We typically consider buses as lumbering, friendly neighborhood vehicles, like large yellow school buses and crowded city buses; however, buses have accidents more often than you might think. There were 13,452 bus accidents in the U.S. in a single recent year, with 171 accidents involving one or more fatalities. Suffering injuries in a bus accident is a frightening and chaotic experience, often involving many passengers with injuries ranging from mild to severe.
After a bus accident, it’s important for an accident victim to know their legal rights and options for compensation through a St. Louis bus accident case.
What Are the Common Causes of Bus Accidents?
Buses are difficult to maneuver, requiring wide turns and long braking distances. They also need routine inspections, diligent maintenance, prompt repairs, and alert, well-qualified drivers. Unfortunately, sometimes bus companies and city bus agencies cut corners or fail to take reasonable measures to avoid an accident. Common causes of bus accidents include the following:
- Distracted driving
- Speeding, or failing to adjust speed for hazardous road or weather conditions
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Unsafe lane changes
- Improper merging
- Impaired driving
- Tire blowouts
- Defective bus parts
- Inadequate maintenance
In some cases, a bus accident results from other forms of negligence, unrelated to the bus company or agency, such as a third-party driver’s mistake, a road maintenance agency that failed to repair a hazardous pothole, or a road planning agency that designed a dangerous intersection.
Who Is Liable for Injury Damages After a Bus Accident?
Injuries from a bus accident can quickly cause financial hardship when medical bills come due at the same time that an injury victim may be unable to return to work. A bus accident victim has a right to seek compensation for their damages from the liable party. Compensation in bus accident claims typically comes from the at-fault party’s insurance. Before filing a claim, it often takes an investigation to determine the at-fault party and prove their liability.
Depending on the cause of the accident, the liable party could be the driver, the bus company, a city or county government agency, a bus maintenance company, or the manufacturer of a defective part. Sometimes, city road work agencies also cause or contribute to bus accidents, and may be liable or share liability for an injury victim’s damages. Insurance companies investigate bus accidents, but they are not on the injury victim’s side. Instead, they often protect their profits at the expense of paying out fairly on a claim.
A bus accident victim has a right to hire an attorney to investigate the accident with the best interests of the injury victim as their primary purpose. A personal injury attorney investigates the accident, documents evidence of liability, and makes a carefully calculated list of damages to present to the insurance company before negotiating for the highest possible settlement for their client’s damages.
Bus Passengers Have a Right to Seek Compensation for Their Damages
Damages add up quickly after a bus accident causes a serious injury. A successful claim recovers damages such as the following:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket injury expenses
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss
- Diminished earning ability due to disability
- Compensation for pain and suffering
Victims of catastrophic injuries can recover compensation for damages such as disfigurement, loss of limb, scarring, loss of one of the senses, or loss of enjoyment of life. If a bus accident causes a loved one’s fatal injury, their closest surviving family member may recover wrongful death compensation.