Woman suing bus firm after step slip

A GOLD Coast woman is suing a large transport company for $750,000 after claiming she injured herself while getting off a bus.

Brenda Ann Pearce, 54, has lodged a claim in the Southport District Court for $750,000 in damages against Clark’s Logan City Bus Service after she allegedly slipped on a wet step while on her way to work as a cashier at Mater Hospital in Brisbane in June 2014.

Clark’s Logan City Bus Ser- is one of southeast Queensland’s larger transport providers.

The court documents, lodged on February 1, state Ms Pearce fell from the bus on to the footpath at the Mater Hill bus stop and dislocated her left elbow.

The Helensvale woman also suffered injuries to both knees and “stress and anxiety”, the statement of claim said.

The 54-year-old claims the bus company and the driver’s negligence caused her injury.

Ms Pearce required medical treatment as a result of the injury and can no longer under-- physical work, “especially involving the left arm and any work involving repetitive use of the arms” or prolonged standing, the statement of claim reads.

Ms Pearce claims the bus company failed to provide a “safe means to disembark” the bus, did not warn her of the slippery step nor ensure the rear exit did not have water or residue on it. The claim also argues the bus company should have locked the rear door if it was “unsafe to exit” and cleaned up any spillages.

Court documents state Ms Pearce required “major survice gery” to her elbow and now finds driving difficult.

The claim states she now has “trouble getting in and out of her vehicle, applying the handbrake and changing gears because of pain”.

Ms Pearce also states she has “trouble lifting money trays at work and pots and pans at home while cooking”.

The claim states the elbow and knee injuries have left her with a “combined impairment of 13 per cent of the whole person”.

Maurice Blackburn principal Alison Barrett said Ms Pearce’s injuries were “avoid-take able” and had “significantly impacted” on her.

“Our client has worked hard to do everything she can to get back to work so she can provide for herself, including participating in all of her treatment. Despite this she still continues to suffer with pain daily that makes many aspects of her job difficult,” Ms Barrett said.

“That is likely to continue if she loses her job, as she will have great trouble finding an employer accommodating of her injuries.”

Clark’s Logan City Bus Service did not return calls.