Too frequently I read news articles about another young child being forgotten on his or her school bus by a driver or monitor who doesn’t adequately perform the post-trip inspection.
So I took a second take this morning upon reading the story of a 36-year-old woman who was left alone on a United Airlines regional jet for four hours.
Adults are certainly much more well-equipped to take care of themselves in such situations than are young children. But one can only imagine the shock of waking up from a deep sleep during flight to Philadelphia only to discover the plane has landed but no one else is on board. Surely it was a “Twilight Zone” moment for her. But it also shows the expensive lesson to be learned by all public transporters.
The woman is suing United for false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress and negligence. School districts and the school transportation industry are well aware of the threat of lawsuits, no matter how frivolous they might be in today’s society. But one lackadaisical moment can lead to a cost of tens of thousands of dollars or more, as was the case recently in, of all places, the Philadelphia area.
