assaic police examining the scene where a man was killed by an NJ Transit bus last year. Fatal accidents are not common, but the agency spends millions to fight injury claims. BY KAREN ROUSE STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD Share on facebook Share on Twitter E-mail this story NJ Transit doles out millions of dollars each year to settle claims related to pedestrians who have been struck by NJ Transit buses, resulting in brain injuries, crushed hands and feet, disfigurement or — in a few cases — death, records show. Over a nearly three-year period, the agency paid $20.5 million to people who said they were injured when bus drivers ran red lights, failed to yield to pedestrians or ignored their surroundings. The family of Rosalina Barbosa-Ortiz said in May 2010 she was knocked down by a speeding NJ Transit bus driver in Camden. The accident, the family said in legal filings, left her with injuries, including fractured ribs, that ultimately resulted in her death. NJ Transit settled with her estate last year for $990,000. And a pending criminal case in Passaic, in which a former bus driver was indicted on vehicular manslaughter charges in February, could spawn a civil filing as well. Yet, in a dozen other cases that NJ Transit litigated during the nearly three-year term, the case was closed and the claimant got nothing. Experts say dealing with tort claims and accidents is a reality for transit agencies that are in the business of moving millions of people in heavy equipment each year. In 2012, there were 23 bus-pedestrian accidents, the same number as in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, there were 21. Of the incidents between 2006 and this year, NJ Transit officials said, 17 were in Bergen County, six in Passaic County and 55 in Essex County. So far this year, there has been just one incident. It’s “a part of what you have to deal with,” said Jack Lettiere, former commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, who headed NJ Transit’s board from 2002 to 2006 and now operates a transportation consulting agency. “That sounds very cold,” he said, “but there really isn’t anyone in [a transit agency] that has an ‘I don’t care’ attitude. They don’t want to see any of their customers or passengers or any of the folks working in the area injured.” Bus-pedestrian accidents are a topic both transit agencies and bus driver unions shy away from. The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents NJ Transit’s 5,500 bus employees, didn’t return repeated phone calls seeking comment. Transit agencies, meanwhile, want to avoid the public scrutiny that comes with publicized payouts, and worry that those that climb into millions will trigger a windfall of new claims. The Record reviewed cases in which NJ Transit spent money, either to settle a bus or rail claim, or to litigate the case between Jan. 1, 2010, and October 2012. The Record also looked at accidents that occurred during that period for which money was spent on litigation. There were 80 such cases. Ten were related to train incidents and 70 to bus accidents. Of those, 39 were settled, but 13 were closed without a payout. But that doesn’t mean taxpayers were spared any costs. During the nearly three-year period, NJ Transit spent $1.25 million on legal fees, administrative costs and court costs on cases, including those in which no payment was awarded. NJ Transit won a case against a woman who claimed her arm was fractured after she was struck on Broad and Market streets in Newark in 2010. It was the only case during the nearly three-year period that went to trial, and while the agency was successful, it still spent $12,617 on litigation.