Arkansas Court Affirms Insurance Ruling in Bus Crash

The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by a lower-court judge that an insurance company is liable for twice the amount it had expected in connection with a fatal Craighead County bus crash.

The court ruled on June 23 that Circuit Court Judge John Fogleman was correct in deciding that Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is liable for up to $2 million in damages in the case. The company had argued it was liable for $1 million.

Five people died and five others suffered injuries in the accident on May 27, 2009, when a bus carrying developmentally disabled adults collided with a vehicle driving the wrong way on U.S. Highway 63.

The insurance company policy covered Focus Inc., a nonprofit organization in Jonesboro that serves disabled adults.