Broadway Cab Company Under Fire Again

Portland, OR – On April 25^th, the Portland personal injury firm of DuBois Law Group filed a lawsuit with the Multnomah County Court against Broadway Cab for injuries incurred by Jeremiah Jumel in April of 2012. This is the second time recently that a Broadway Cab driver has come under fire for failing to obey a traffic signal, and the company has been accused of poor hiring practices.

Jeremiah Jumel was seriously injured when Broadway Cab driver Muse A. Hassan, a named defendant in the suit, ran a red light and T-boned his car, pushing Mr. Jumel’s car all the way into oncoming traffic. Jumel is represented by attorney Sean DuBois, and his lawsuit is asking for $505,848.07.

Jumel’s shoulder was badly dislocated during the crash and later required surgery. After the surgery, he requires months of physical therapy in hopes of regaining the full range of motion in his shoulder. Jumel’s medical bills totaled over $55,000, though no price can be placed on his loss of experience as an aspiring DJ while he healed.

Broadway Cab is named in the lawsuit because of alleged negligence on the part of the company to prevent the accident. The filed complaint (Case no. 1304-05824) states that the company failed to screen and train drivers, and failed to have (or enforce) policies that would prevent collisions.

This is not the first time Broadway Cab has been in the news for an injury crash. In fact, just three weeks after Jumel’s crash, on May 7^th, 2012, another Broadway Cab driver ran a red light in downtown Portland while speeding, and severely injured two pedestrians. The driver, Moktar Mohamud Mohamed, was later convicted of third-degree assault, reckless driving, and second-degree criminal mischief. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail for each charge.

“Broadway Cab may be doing something wrong if their drivers have no respect for traffic signals, speed limits, and the safety of others,” DuBois said. “I understand it can be difficult to be a taxi driver, but we need to hold them accountable for their poor driving choices.”

If Hassan, the defendant in this case, is an example of Broadway Cab’s drivers, passengers should be wary. Even before receiving a permit to drive a taxi, his driving record was far from spotless. In fact, according to Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, a division of the Department of Transportation, his record shows a dozen violations, including speeding, illegal U-turns, failure to obey traffic control devices, and driving uninsured. He also has a criminal record, which originally caused his taxi permit application to be denied.

“If these are the types of drivers Broadway Cab is hiring, they should know that they are at risk for accident liability. Perhaps having to pay for these collisions will prompt them to revise their hiring and training procedures and prevent future injuries,” said DuBois.