PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A Palm Beach County woman has sued the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, alleging she was hurt while riding a Palm Tran bus when the driver stopped abruptly and she fell out of her seat, according to a complaint filed in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County.
The case, Juana Mendez Morales v. Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, was filed January 29, 2026, under Case No. 502026CA001079XXXAMB, court records show. The complaint lists the plaintiff’s counsel as McSweeney Law Firm, based in Boca Raton, with attorney Krisel McSweeney signing the filing. No defense counsel is listed in the complaint.
In the filing, Juana Mendez Morales alleges she was a passenger on a Palm Tran bus in Palm Beach County when the incident occurred. The complaint states the county, through the Board of County Commissioners, owned, operated, maintained, and had exclusive control over Palm Tran, and that the driver operating the bus was employed by the county.
The complaint describes the alleged incident as occurring “on or about February 21, 2022,” and states that while Mendez Morales was riding as a passenger, the driver “failed to maintain control and safely operate” the bus. The filing alleges the bus was stopped abruptly, causing her to fall out of her seat.
In a negligence count, the complaint alleges the county, through its employee-driver, failed to use due care in operating the bus. Among the alleged acts and omissions listed in the complaint are operating the vehicle in an unsafe manner, “accelerating or breaking at an unreasonable and/or unsafe rate of speed,” and failing to warn Mendez Morales that the bus would brake suddenly while she was a passenger.
The complaint also alleges the county failed to adequately train its employees on safe operation of the bus to avoid injuring fare-paying passengers, and failed to implement measures to warn the plaintiff of the need to brake when a pedestrian began to walk in front of the bus.
The filing further alleges the county was acting as a “common carrier” and owed passengers a heightened duty of care consistent with the practical operation of the type of transportation involved. The plaintiff claims that as a direct result of the alleged negligence, she suffered bodily injury, pain and suffering, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, and medical expenses. The complaint alleges the losses are permanent or continuing and will be suffered in the future.
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages “in an amount in excess of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00),” along with costs, interest, and any other relief the court deems proper. The complaint includes a demand for a jury trial.
The filing also states that conditions precedent were met for the lawsuit, including notice provisions under Florida law applicable to claims against government entities, and references a statutory notice letter attached as an exhibit.
All allegations are claims made by the plaintiff in a civil complaint and have not been proven in court.
The original complaint, Juana Mendez Morales v. Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, Case No. 502026CA001079XXXAMB, as filed January 29, 2026, with the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court, can be viewed here.
LEARN MORE: How Auto Negligence Lawsuits work in Florida.
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