By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

NEW ORLEANS – The individual damages stage of the infamous “Mother’s Day Bus Crash” got underway in U.S. Federal Court here Monday, as St. John attorney Daniel Becnel Jr. began arguing the first of what will be 10 cases in the long-running series of lawsuits.

Becnel argued for damages to be paid for Shirley Gauff, one of the residents from this area who died in the crash on Mother’s Day in 1999.

Lucien Gauff of St. John Parish, now 72 years of age, took the stand and told the emotional story of what it has been like without his wife Shirley ever since her death in the bus crash in 1999. Lucien Gauff is a well known bricklayer from this area.

“Lucien just told the truth in the case, how it has been a horrendous, horrible time to be alone ever since he lost his wife,” Becnel remarked.

“Shirley was just a school teacher who made $38,000 a year, but she was so special to her husband and kids,” he added.

The individual damages stage of the Mother’s Day cases continues a long running scenario with this suit, that has seen Becnel already win five different lawsuits.

He originally won a $5 million claim from the bus driver, then sued and won against the doctor who certified the health of the bus driver. That was followed by a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the buses, and then a suit against Casino Magic, since they were the destination of the bus that day.

The bus crash mostly involved elderly people, many from Place DuBurg in LaPlace, who were taking the Mother’s Day trip to the Gulf Coast casino. The bus crashed on Interstate 10 in New Orleans and 24 people died, with 17 injured.

An investigation after the crash showed that the bus driver was not in good enough health to still be driving a bus.

Becnel most recently won perhaps the largest case in the series of lawsuits, when he was granted a win in the suit trying to place blame on the state of Louisiana, for not inspecting, or ensuring the guard rails were taken care of, inspected frequently enough, or maintained.

In that case, which is now being appealed, 50 percent of the blame was put on the state, and 50 percent of the blame was put on the bus driver.

In the Monday suit, which will be the first of 10 that Becnel will have to argue in coming days for individual people he is defending for damages, Gauff’s three children also took the stand.

Sources to L’Observateur have added up over $100 million in payments from lawsuits so far that Becnel has argued for in the five previous decisions in his favor. Becnel declined to comment about how much the lawsuits have totaled since he began the first case almost 10 years ago.