Construction firms dragged into Hunter Valley crash class action
Survivors and the families of those killed in a Hunter Valley bus crash have expanded their class action against the state road regulator.
Survivors and the families of those killed in a Hunter Valley bus crash have expanded their class action against the state road regulator, accusing two construction firms of contributing to the tragedy.
Judge Peter Garling on Friday ordered ACCIONA Infrastructure Projects Pty Ltd and AECOM Consulting be made defendants in the Supreme Court class action after the primary defendant, Transport for NSW, argued the two firms were critical in the design, construction and safety assessment of the Greta interchange where the crash took place.
At 11.30pm on June 11, 2023, a bus driven by Brett Button crashed, killing 10 passengers and injured 25 others.
The bus, which was being used to transport wedding guests from a ceremony at a local winery to their hotel in Singleton, rolled and hit a guardrail. It was the deadliest road accident in Australia since 1994.
Button was sentenced to 32 years’ jail with a 24-year non-parole period after pleading guilty to dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death.
Adam Bray, father of victim Zach Bray, launched class action proceedings against Transport for NSW in September last year, appearing as the lead plaintiff among a group of survivors and relatives. He argued the transport body breached its duty of care and said the site of the crash, surrounding road signage and high vegetation all contributed to the scale of the crash.
Button and his employer, Linq Busline, are cross-defendants in the class action, after Transport for NSW argued they shared responsibility for the crash. Linq Busline’s insurer, QBE, was represented on Friday and sought to appear on behalf of Linq Busline in future proceedings.
QBE left the door open to filing further cross-claims against the parties involved in constructing the Greta interchange, arguing their liability would mitigate that of Linq Busline and reduce its obligation to make payouts.
Button, 58, was tested for drugs after the crash. He was found to have taken 400mg of tramadol the day before, leaving him impaired.
He was sentenced in September last year but has appealed the severity of his sentence, with a decision to be made in October.
Lawyers for the three defendants foreshadowed a sprawling court case given the number of parties involved in the tender process for the Greta interchange project.
“It took the defendant (Transport for NSW) itself quite some months to identify and collect all of the appropriate documentation from within its own records to enable it to consider and then plead claims against the cross-defendants,” Justice Beale said. “(ACCIONA) also submits that there is a real prospect that four other parties who were subcontractors concerned in the design, construction and verification of the Greta interchange would be joined to the litigation, which (it argues) would have an adverse effect on the speed with which the litigation could be resolved and the amount of legal costs which are likely to be incurred.”
Senior staff from Linq Buslines are facing separate litigation in the wake of the crash for alleged heavy vehicle safety breaches and breaching the duty of an executive of a legal entity.
The matter will return to court on September 19, with the defendants and cross-defendants free to make further cross-claims against relevant Greta interchange subcontractors, third parties and one another in the interim.
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