Hit by a City Bus or Public Vehicle? The Immunity Exception That Protects Ohio Crash Victims

Published May 6, 2021 · Ohio Appeals Courts

When a city bus, a county dump truck, or a township snowplow causes a crash, the injured person usually hears the same thing early on: the government is immune. For vehicle crashes, that is usually wrong. Ohio's immunity statute contains an exception written for exactly this situation, and a March 25, 2021 decision from Cleveland shows how it works.

A summer night on Bellaire Road

On June 20, 2016, at about 9:50 p.m., 19-year-old Jordan Johnson was riding his motorcycle home from a summer-league basketball game, northbound on Bellaire Road in Cleveland. His twin brother was in a car a few lengths behind him.

A Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority bus, headed southbound, was stopped at a red light waiting to turn left. When the light turned green, a northbound car that was also stopped flashed its high beams at the bus and left them on. The bus driver took that as a signal to turn. He later testified that he "couldn't see around the high beams" and could not get a clear view of the lane to the right of that car. He began the turn anyway.

Jordan was coming through the intersection on the green light in that lane. The bus driver stopped partway through his turn, and most witnesses said the bus and the motorcycle never touched. But Jordan had to accelerate and swerve to avoid the bus. Just past the intersection, he lost control, struck the curb, and was thrown from the motorcycle. He died of his injuries. The bus continued on its route until transit police directed the driver to stop.

His mother sued RTA and the driver for wrongful death. Both claimed immunity. The trial court denied their motions, and they appealed.

How Ohio's immunity statute is built

Ohio's Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act, R.C. Chapter 2744, works in layers.

1. The general rule. Under R.C. 2744.02(A)(1), a political subdivision is not liable for injuries caused in connection with its governmental or proprietary functions. Cities, counties, townships, school districts, and regional transit authorities are all political subdivisions.
2. The exceptions. R.C. 2744.02(B) then lists situations where the subdivision is liable anyway. The first, in division (B)(1), makes political subdivisions liable for injury or death "caused by the negligent operation of any motor vehicle by their employees" acting within the scope of their employment.
3. The defenses. Police, fire, and emergency medical drivers have a full defense when responding to an emergency call, unless their driving was willful or wanton. That is why police-chase and emergency-response cases are so much harder, as I explained in our post on McConnell v. Dudley. A bus on its route is not responding to an emergency.

Individual employees are treated differently. Under R.C. 2744.03(A)(6)(b), an employee is personally immune unless the employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.

What the Eighth District decided

The court split the case in two.

RTA must face a jury. The question for the transit authority was simply whether there was evidence that its driver operated the bus negligently. The court found "ample evidence" that he did. Ohio's left-turn statute, R.C. 4511.42(A), requires a driver turning left at an intersection to yield to oncoming vehicles that are in the intersection or close enough to be an immediate hazard. RTA's own supervisors and trainers testified that operators are taught to make sure all oncoming lanes are clear before turning and not to turn if bright lights or obstructions block the view. The driver admitted he could not see.

RTA argued that the motorcycle was passing illegally on the right because Bellaire Road had no lane markings. The court disagreed that this was settled: the road was 39 feet wide, several witnesses described two lanes in each direction, and the bus's own video showed traffic moving two abreast. The court added that even if the motorcycle had been proceeding unlawfully, a jury could still find the driver breached his duty of care.

Most important for crash victims, the court rejected the idea that no collision means no liability. Although the driver stopped before hitting the motorcycle, a jury could reasonably find that this was "too little, too late," and that forcing Jordan to swerve was a cause of his death.

The driver himself was immune. The court held that while a jury could find the driver made "a serious error in judgment," the evidence did not show the conscious disregard of a known risk that recklessness requires. His personal immunity under R.C. 2744.03(A)(6) was upheld.

The case now returns to the trial court. How it will be resolved is not yet known.

Why the split result still protects families

It may seem unfair that the driver who made the turn is personally immune. But for an injured person or a grieving family, the entity is the defendant that matters. The transit authority employs the driver, owns the bus, and carries the insurance or self-insurance that pays judgments. The motor-vehicle exception only requires ordinary negligence, the same standard that applies to any private driver. You do not have to prove recklessness to hold the government responsible for a negligently driven bus, garbage truck, snowplow, or maintenance vehicle.

That applies here at home, too: Greater Dayton RTA buses, city trucks in Kettering or Beavercreek, county vehicles, and school buses on their routes.

Lessons for motorcycle crashes

This case is a classic left-turn crash, the most common way motorcyclists are killed or seriously hurt. It also shows how the defense tries to shift blame to the rider: lane position, speed, passing on the right. The family's case survived because witnesses, the bus video, measurements of the road, and the transit authority's own training standards answered each argument. Our motorcycle accident page explains how we build that proof.

And note the no-contact point. A rider forced off the road by a vehicle that never touches him still has a claim against the driver who caused it.

Deadlines and early steps

Claims against a political subdivision must generally be filed within two years under R.C. 2744.04(A), and an order denying immunity can be appealed immediately, as happened here, which adds time to the case. Video from buses and traffic cameras is routinely overwritten. Our guide chapter on deadlines and the timeline of an Ohio injury case explains the clock, and our page on claims against the government explains the immunity layers.

What this means for you

If a public bus or other government vehicle caused your crash, or the death of someone you love, do not accept "the government is immune" as the answer. For negligent driving, the law says otherwise. Families facing a loss can also learn more on our wrongful death page.