Yes, you certainly can. I am attorney Michael Ehline. I am a Texas bus and Los Angeles, California, bus accident attorney. I have won millions of dollars on behalf of bus accident victims. I wrote this to help you understand a few things about bus accident lawsuits and claims. If a city or school bus driver’s negligence resulted in your city or school bus accident, you might be able to sue them. However, if a city or school bus driver causes an accident while on the job, their company or school district might get held liable for the driver’s carelessness. Your personal injury lawsuit might be filed against the transportation or bus company that employs them in this instance.
You may have a personal injury claim against the organization that constructed the bus or the firm that manufactured its components based on the cause of the bus accident. A bus accident lawyer might be able to assist you in determining who is to blame for the accident and seek compensation on your behalf after gathering sufficient evidence.
The Assistance of a Personal Injury Lawyer on Your Bus Accident Case
When you engage with an experienced bus accident attorney on your personal injury case, they can perform a comprehensive investigation into the accident in order to determine who is responsible. Then, on your behalf, you can submit a personal injury insurance lawsuit or a claim against the negligent party, including a bus manufacturer.
Your personal injury lawyer can offer legal advice and may also be able to help you with:
- Making the necessary interactions on your behalf.
- Keep track of all papers and deadlines.
- Gathering evidence such as accident reconstruction expert testimony and witness statements.
- Calculating the cost of your losses, including wrongful death.
- Negotiating with the insurance company of the responsible party.
- Work with accident reconstruction experts
- If necessary, take the case to trial.
Dealing with a lawyer may allow you to concentrate on your recuperation while they manage all legal matters. Our lawyers will do all that human care, eternal vigilance, and foresight can possibly achieve to obtain compensation to protect passengers, pedestrian victims, and other vehicle drivers/occupants under California law.
What Damages Can You Claim in a Bus Crash?
If you or your lawyer successfully prove common carrier liability, the defendant may become obligated to compensate you for your accident-related damages.
Generally, when you file a claim after an accident happened, possible compensatory damages for someone’s negligence might include:
- Lost wages
- Past and future medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Physical disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Economic damages
- Punitive damages.
Medical bills, job records showing lost pay, and comments from medical experts on your expected future costs of care may all be part of the proof your lawyer gathers for the damages that the bus driver caused.
Evidence Involved in a Bus Accident Case
As per the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), if you got hurt, if there was a death, or if property damage was over $1,000, you must file a collision report after the bus accident using special laws regarding safe carriage (higher duty for common carriers.).
A crash report may include crucial details for your case against a privately owned bus or public entity, including:
- Information on the driver
- Information about the bus company
- Details of the mishap
- Diagrams of accident scenes
- Notes from the investigation
- Contact information for witnesses
- Details about the date, location, and time.
Keep any accident-related medical records you obtain in addition to the crash report. Keep any images or films you have from the accident scene and any videos or photos of your property damage or injuries.
What Costs Does One Associate with Suing a Bus Driver?
Legal costs and attorney fees need to get considered in personal injury lawsuits. Fees are the salaries paid to a lawyer for their services, whereas, legal costs are the charges incurred to advance your personal injury claims, such as court filing fees, deposition costs, and expert witness fees.
Several personal injury legal firms represent you on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not have to pay anything upfront.
As a client, you are not responsible for attorney fees until and unless compensation gets obtained through a settlement offer or a court judgment.
What Legal Options Do You Have to Sue the Bus Driver?
You might have legal recourse options if you (the plaintiff in the accident) have a substantial proof for a personal injury lawsuit against the bus operator or bus company and want to settle the issue out of the courts.
The bus driver is usually covered by an insurance company or the charter firm that hired them. This may result in a legal struggle with the carrier defending the firm or the driver. If you don’t want to go to court against an insurance company, a personal injury attorney can assist you in settling through mediation or negotiation.
Is There a Deadline Associated with Suing the Bus Operator?
While the law may allow you to hold the negligent party accountable, it limitations mean the time you have to sue sue is often two years or less in some instances (government entity may only allow six months to sue.). This deadline may get pushed back due to unforeseen circumstances. If the bus that caused the accident got operated by a government agency or municipality, you might only have 90 days to file the notice of claim. Therefore, if you do not pursue legal action by the dates set forth in your case, your lawsuit may get dismissed.
Ehline Law Firm Can Help Any Victim Deal with Bus Driver Negligence
Ehline Law Firm is here to assist you if you get injured in a bus accident in Los Angeles. In insurance claims and injury litigation, we fight for fair recompense on behalf of our clients, whether dealing with school bus accidents or city bus accidents.
Call us today at (213) 596-9642 for a free consultation with a staff member about your situation. We can talk about the incident, your legal alternatives, and whether you might be able to sue the bus driver, bus companies, a school district, or another negligent party for your losses following a city or school bus accident.
