Factors in a Bus Accident Claim

Bus Accident Lawyer

Millions of children ride school buses every day and millions of adult commuters ride buses to get them back and forth to work and other destinations. Most people tend to think of buses as a safe mode of transportation, with fewer bus accidents each year than other types of vehicle accidents. However, the truth is that there are still more than 60,000 bus crashes every year in the U.S., causing thousands of injuries.

When a victim is injured in a bus crash, questions such as who is at fault and how can the victim seek financial compensation for the losses their injuries have cause can be difficult questions to answer because the process is much more complicated than standard vehicle accident cases.

Injuries from Bus Accidents

There are many different types of injuries that victims can sustain in bus accidents. Some of the more common our bus accident attorneys see include:

  • Bruises
  • Concussions
  • Fractured bones
  • Internal bleeding
  • Internal organ damage
  • Sprains
  • Whiplash
  • Death

Because of the sizes of buses, as well as their lack of safety features like passenger vehicles (i.e. airbags and seatbelts), there are some injuries that occur that do not normally happen to passenger vehicle accident victims. Buses have a much higher center of gravity and are therefore much more prone to rolling over. Because of the lack of seat belts, this often leaves bus passengers vulnerable to being thrown and slammed around the bus in a rollover crash.

There is also a much higher risk of being struck by some loose object in the bus because passengers hold onto their possessions, not put them in compartments. While there is a lower risk of being in a bus crash than a car crash, there is a much higher risk of sustaining serious injury.

Issues with Filing an Injury Claim

Filing a bus accident claim is also more complicated than filing a standard car accident claim. In a car crash, the victim files a claim and the at-fault driver’s insurance company usually handles negotiation, settlement, and paying the claim. But in a bus accident, this issue is not so simple. There can be third-party liability, as well as limited liability of the bus company.

In third-party liability cases, where the bus was hit by another vehicle and that driver is deemed responsible, the victim must make a third-party claim against that vehicle driver.

If the bus driver was at fault, then the victim must file their claim with the government entity that is responsible for operating the bus. That can be a public transportation company or, if the vehicle is a school bus, the school district. Tragically, there are more fatal bus accidents involving school buses than any other types of buses each year according to federal data.

Filing a claim with a government entity is often a complicated process, requiring knowledge of state tort laws. This is why victims of bus accidents should contact an experienced bus accident lawyer for help.

Source: bus accident lawyer Montgomery County, MD, Cohen Lawyers.