Band exposed to TB on bus wins $5.25M

A jury ordered a bus company to pay $5.25 million to six high school band members and a chaperone who contracted tuberculosis from a bus driver.

The award Wednesday followed the jury's finding that Garcia Holiday Tours and the driver, 58-year-old Raul Garcia, were negligent.

Calls to the tour company and its defense attorney were not immediately returned Thursday.

Alice High School contracted Garcia Holiday Tours to take the band to San Antonio for its year-end trip in the spring of 2004. The driver coughed repeatedly during the trip and was diagnosed with active tuberculosis nine days later. He has a family history of the disease and was suffering four of the six major symptoms during the trip.

The plaintiffs were all diagnosed with latent tuberculosis, which can afflict victims throughout life.

"They all tested positive for carrying the disease," plaintiff attorney David Harris said. "They were treated for nine months, but they don't know when throughout their lives the disease can come back and be active."

Raul Garcia had not had a work physical since 1999, plaintiffs attorneys said in court. Federal law requires commercial drivers to obtain a medical certificate every two years to prove they are in good health. Alice is about 45 miles west of Corpus Christi.