Bus crash victims sue over ‘unsafe’ crossing – Australian Associated Press

Family members who lost loved ones in a fatal bus crash have filed a lawsuit over the roundabout where the tragedy occurred, while the driver responsible faces decades in prison.

Brett Button, 59, was sentenced on Wednesday to 32 years in prison, with a 24-year non-parole period, for killing 10 passengers and injuring 25 others celebrating a young couple’s wedding in the NSW Hunter Valley.

He accelerated as he approached the roundabout, but lost control of the bus, hitting the guardrail and rolling onto its side.

Button was driving while under the influence of opioid painkillers.

His lengthy sentence came despite concerns from survivors of the crash and the victims’ families after prosecutors dropped a manslaughter charge for lesser traffic violations.

In a class action lawsuit filed in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Thursday, survivors, victims’ families, emergency services workers and insurance companies are joining forces to seek compensation from the state transport authority for the physical and psychological injuries caused by the crash.

The complaint alleges that Transport for NSW was responsible for alleged safety failings on Wine Country Drive near Greta, where Button was travelling when the bus carrying 35 wedding guests crashed at about 11.30pm on June 11, 2023.

Court documents show the interchange had a number of design flaws, including its elliptical shape instead of circular, the use of guardrails instead of run-off lanes and the presence of a gutter that could cause larger vehicles to trip.

The maximum speed on the roundabout is also said to be too high.

The audits by Transport for NSW were “inadequate to identify the unsafe design and construction of the interchange”, the claim said.

Lawyers bringing the class action told AAP they expected the Buttons division to involve employer Linq Buslines in the case.

Adam Bray, whose son Zach died in the crash, said the legal action was aimed at holding authorities accountable for the 10 “preventable” deaths.

Mr Bray referred to court evidence showing that the driver was dismissed from another company for taking 40 opiates a week.

Button has not indicated that he was using painkillers when he started working at Linq.

When asked about the class action lawsuit, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters that families had the right to litigate and that he respected their decision.

Transport for NSW declined to comment on the lawsuit but said it would continue to support those affected.

A Linq spokeswoman said the company had not received any information about the case and could not comment, but offered condolences to the victims’ families during an “extremely difficult” time.

Before he was sentenced, Button told the court of his grief and shame and said he had not forgiven himself.

He claimed that he had been using Tramadol since 1994 and that he had developed a tolerance to the opioid he used to relieve pain.

The driver had taken 350mg of Tramadol on the day of the accident, despite doctors telling him the maximum daily dose was 200mg.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of dangerous driving causing death, nine charges of driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 charges of causing bodily harm by reckless driving.

Mr Bray praised Judge Roy Ellis for the sentence but said it was “bittersweet” as other road traffic accident cases had not been met with similar sentences.

“The judge did an exceptional job of recognising the gravity and significance of, and in his own words, the catastrophic, widespread trauma that has devastated the lives of hundreds of people,” he said.

“No amount of years can fix it… (but) historically, other victims have not had the same outcomes as we have.”