Claiming a bus ran over his leg after he slipped on a sidewalk, a Kitchener man is suing Grand River Transit, one of its bus drivers and GrandLinq – the consortium building Waterloo Region’s light rail transit system.

A statement of claim was filed in Kitchener court last week, in which the man is seeking $2 million for what the document alleges are permanent, serious and debilitating injuries he received to his legs and right arm.

In the statement, Sonny Kuehn claims he fell in late May while walking on Caroline Street in uptown Waterloo, near William Street.

He says he slipped on some gravel on the sidewalk and fell onto the road, just as a Grand River Transit bus began to move forward. He says the bus ran over his leg.

Kuehn accuses the bus driver of careless driving while affected by fatigue, alcohol or drugs, and of using his phone while behind the wheel.

He also claims GrandLinq was negligent for not doing more to keep the sidewalk safe.

Aimee Deriou owns Valentina Bridal, a bridal shop at Caroline and William.

She didn’t see the alleged incident in May, but has noticed “dips” and “uneven areas” that can make it difficult for some people to navigate the sidewalk.

“People that have walkers, people that have strollers, even your regular pedestrians … there are definitely trip hazards that can occur,” she said Friday.

None of the allegations in Kuehn’s statement of claim have been tested in court. Neither GrandLinq nor Grand River Transit has filed a statement of defence.

Through his lawyer, Kuehn said he did not want to comment for this story because the case is currently before the courts.

GrandLinq and the Region of Waterloo, which operates Grand River Transit, provided similar responses.

Speaking more generally, a spokesperson for the region said that responsibility for sidewalk safety near Ion construction zones rests with GrandLinq.

In a statement, GrandLinq said that it has a “pedestrian ambassador” at each work site, “who walks the area and identifies and appropriate repairs or signage that needs to be changed.”

With reporting by Nicole Lampa