As an injured passenger, it is critical to understand your rights and how to hold the bus driver or company accountable. Below, our highly trained, world-famous bus accident lawyer, Michael Ehline, will cover bus company liability in a collision with joint injuries or death.

This is why it is critical to obtain the assistance of a knowledgeable bus accident lawyer from Ehline Law.

When Can You Hold the Company Accountable?

Generally speaking, the company and bus company owner is responsible for keeping its buses in good working order. It is in charge of hiring completely qualified and competent drivers to operate them. Suppose the bus company or its agents have actual or constructive notice. In that case, they can be held liable to multiple parties who sustained injuries on public buses like school buses and even a private company or bus depot supervising buses involved in personal injury claims.

The buses must be in good functioning order, and any deficiencies identified, including those found at any dangerous bus stop, must get corrected immediately to avoid an incident while the bus is in service, resulting in passenger or pedestrian injuries.

You may require an attorney’s reasonable degree of legal understanding to determine if the bus company is liable. Following an examination of the crash evidence, a lawyer can give you legal advice on how to proceed as well as who might be accountable for covering a wrongful death claim or serious injuries after a car accident with bus operators or caused by negligent maintenance or another issue in violation of state and federal laws.

When Can You Hold the Bus Driver Accountable?

As a common carrier, the bus driver bears a significant amount of responsibility for guaranteeing all bus passengers’ safety at all times. If a bus driver acts carelessly behind the wheel, for example, texting while driving or operating the vehicle. At the same time, drunk, a crash followed by a wrongful death lawsuit is almost certain to occur.

At the same time, an accident may not happen due to the driver’s negligence in specific circumstances.

One would not consider it as negligence if the driver has been driving long hours without a break or is on prescription medicine that causes them to feel tired and has a crash.

Hazardous road surfaces or poor weather are two more instances where the driver may not be at fault. It can be challenging to determine who is to blame in a bus collision; therefore, if you, a family member, or a loved one has gotten hurt in a bus collision, seek legal assistance from a competent bus accident attorney to recover damages on behalf of the injured person for injuries sustained and fatal crashes involving motor vehicles. Someone’s negligence, such as when a defendant breached their reasonable care duty, is a more demanding standard to prove. In a common carrier case, the court will inform a jury the defendant owed a higher duty of care to people involved under the control of these responsible parties.

When the Vehicles’ Mechanics or Design Cause the Bus Crash

When does the design or mechanics of the bus become a problem? A bus crash can sometimes get caused by a mechanical issue or the bus’s design. The driver is not always to blame for this or the lack of seat belts. Passengers may get injured if the bus has defective elements that cause an accident.

Poor maintenance of sections of the vehicle, including the doors or tires, can potentially cause accidents. Furthermore, malfunctioning safety equipment may result in bus accident injuries. In some instances, the bus organization, including a school board, can get held accountable for the injury of a bus passenger or another plaintiff’s damages.

Seeking Compensation for Bus Accidents

Your lawyer will seek money from government entities, the regional authority, and anyone else indirectly or directly negligent. Victims can seek compensation for the defendant’s breach of care for noneconomic damages like lost past and future earnings. A surviving spouse can seek compensatory damages against all bus drivers failing to drive with utmost care. Driver fatigue and meeting deadlines can always get someone injured on a bus. Accidents happen with other vehicles, objects, and things the more distracted and tired common carriers become behind the wheel in a particular case.

If you got injured as a passenger on a bus after it got involved in a crash, you possess the legal right to file a personal injury claim to claim damages. Furthermore, you have an entitlement to reimbursement for your doctor’s bills, lost wages, continued treatment, and other losses surviving family members have incurred for death or joint injuries.

You may even be able to sue the following:

• Negligent bus driver
• Bus manufacturer (Ex: faulty brakes, etc.)
• Charter bus operator
• School bus operator
• Private bus company or public entity
• Other government agency
• Tour bus company
• Commercial bus operator
• Bus maintenance company
• Bus owner.

If you decide to follow this path, you need to engage an experienced bus accident attorney to fight for you and offer convincing proof that your injuries caused you harm. As a direct result of bad behavior, you may be able to receive compensation for mental suffering if your bus accident claim is strong enough and the defendant is found liable. When the defendant fails to protect other passengers and drivers from reckless actions causing severe injury, we can help the plaintiffs. Our top Los Angeles bus crash attorneys will act swiftly to preserve the rights of bus accident victims.

We will help your receive human care from the best doctors. Our legal team will treat you with utmost respect and compassion. We will go the extra mile to ensure all bad actors are held responsible for paying your damages claims fully. Don’t blow the statute of limitations. You may have six months, two years, or less to sue certain persons. Pick up your phone to learn your rights immediately. The safe place to be is with representation from a legal expert.

Evidence Required in a Bus Accident Case

Your accident lawyer needs to offer evidence to the jury or court to be successful in a personal injury case. Everything you need to show that you’ve gotten injured financially and medically is essential.

The following are examples of this:

• A copy of the police report – One must obtain a copy of the police report taken at the accident scene. This can be used as proof of the accident that caused the injuries.
• Medical bills – One should give in any medical bills from the emergency room and continued treatment for the damages, mainly if one had out-of-pocket payments that the insurance did not cover.
• Proof of lost wages – Your employer must send you a letter detailing your salary, the number of work hours for every pay period, and the amount of time you have lost owing to your ailments.
• Medical records – Your medical records are among the most potent pieces of evidence demonstrating that you sustained the injuries you claim were directly caused by accident.
• Witness statements – A witness may become quite helpful in a personal injury case. Their words might get used to prove what happened during the incident.

Are You Involved in a Bus Accident Lawsuit in Los Angeles, California?

Are you a bus accident victim, including a bicycle rider or a group of pedestrians run over by a bus? Under California Law, bus drivers and bus companies owe a duty of care to their passengers. These common carriers are held to a higher standard. If you are a plaintiff with an accident case in Los Angeles, contact Ehline Law Firm at (213) 596-9642 for a free consultation at one of our legal offices to discuss the process and the road to settlement. We are experts in bus accident claims and offer a free case evaluation.

We are Here for You

Our bus accident lawyers are ready to assist you whether you are dealing with a school bus accident, a collision involving tour bus companies, or a negligent tour bus operator. You can believe that a government entity is going to have a powerful insurance company or unlimited bankroll on its side. You and the general public deserve to have personal injury attorneys on yours. We can seek punitive damages and help your recover maximum financial compensation if we take your case after you receive a free consultation.