SINGAPORE — A woman who fell while climbing the stairs of a double-decker bus has lost a civil negligence suit against transport operator SBS Transit (SBST) and the bus driver.

In a written judgment published on Feb 11, a district judge said it was unfortunate that the woman was injured and that he sympathised with the pain and suffering she experienced. The judgment did not give details of her injuries.

"Nevertheless, the fault did not lie with the second defendant's driving," said District Judge Samuel Wee. He said that based on the video footage from the bus, it appeared that the woman missed a step, lost her balance and fell as the bus moved off from the bus stop.

When she was cross-examined in court, she confirmed she was fit, robust and did not require any mobility aid to get to the upper deck of the bus.

Judge Wee also noted that she had chosen to find a seat on the upper deck instead of the lower deck, which had available seats.

The passenger, Madam Tran Thi Phuong Nga, was in her late 60s when she boarded the bus on Feb 17, 2020.

Carrying a bag of food in her right hand, she climbed the steps to the upper deck while holding the handrail with her left hand. As she reached the top of the stairs, the bus moved off and she fell.

Two sets of video footage, showing multiple perspectives of the event, were tendered in court.

Madam Nga, who was represented by Jeffrey Lau, had filed the lawsuit in 2022.

Civil cases are heard in a district court where the amount claimed is up to $250,000, or up to $500,000 for claims for road traffic accidents or personal injuries from industrial accidents.

Madam Nga alleged that the driver, Lui Nai Yu, had moved off before ensuring that she was properly seated.

She suggested that Lui should have paid more attention to her as she was elderly, but he was distracted because he was speaking to a female passenger standing at the front of the bus and neglected to monitor the video feed of the stairs.

She also claimed that Lui had moved off or stopped the bus with a sudden jerk, and that he was steering with only one hand.

She contended that SBST was vicariously liable for the driver's negligence.

Lui denied breaching his duty of care. Both he and SBST were represented by Willy Tay.

The driver asserted that he did not have to wait for Madam Nga to be seated before moving off from the bus stop.

He said he did not move off or stop jerkily, and that he had controlled the steering wheel appropriately despite using just one hand.

Lawyers for both sides were unable to point to any local precedents specifically addressing whether a bus driver had to wait for all passengers to be seated before moving off from a stationary position.

After examining cases in the Australian, English and Scottish courts, Judge Wee said it is generally not necessary for a bus driver to wait for all passengers to be seated before moving off.

That said, an exception arises for passengers who are vulnerable.

Lui had testified that he did not have any reason to pay extra attention to Madam Nga because she walked fairly quickly and proceeded to the upper deck.

Judge Wee found no merit to Madam Nga's argument that the bus driver should not have spoken to the female passenger.

The judge also rejected her claim that the bus had moved off or stopped with a sudden jerk.

The footage showed that no other passengers lost their balance when the bus moved off or came to a halt; the other passengers standing on the lower deck remained firm-footed throughout.

The judge also concluded that the driver remained in control of the bus even though he held the steering wheel with just one hand for a period of two to three seconds.

Footage showed that Lui initially used his right hand to operate some buttons before resting it on his lap until the bus was ready to move off. The driver then turned the steering wheel gently with his left hand before placing his right hand on it as well.

As Madam Nga had failed to establish that the defendants were negligent, the suit was dismissed and will not proceed to the subsequent stage to prove causation and address the quantification of damages.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.