PSR attorney Andrew Owen secured a $3,500,000 settlement on behalf of Izumi Streller, a 75-year-old passenger who suffered catastrophic injuries after falling inside a moving Big Blue Bus. While Ms. Streller was boarding and attempting to scan her TAP card, the driver accelerated before she was seated or otherwise secure, causing her to fall and strike her head on a step inside the bus.
Ms. Streller sustained a fractured skull and a traumatic brain injury, requiring emergency brain surgery to evacuate intracranial hemorrhages. She now lives with life-altering injuries that require extensive, ongoing medical treatment and long-term care.
The incident violated Big Blue Bus safety policies, which require drivers to ensure passengers—particularly elderly riders—are safely seated or secure before departing. The City of Santa Monica’s internal investigation concluded the incident was preventable and found that the driver failed to exercise reasonable precautions, a determination the driver acknowledged.