Appellate Court Addresses Jerk and Jolt Doctrine With Respect to Bus Passengers

In the case of Musser v. SEPTA, No. 60 C.D. 2025 (Pa. Cmwlth. Feb. 27, 2026 Cohn Jubelirer, P.J., Fizzano Cannon, J., and Tsai, J.) (Op. by Fizzano Cannon, J.), the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a trial court’s denial of a Plaintiff’s post-trial motions in a matter involving a Plaintiff who was injured when a SEPTA bus began to move before the Plaintiff had sat down, as a result of which, the Plaintiff allegedly fell and was injured.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s provision of instructions to the jury that, under Pennsylvania law, a bus operator has no obligation to wait until boarding passengers are seated before proceeding from a stop.

According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff alleged that, as she was seating herself, the bus restarted with an “aggressive” motion, causing her to fall. SEPTA presented contrary evidence, including a video of the incident. A defense verdict was entered by the jury and the Plaintiff appealed.

The court noted that the Plaintiff’s claims were based upon the jerk and jolt doctrine, which holds that a common carrier may be liable if a Plaintiff is injured due to a sudden, unusual or extraordinary jerk or jolt of the vehicle. However, the court noted that, under the doctrine, merely restarting a bus before a passenger is seated is not considered negligence unless the passenger requests the driver to wait. Here, there was no such request noted in the evidence. Rather, the Plaintiff only asserted that the restart was a sudden jolt.

On appeal, the appellate court found no abuse of discretion by the trial court in its evidentiary rulings. The appellate court also found that the trial court was appropriate in clarifying to the jury that merely restarting the bus before a passenger is seated did not, in and of itself, constitute negligence under the jerk and jolt doctrine.

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Source: The Legal Intelligencer State Appellate Case Alert, www.Law.com (March 17, 2026).

Applicability of Jerk and Jolt Doctrine Addressed by Court

In the case of Thomas v. SEPTA, June Term, 2020 No. 1431 (C.P. Phila. Co. Feb. 7, 2024 Powell, Jr., J.), the court addressed the applicability of the “jerk and jolt” doctrine in a case involving a Plaintiff who fell on a SEPTA bus when the bus stopped abruptly and her leg was caught in a baby stroller that was in the aisle.

The court generally noted the jerk and jolt doctrine applies as an exception to sovereign immunity when an individual testifies that they were injured when a car or bus jerked suddenly or violently. Under this doctrine, the Plaintiff must show that the jerk or jolt had an extraordinarily disturbing effect on other passengers or that the manner or occurrence of the accident or its effect on the Plaintiff inherently established the unusual or extraordinary character of the jerk or jolt.

In this Rule 1925 Opinion addressed to the Superior Court, the trial court stated that, in this case, the Plaintiff testified that the stroller caused her to fall after the bus driver slammed on the brakes and the Plaintiff’s foot got caught in the stroller.

The trial court concluded that the jerk and jolt doctrine did not apply and that it was up to the jury to otherwise decide if SEPTA was negligent in deciding whether the bus was safe to operate with the aisle obstructed.

In its Rule 1925 Opinion, the trial court requested the Commonwealth Court to affirm its decision that the jerk and jolt doctrine did not apply and that the trial court had not abused its discretion in denying SEPTA’s Motions for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict entered by the jury.

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Source: Law.com: “The Legal Intelligencer Common Pleas Alert” (May 15, 2024).