WINCHESTER, Tenn. -- A federal court jury has returned an $8 million damage verdict against Greyhound Lines in a lawsuit filed by a Michigan woman who was injured in a crash caused by a passenger who slashed the driver's throat with a box cutter, wire services and newspapers reported.

Six passengers, including the attacker, were killed in the Oct. 3, 2001, crash on Interstate 24 between Nashville and Chattanooga. A seventh died later at a hospital and 34 others on board were injured.

After a week of testimony, jurors deliberated about three hours before returning the compensatory damage verdict for 59-year-old Sharon Surles of Saginaw, Mich.

Surles' attorney, Andrew Berke of Chattanooga, said the main point of the verdict was that Greyhound get the message. Other lawsuits related to the crash are pending in Georgia. (See Aug. 1 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

A Greyhound spokeswoman said the company is examining the verdict and will be making a decision about an appeal.

The coach was traveling from Chicago to Orlando, Fla., when Damir Igric, a 29-year-old Croatian, attacked driver Garfield Sands around 4 a.m. as the bus was passing through Manchester, Tenn.

Sands was admitted to a hospital with two 5-inch-long, 2-inch-deep cuts to his neck.

The attack prompted Greyhound to briefly shut down its entire system.

Surles, who was traveling to visit relatives in Atlanta, stayed in a hospital longer than a month and is permanently disabled. Berke said her medical costs have totaled about $1.6 million.

He said that during the four years before the crash, Greyhound had at least 43 incidents of a passenger attempting to assault a driver or grab the steering wheel of a moving bus. Berke argued that despite the prevalence of attacks, Greyhound never did anything to protect its drivers.

Greyhound now has barriers to protect drivers on many of its coaches.