Were you injured in a bus accident?

Bus Accident Lawyers

If you’ve been injured, our caring team will help you get the justice you deserve.

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Home  » Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer » Bus Accident Lawyer

Bus Accident Attorney

Need a Bus Accident Attorney that will work tirelessly to secure the highest possible settlement for your case?

Buses are a staple of any location, especially in a big city. People rely on buses to get around for all sorts of reasons. After all, a bus pass is cheaper than a car’s gas, loan payments, and maintenance. But taking the bus is not without risk, and sometimes accidents do happen.

Bus accidents come under personal injury law. If you’ve been injured in a bus accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Let’s take a closer look at bus accidents, including how a personal injury attorney can meaningfully help you in a lawsuit or claim based on someone’s negligence.

Call My Rights Law’s Bus Accident Lawyer Today

If you are injured in a bus accident, then it is essential that you consult with an attorney who is well-versed in bringing personal injury lawsuits. At My Rights Law, our motor vehicle accident lawyers are dedicated to helping victims get compensation for injuries that they sustain from bad bus drivers and their employers. We will aggressively fight on your behalf to get you every dollar that you deserve as a result of being injured. Don’t sleep on your rights. Reach out to My Rights Law today by calling (888) 702-8882 or leave a message on our contact form for a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable injury attorneys.

Bus Accident Basics

A bus accident is any accident in which a bus is somehow involved. Buses include school buses, city transit buses, tour buses, other public transport buses, and private buses. Common causes of bus accidents include:

  • Negligence of the bus driver: One of the most prevalent causes of bus accidents is human error. The bus driver may have been driving under the influence or texting while driving. Alternatively, the owner of the bus may have been negligent in not making sure their employee – the bus driver – was a competent choice for the position.
  • Inexperience: The bus driver may lack the experience they need to drive the bus safely.
  • Mechanical failure: If the bus itself has some kind of mechanical issue, this can cause an accident. It is vital for bus operators to do routine maintenance check-ups.
  • Bad weather: A bad storm or icy roads can often be the cause of bus accidents, although human error in operating the bus during such conditions may still have played a part.
  • Other driver: Sometimes the bus operator is not at fault, as when the driver of another vehicle causes the accident.

If you are ever in a bus accident, call 911 first. The important thing is to get medical personnel there as soon as possible. Second, make sure to give your statement to the police. Finally, record the incident – including taking photos and/or video of the scene and writing down everything you remember – and gather as much information about the people and vehicles as you can. This will be vital if you decide to pursue legal action.

Negligence

In most states, you must prove that someone (likely the bus operator) was negligent in order to recover damages. To do so, you must show the following:

  • Duty: You must prove that the bus driver or operator had a duty of care to you. Because a bus transports people from one place to another for a fee, it is considered a common carrier. A carrier must take the utmost care and diligence to safely transport persons.
  • Breach: You must prove that the other person breached (violated) this duty of care.
  • Causation: You must prove that the breach in the duty directly caused your harm.
  • Damages: This refers to the injuries, property damage, and other losses that you suffered as a result of the incident. Providing evidence of these losses is crucial to alleviate your financial burden and to try to put you back in a position similar to the one you were in before the accident.

Who Is Responsible?

Every accident is different, so determining who should be held responsible can be difficult. If a car hit the bus, you would sue the driver of that car, and most likely, the claim would go through their insurance. However, you might have been injured on a bus due to the negligence of the bus driver. In that case, you first must look to see who owns the bus.

If the bus is owned by a private company, it probably has some type of liability insurance. While you could sue the driver as an individual, the driver most likely won’t be able to compensate you for your damages. However, the bus company was responsible for hiring the bus driver and will likely have more resources.

Alternatively, the bus could be owned by the government. For example, a city bus or school bus would be owned by the city or other municipality. There are different rules for government lawsuits, so if you were hurt on a public bus, you’d want to know the rules to avoid your claim being thrown out.

Under some states’ laws, you must file a notice of a suit against the government within six months of the accident. The corresponding government agency then accepts or rejects the claim. If it rejects the claim, you can still file a lawsuit. In some states, you can sue for the following:

  • Negligence by employees
  • Negligence by independent contractors
  • Liability for something dangerous on government property
  • Damages from the government’s failure to carry out a duty imposed on them by law

Filing A Claim Because Of Your Injuries

Every claim has a statute of limitations, which refers to the time period in which you can sue. Once this time period expires, you can no longer bring your personal injury claim to court. Personal injury claims generally have to be brought within just a few years from the occurrence of the incident. If you do not bring a claim within that time, you will most likely not be able to receive compensation in court. If your claim is against the government instead of a private company, the rules may be different.

What Compensation Can I Get For Filing A Claim?

Compensation from a bus accident can vary depending on how bad the accident was. Common injuries include:

  • Broken bones
  • Torn ligaments and/or tendons
  • Bone fractures
  • Burns
  • Lacerations
  • Concussions
  • Cuts and bruises
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Internal bleeding
  • Sprained muscles

The goal of personal injury suits is to make the injured person as whole as can be. Your injuries won’t vanish, but you can receive compensation for them. The following list includes examples of expenses you can be compensated for.

  • Medical treatments: This includes hospital admissions, surgeries, doctor visits, blood tests, exams, and radiology tests, as well as therapies both physical and psychological.
  • Lost wages: This category includes any wages lost. If you were injured, you might have had to take at least a day or two off work. If it was a severe accident, you might have had to take months off work. The income you were not able to earn during that time is called lost wages and is recoverable.
  • Loss of future earnings: This refers to any wages in the future that you were likely to receive had it not been for your injuries. For instance, your injuries may have prevented you from going back to your job permanently, and you had to find a job in a different field or stop working altogether. Or maybe you still have your original job, but your injuries prevent you from working full-time or ever getting a promotion. These are also recoverable.
  • Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering damages include both the physical pain and emotional distress you incurred because of your injury.
  • Loss of consortium: This refers to the loss of affection between spouses or partners as well as your individual contribution to the relationship, both economic and social.

Family members who can initiate a wrongful death claim include:

  • Spouse
  • Domestic partner
  • Children
  • Grandchildren
  • Anyone who is entitled to receive the deceased person’s property

Family members who bring wrongful death claims can recoup the following damages:

  • Funeral and burial costs
  • Loss of deceased’s income and future earnings
  • Loss of companionship

Comparative Negligence

Most states apply comparative negligence principles.  This means that any damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage of fault that can be attributed to you. For example, suppose a bus operator was so drunk that he swerved and hit a pole, and a passenger who was acting unruly at the time was injured. The court might determine that the bus operator’s DUI contributed to the passenger’s injuries by 90 percent, while the passenger contributed to their injuries by the remaining 10 percent. In that case, the passenger can only recover 90 percent of their calculated damages.

What Can I Do If Injured In A Bus Accident?

After getting medical treatment, a victim can protect the value of their potential bus accident lawsuit by getting a free consultation with bus accident attorneys. Critically, a case evaluation with a well-informed accident lawyer allows you to properly gauge whether bringing a lawsuit makes sense and how to go about doing it. My Rights Law is a highly respected personal injury law firm that is focused on helping bus accident victims get compensation and justice. Know that our law firm is ready to help you when you need us. Reach out to My Rights Law today by calling (888) 702-8882 or by contacting us by filling out our secure web form for a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys.

Bus Accident FAQ

How Can A Bus Accident Lawyer Assist Me?

An experienced bus accident lawyer (a personal injury lawyer who knows all about bus accident cases) helps clients to obtain financial recoveries against those who are legally responsible (liable) for causing those clients to suffer harm, damages, or losses. Typically, since accident lawyers are well versed in bus accidents and they regularly file lawsuits on behalf of victims, they know how the legal process unfolds. Specifically, they know how to aggressively negotiate with a given defendant and their insurance company. Remember, insurance companies have experienced trial lawyers representing them when it comes to lawsuits over bus crashes and other motor vehicle accidents. For this reason, you’ll need a firm of skilled bus accident injury lawyers who are prepared to take on the insurance companies involved in your case.

A free consultation with a bus accident attorney will allow you to find out whether you have a viable claim and what you can do in anticipation of filing suit and afterward. The attorneys at My Rights Law are knowledgeable on complicated laws concerning bus accidents. The firm provides its clients with a free consultation to help them make sense of their legal options. Moreover, My Rights Law is a highly respected law firm that treats its clients just like family members. Our lawyers help ensure that our clients can get maximum compensation and justice when involved in a bus wreck. Each client of ours deserves our best.

How Often Do Bus Accidents Happen?

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which puts out bus accident statistics, large trucks (all types of buses included) accounted for 155,585 crashes in 2020 in the United States. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that these truck incidents caused 76,705 injuries and 4,751 deaths. 109 passengers died in accidents involving school buses alone in 2019. Many injuries have also occurred on city buses, common carrier buses, municipal transit buses, charter buses, tour buses, and more. Despite their appeal, buses often pose serious safety risks to passengers and other people.

Bus accidents are sometimes referred to as car accidents, school bus accidents, bus crashes, car wrecks, traffic accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and car crashes, depending on the vehicles involved. Typically, a bus accident involves a bus crashing into a car (e.g., a school bus plows into a passenger vehicle). However, collisions could just as easily involve multiple passenger vehicles, or even pedestrians, animals, and other things such as road hazards and debris. Passengers could suffer serious injuries or fatalities. Bus accident attorneys represent victims and their families against careless bus drivers and the bus companies who employ them.

What Kind Of Damages Can Bus Crash Victims Get For Filing A Lawsuit?

By having a bus accident lawyer in your corner in a bus crash case, you could procure several types of damages (financial compensation). Damages include medical expenses, present and future lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, property damage, and more. Some of the more extreme cases (e.g., ones that cause fatalities) can be worth millions. However, clients’ cases involving moderate to serious bus accident injuries (e.g., brain injuries; spinal cord injuries) could still be worth considerable money depending on the situation.

Beware that the insurance company who insures the bus driver defendant (or their employer) in an insurance claim might offer an insignificant amount of damages at first to resolve the injured person’s case, but settlement offers tend to increase steadily as these cases head towards trial. Bus accident lawyers should be assertive and aggressive in negotiations with insurance companies on your behalf and demand fair treatment of you by the insurance companies. Also, keep in mind that it is not just the bus driver who might be liable; it could be the bus companies who employ them too. In fact, bus companies who negligently hire or supervise their employees could be found liable for their employees’ misconduct affecting passengers or other victims.

Contact My Rights Law’s Experienced Bus Accident Lawyers

If you or a family member or other loved one has sustained injuries because of a bus crash, you should get in touch with a qualified bus accident attorney who knows a lot about bus accident laws, who offers consultations free of charge, who is willing to take cases on a contingency fee basis, and who will go the extra mile for their clients in attempting to secure a meaningful resolution. A free consultation with an attorney can enable accident victims and their loved ones to gain clarity on their legal options and to know what lies ahead for them.

The bus accident attorneys at My Rights Law devote themselves to helping clients and their families get the compensation they deserve for the harm that has been caused to them by negligent drivers in bus accidents (e.g., a school bus accident; city bus accident). In your consultation, we will take the time to evaluate your situation and apprise you of your options. Most individuals’ bus accident cases are handled by My Rights Law on a contingency fee basis, so attorney’s fees are not due unless you happen to prevail in your case. You don’t want to hire just any law firm to resolve your matter. Also, keep in mind that state law limits your time to file a claim, so don’t delay. To consult with My Rights Law’s skilled accident attorneys, call (888) 702-8882 or complete our secure web form to get in touch.

Other accident injury cases we take on include: Aviation Accident