Judicial decision by the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal regarding the assignment of liability in an accident inside a local bus

 The text presents a significant judicial decision by the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal regarding the assignment of liability in an accident inside an OASTH bus. While ...

the bus driver was initially found liable for a passenger's injury, the second-instance ruling overturned the outcome, recognizing that the sudden braking was imperative. The decision emphasizes that exclusive liability lies with an unknown passenger car that illegally entered the bus lane, forcing the professional driver to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid a collision. Consequently, the court held that the driver acted as a prudent professional under emergency conditions. This content is sourced from the 'Solon' legal database, providing an analytical insight into the case law of traffic accidents."

Source:  Single-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki (Decision 472/2025) 

According to the sources, the acquittal of the bus driver (who was found not liable by the appellate court) was based on the following factors:

• Sudden intervention by a third vehicle: An unknown passenger car suddenly entered the bus's path from the left, moving within the bus lane.
• Adherence to normal speed: The bus driver was found to be traveling at a normal speed for the circumstances.
• Justified sudden braking: The decision to brake abruptly rather than gradually was deemed justified, as it was done for the sole purpose of avoiding a collision with the vehicle that cut in.
• Appropriate professional response: The immediate immobilization of the bus was considered the only possible and appropriate action that any average, prudent professional driver would have taken under the same conditions.
• Exclusive liability of the unknown driver: The court ruled that the unknown passenger car was solely responsible for the accident and the passenger's injury, regardless of whether the passenger was safely supported.

Based on this reasoning, the Single-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki (Decision 472/2025) vacated the first-instance decision that had originally found the OASTH driver liable.

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