When a passenger, pedestrian, or driver is injured in a bus accident, the victim may have costly medical and hospital bills, lost income and wages, and serious pain and suffering. Families and the victim may seek money damages for these injuries. If you have questions about why you should talk to a lawyer after a bus accident, this post is for you.
A bus accident may happen because of the driver’s negligence, a bus carrier company saving money, or lax and careless municipal regulations. An injured victim and their family may file a personal injury lawsuit to go after the responsible party as a way to protect others from suffering from another’s careless actions and behaviors.
Bus and Large Truck Accident Statistics
The number of people killed in bus crashes continues to rise. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, thousands of people were killed in fatal large truck and bus accidents in 2019.
If you or someone you care about was injured or killed in a bus accident, a personal injury lawyer will protect your legal rights. Don’t wait. You may have limited time to file a bus accident claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.
What Happens in a Fatal Bus Accident?
A fatal bus accident leaves loved ones to deal with the emotional and financial aftermath. A wrongful death claim allows the accident victim’s family to receive financial damages for their loss by holding the wrongdoers responsible for their actions. Just compensation may include lost financial support, emotional companionship, and funeral expenses.
If you have questions about how to file a bus accident claim or wrongful death case, let’s discuss it in the next section.
How Do I File a Bus Accident Claim?
Speak with an experienced bus accident law firm to file your injury claim. Your lawsuit will seek damages for any harms or injuries that you or your loved one experienced in the bus accident. If you were a passenger, other driver, or pedestrian in the accident, you may have the right to claim damages for your injuries.
Many bus accident victims are injured because of another person’s recklessness or negligence. In some instances, a bus operator or bus company owner may be held responsible for your damages even if they weren’t personally negligent or reckless in causing your accident. That’s because the law holds an employer responsible for their employees’ negligence.
Who Is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?
An individual or group (or groups) may be liable for causing a bus accident.
Identifying who’s responsible may also depend on the cause or type of bus accident or bus crash. Those responsible for your injuries are named defendants in your bus crash accident claim. You and/or the injured victim are the plaintiff.
Defendants in a bus accident may include (1) bus drivers; (2) tour bus company or operator; (3) supervisor of the bus driver; (4) school bus driver or operator; (5) other drivers (other vehicles caused the accident); (6) charter bus driver or operator; (7) municipal agencies (county, city, or state agency); (8) individual bus owner; (9) Property owner at a bus stop; or (10) Bus part or bus manufacturers.
Multiple defendants may be responsible for causing your injuries in a bus accident. Sometimes, the injured party may have responsibility for the bus accident (but they may still claim financial damages). Some state laws allow the plaintiff to recover financial damages even when they share some of the faults in the accident’s cause. In that event, the compensation is reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.
In many bus accident injury claims, the plaintiff seeks compensation by demonstrating that one or more defendants’ negligent or careless behavior and actions caused the accident, including: (1) A duty of care was owed to the plaintiff; (2) The duty of care was breached; and (3) The breach was a major factor in causing plaintiff’s accident and/or injuries.
How Do I Win Compensation for Bus Accident Injuries?
When the bus accident plaintiff’s attorney successfully demonstrates the defendant’s negligence and responsibility, the defendant must pay financial damages. Now that you know more about why you should talk to a lawyer after a bus accident, take action. If you or someone you care about was hurt in a bus accident, get help from a bus accident attorney right away.
Author:
With a BA in communications and paralegal experience, Irma C. Dengler decided to make the best of her writing skills. She decided to turn complicated legal matters into something more
palatable for the masses. Therefore, Irma became a law communicator who writes about everyday problems so everyone can understand them and take the appropriate action. She specialized in personal injury cases, as they are more common than anyone thinks, but her areas of expertise also include civil law, criminal law, insurance-related issues, and more.
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