Bus Accident Injury Lawsuits
While buses can be a very safe mode of transportation, bus drivers who are careless along with bus providers indifferent to safety standards can cause serious bus accidents resulting in catastrophic injury and wrongful death. If you or someone you love has been injured in a serious bus accident, an experienced bus accident injury lawyer can explain your legal rights and offer strategies for guarding your rights.
Although bus accidents are not as common as some forms of motor vehicle collisions, they are hardly a rare event. There are in excess of 60,000 bus accidents per year in the United States, and the large size and weight of these vehicles means that they pose a serious risk of injury and even death to those who are involved in collisions with a bus. Further, when buses run off the road and rollover, bus occupants may be ejected from the vehicle, which is likely to result in catastrophic injuries because buses lack basic safety features such as seatbelts and airbags.
Bus accidents typically occur when bus companies fail to comply with federal safety rules. Serious injury and even death can result for patrons of rogue tour bus lines. Sometimes bus companies with a poor safety record simply close their company and reopen within months under a different business name. Accident victims need a bus accident attorney familiar with these types of tactics used by rogue bus companies to effectively overcome such tactics.
Bus accidents require an attorney experienced in handling these types of collisions, which may often involve litigation against a large public entity. Public entities benefit from substantial financial resources along with special protections from liability referred to as the “doctrine of sovereign immunity.” While many public entities have passed statutes that limit that immunity and permit injury victims to make claims, special rules and extremely short deadlines often apply. Bus accident lawyers are well-versed in the requirements imposed by these special rules and time limits.
Because bus companies function as a “common carrier,” they owe an extremely high duty of care to their patrons. A common carrier is a company that offers transportation to the general public at a fixed preset rate. Common carriers, such as bus lines, owe their patrons the highest duty of care and must exercise extreme vigilance to safeguard the safety of their passengers. The rationale for imposing this heightened standard of care on a common carrier is that passengers are not able to take steps to protect themselves from an accident when riding a bus. This means that even a slight degree of fault by the bus driver or busing company may be sufficient to successfully make a claim against a bus company for injuries or wrongful death.
A busing company or public entity that operates a bus line must exercise extreme vigilance when hiring bus drivers, maintaining buses in safe operating condition, and providing proper supervision and training to those who operate their buses. This duty may not be delegated away from the private busing company or public entity. There are many ways bus companies or bus drivers may be negligent (i.e., unreasonably dangerous) and cause a serious busing accident including:
- Violation of basic traffic safety laws
- Operating a bus while impaired by drugs or alcohol
- Speeding or driving too fast for weather and road conditions
- Failure of busing companies to provide adequate supervision of their drivers
- Drivers that have not being sufficiently trained in the unique safety issues of maneuvering a massive bus
If you are involved in a busing accident, broad range of parties might bear partial or total responsibility for your injuries or loss of a loved one. These parties may include:
- Public governmental entities operating bus lines
- Private tour bus companies operating long distance or commuter lines
- Negligent bus drivers
- Maintenance companies that fail to perform adequate inspections and repairs
- Third party drivers whose negligence causes a collision involving a bus
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident, call us to speak with a knowledge bus accident attorney about your situation and advise you regarding your legal rights concerning any potential financial compensation.
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Parker Waichman LLP helps families recover monetary compensation for harm caused by dangerous drivers. For your free consultation, contact our Car Accident Law Firm today by using our live chat or calling 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529).
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