the Department of Public Safety, and to submit the report within 15 days to the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction (OCGA 40-6-163(c)).

Can a camera on the bus catch a driver who passes it?
Yes. An agency may enforce the stop requirement through images from a camera mounted on the bus; the vehicle’s owner is liable for a civil monetary penalty of $1,000, and the violation is deemed noncriminal and is not a moving violation for points purposes (OCGA 40-6-163(d)).

What is the “net settlement” that decides whether a court must approve?
The gross settlement reduced by attorney’s fees, expenses of litigation, and enforceable liens paid from the proceeds, along with certain deferred and trust amounts (OCGA 29-3-3(a)(2)).

  • OCGA 50-21-22(5); Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744, 452 S.E.2d 476 (1994)
  • OCGA 20-2-1090; OCGA 33-24-51; Hicks v. Walker County School District, 172 Ga. App. 428, 323 S.E.2d 231 (1984)
  • OCGA 36-92-1(3); OCGA 36-92-2
  • OCGA 40-6-163; Williams v. Calhoun, 175 Ga. App. 332, 333 S.E.2d 408 (1985); Buckhead Glass Co. v. Taylor, 226 Ga. 247 (1970) (as quoted in Williams)
  • OCGA 9-3-33; OCGA 9-3-90(b) (referencing OCGA 9-3-33.1)
  • OCGA 29-3-3(a)(2), (b), (c)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about school bus injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immunity, the proper defendant, presentment deadlines, and settlement approval depend on the specific facts and on current authority. A person dealing with a school bus injury should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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