GALVESTON - Galveston resident Marie M. Alexis Volcy has filed suit against the city of Galveston in response to a two-vehicle accident with one of its buses earlier this year.
A lawsuit filed Aug. 22 in Galveston County District Court claims the plaintiff, who was accompanied by her two minor children, attempted to pull her car over to tend to an emergency when an Island Transit bus driven by Martin Filer struck it in the rear.
The children are also plaintiffs in the case.
According to the original petition, on the morning of Jan. 12, Volcy was traveling southbound on 61st Street when her car stalled. She pulled over to the right although there was no shoulder.
The defendant's bus collided with her vehicle just as she attempted to exit it, the suit says.
Local firefighters reportedly extracted Volcy from the car and an ambulance rushed her to the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch, where she was admitted with a severe/complete traumatic spinal cord injury.
"Her fifth cervical disc was crushed and she was rendered quadriplegic," the suit says.
It further explains that she "also suffered internal injuries and was ventilator dependent for a significant period of time and underwent multiple spinal and internal surgeries and procedures."
Volcy was discharged from UTMB approximately five months later, but is required to have 24-hour care, the suit says.
The city is blamed for hiring and retaining Filer, who is not named a defendant.
Consequently, Volcy and her children seek unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
They are represented by attorney Shelly A. Sanford of Houston.
Case No. 11-cv-1352