NORTHAMPTON — More than a year after she allegedly sustained serious injuries while aboard a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus, a University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate is suing her alma mater and the driver she says was negligent after the bus came to an abrupt halt, sending the woman hurtling from the back of the bus and into a railing.
Delaney Ratner, who graduated in May, is accusing UMass, the PVTA and the bus driver, identified only as “Jane Doe,” of negligence after she sustained “serious personal injuries, physical pain and mental distress, diminished capacity to enjoy life, loss of income and diminished earning capacity” as a result of the September 2015 bus ride, the complaint reads.
PVTA contracts with UMass to operate some PVTA busses.
In the complaint filed Nov. 17 in Hampshire Superior Court, Ratner, now of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, said she stood up from her seat in the back of the bus to pull the cord, signaling to the driver that her stop was next.
Ratner remained standing as she grasped a balancing pole while the bus approached the intersection of Gatehouse, Old Farm and Belchertown roads in Amherst.
Then, according to the complaint, the driver “slammed on the brakes of the … bus without warning, sending (Ratner) hurtling toward the front of the bus and into a handicapped rail …”
Ratner was transported via ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, where she was treated for two days, according to the complaint, for injuries including five fractured ribs and a partially collapsed lung.
Ratner could not be reached Tuesday, and Edward Blaguszewski, UMass spokesman, declined comment citing pending litigation. Ratner studied resource economics, according to her attorney.
“She’s a very active and accomplished young woman,” said her attorney Wayne H. Peereboom, of Dunn & Phillips, P.C., in Springfield. “She had a high GPA … It was a setback, but she worked her way through.”
Ratner was also active in the sport of dog agility, Peereboom added.
Of the allegations made in the complaint, Peereboom said: “Some people just need to be careful operating large machinery and (realize) … you’ve got a number of riders on there who are expecting the driver to operate safely.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.