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Former U.S. Marine Trial Lawyer and California Personal Injury Firm. We Fight For Woodland Hills Transportation Accident Victims.
Tell Us About Your Woodland Hills Bus Crash Case
6200 Canoga Ave, Suite 202-b
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
(747) 330-1783
woodlandhills@ehlinelaw.com
Did you or someone you love slip and fall while riding a city bus or get run over by a private bus? Was your child in a school bus accident? Were you struck by falling luggage or run over by a tour bus? You may have thousands of dollars in medical treatment and lost wages if so.
Are you here seeking legal representation after a serious bus accident? I am Michael Ehline, Esq. I am an experienced Woodland Hills bus accident attorney. Many experts opine buses remain the safest, most reliable open-road passenger transport. I have owned more than one vehicle licensed to transport passengers to and from places like LAX for a fee. I am an expert in catastrophic accident commercial transportation law.
I helped draft portions of a U.S. federal traffic safety bill. I have handled many different types of bus accident claims against negligent bus operators and their insurance companies. I help people get compensation from both private and government agencies.
Motor vehicle accidents happen every day in Southern California. Considering private and public buses are prevalent methods of travel for many Los Angeles commuters, passengers and bus drivers suffer frequent injuries and death.
In general, these are mass casualty, complex cases compared to ordinary passenger car crashes. All bus companies are common carriers (They owe you a higher duty of care than other drivers under California Civil Code Section 2100). Shortened bus accident claim filing rules may also apply to public entities.
An insurance company for a private company like a casino or tour bus company won’t pay fair compensation for medical attention and bills without properly investigating responsible parties.
Caveat: If you sustained injuries in a life-threatening emergency, dial 9-1-1. If it’s safe to do so, keep reading, even if you’re a bus driver making an employee bus accident claim.
Can I Fire My Lawyer And Hire Ehline?
Are you or your loved ones looking to switch trial lawyers? You can hire us to file a claim.
- We fight for injured passengers and others seeking to recover compensation. We always act in your best interest.
- We only get paid attorney’s fees if we win your case.
- Schedule a proper investigation 24 hours per day, seven days per week. (747) 330-1783.
Finally, we’ll discuss how injured passengers, roaming pedestrians, bus drivers, or others can receive maximum compensation after a bus accident.
What Is A Bus For?
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards define them as intercity buses capable of transporting at least ten people. The category includes charter buses, school transport, large vans that provide public transit, church buses, many intercity airline shuttles, or other bus operator.
Also included are interstate and intrastate buses such as Greyhound buses. Typical bus operators will be legally classified by state or federal authorities as “common carriers” under the law, holding them to a high standard of care. (If you fail to exercise safety or stop when red lights are flashing, many people can suffer from your violation)
Why Do I Need A Woodland Hills Bus Accident Attorney?
No person expects to board and suffer bus accident injuries on a bus operated by L.A. Dash, Metro, or another bus driver. Yet, hundreds of bus accident victims fortunate enough to survive death or disfigurement can experience severe injuries requiring hospitalization. The municipality, including private companies, could be legally liable to compensate the surviving families who suffered severe injury claims.
Suppose you or your loved ones were injured by multiple buses involved in a motorcycle wreck. Who is most at fault? With our charismatic professionalism and caring, the award-winning legal team provides free consultation for injured victims and family members.
After a close records inspection, we’ll evaluate their financial recovery and determine award eligibility. We will interview witnesses and seek evidence of safety enforcement violations that may have occurred to prove your bus accident lawsuit. We also help victims hurt by L.A.’s Autonomous Electric Transit Buses.
How Will Your Bus Accident Lawyer Help Me?
When you retain Ehline Law Firm, we handle all aspects of your claim. Our record-setting, trailblazing lawyers will hold your hand as your serious injuries heal. Our services include connecting you with medical experts superbly trained in treating injuries on your behalf.
We don’t just sue. We’ll investigate any cars involved and seek all negligent bus drivers and operators responsible for your personal injury claim when a bus accident occurs.
For example, an inspection may find a Woodland Hills, CA bus maintenance company was at fault for failed brakes, etc. We have the resources, training, and financial power to help you receive total compensation after forming a personal injury attorney-client relationship.
Why do Plaintiffs Trust Us?
Our lead counsel, Michael Ehline, began his civilian career in 1990 after suffering permanent US Marine-related injuries. After Michael’s honorable discharge, he owned a construction company and limousine transport business, becoming a paralegal.
As a Woodland Hills bus accident lawyer, he’s been nominated and honored as a Super Lawyers Rising Star multiple times and regularly speaks and writes about legal advice. Michael works with military veteran organizations like the Marine Corps Assn. And Marine Corps League.
Michael began practicing law in Greater LA and Orange County, California, after passing the California State Bar in 2005. He’s helped thousands of people with injuries sustained due to negligence over his 16 years in service.
Ehline Law Firm has won clients over $150 Million in verdicts and settlements.
We focus 100% on personal injury law, with millions recovered, including helping with workers’ compensation claims, marking us as California’s premier personal injury lawyers. We have vast, in-depth knowledge from handling civil negligence claims, doctors, and defendant insurance company abuse.
Award Winning United States Personal Injury Law Firm
- $150,000,000+ RETRIEVED FOR WOUNDED CLIENTS
- SINCE 2005 OVER 3000+ CLIENTS
- CONTINGENCY FEE BASIS
- CLIENTS TRUST US!
- WE HAVE OVER 15 CALIFORNIA LOCATIONS!
- 24-HOUR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
- CLIENT-FOCUSED 360° CONCIERGE SERVICE
- PLUS 5-STAR-HOSPITALITY.
We’ll explain things to our clients, speak and listen well, placing clients at ease with our hassle-free contingency fee basis contract.
We’re dedicated to protecting accident victims with over 15 conveniently located law offices throughout Northern, Central, and Southern California. Schedule a free consultation. Deal with our legal support 24 hours a day.
Positive Client Review: 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“I felt supremely confident after Ehline’s staff, and associates professionally explained the legal process to me, lessening my difficulties, getting me a fair financial award, helping me receive care for my injuries. Thank you, Ehline Law.”
– Josey H.
Woodland Hills Metro & DASH Bus Accidents
LA public transportation is a vast, expansive system with at least 18,500 active stops on 189 bus lines in the Metro Local system alone (Source). The type of bus involved matters when determining your trial lawyers’ legal procedures.
- DASH Bus: Many office workers, attorneys, and travelers use the DASH buses run by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to get around Downtown LA quickly. These buses run all day during business hours, approximately every 6 minutes (Learn more here.)
- Metro Bus (MTA): Los Angeles County, Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses, are familiar to residents due to their sheer number and bright orange color on southern Californian roadways. Our metro system serves, on average, 1.6 million people a day. Many commuters ride the Metro Rail System in addition to personal automobiles, with many riding the LA Metro Local Bus after departing their train.
- L.A. Commuter Express and City Ride: These two bus programs help people with bikes quickly get around this densely packed and populous area. The Metro Bus and LADOT systems don’t just kill or maim people; they also have a record of doling out poor treatment, like denying services based on race, gender, or other discrimination, possibly a reason for the driver causing them to be thrown about inside or hit while outside.
Other Bus Accidents We Take
- Big Blue Bus: This government entity runs between Santa Monica, downtown L.A., and the San Fernando Valley. Big Blue Bus provides transit across a 58-square-mile service area by operating a fleet of 195 vehicles daily.
- Mini Blue Bus: Was intended “to shuttle people around downtown, from Montana to Colorado in Santa Monica, and an Expo line.”
- City of Commerce Municipal Bus Lines
- Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit District
- L.A. County School bus accidents
- Charter party tour buses
- Private motor vehicles
- Palo Verde Valley Bus
- Long Beach Transit
- Norwalk Transit
- Foothill Transit
- Culver Citybus
- OCTA bus.
Also, bus stop bystanders could be run over or struck by a flying object or suffer significant injuries riding a city bus caused by the bus manufacturer using dangerous products.
Take, for example, the below Metro Bus accidents:
“June 1, 2003, a 20-year-old woman pushing her bicycle died Saturday when she stepped off a curb and into the path of an MTA bus,” police said. The bus was heading east on Adams Boulevard and making a right turn onto Figueroa Street at about 4:40 p.m. when the unidentified woman was struck, Jose Ubaldo, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“May 27, 2007. Authorities said a man was struck and killed today by a Metro bus in downtown [L.A.]. Paramedics sent to the 500 block of South Spring Street at 11:49 a.m. pronounced the man dead at the scene, said d’Lisa Davies of the [L.A.] Fire Department.
The circumstances of the death were under investigation. June 7, 2007, a Metro bus and two other vehicles collided Thursday in the South Robertson area … two people with injuries, authorities said.”
Regardless of age, if you ride Metro Dash or Metro Local buses, you may suffer serious personal injuries, making Metro Bus or DASH responsible for paying your damages and exorbitant medical bills and expenses.
Bus Accident Statistics
In the City of Los Angeles, 5.74% of all passengers commute to and from work, primarily using public transit. (DOT 2017 Figures).
According to the publicly released Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 2009 Congressional bus crash study findings:
- Over 9,000 bus accidents occur in the United States every year.
- Most bus crashes occur near metropolitan areas.
Buses that run between cities called “intercity” buses, accounted for about 13% of traffic deaths between 2007 and 2017. School buses accounted for 40% of the fatalities, followed by transit vehicles at 35%. A municipality, state, or regional authority may operate a public bus. (FMCA). Our preeminent trial lawyers can help identify the responsible parties involved.
Severe Injury Or Wrongful Death?
Although large truck and bus fatalities had increased by 26% from 3,432 in 2009, 2015’s 18% harm number remains lower than the 21st-century peak of 5,231 in 2005. (Source).
- 2005-2006, bus accidents tallied around 5.6% of nationwide fatalities.
- Approximately 50 passengers or bystanders suffer fatal bus accidents yearly.
- Three hundred thirty people die yearly in U.S. bus accidents on average.
- Two hundred thirty-two bus-related fatalities 2017 represented a 1% decrease from 234 fatal bus collisions in 2016.
- Intercity municipal buses accounted for 13% of the bus-caused deaths from 2007 to 2017, with only 13 fatal traffic accidents in 2017, the lowest recorded number since the FMCSA gathered bus crash data.
- U.S. school bus incidents accounted for 40% of deaths. Long-haul transport accounted for 35% of deaths.
- The Center for National Truck and Bus Safety Statistics claims most common bus mishaps involve people walking their dog, jogging, standing, or riding in another motor vehicle.
- Around 1,000 people riding or located near city buses will annually suffer injuries.
- Approximately 12,000 victims will suffer severe bus-related injuries annually.
- 25% of bus crashes involve severe pedestrian injury or wrongful death.
- Over 60% of bus-related deaths happened when another vehicle struck the bus.
Commercial Transportation Vehicle Mishaps Rising?
Yes. One thing is sure: more and more people get injured yearly in commercial delivery vehicles and bus accidents (Uptick for the last 20-30 years). A group outing or just for a work commute can lead to a wreck. Unsupervised and unrestrained children kids can also be thrown about inside an unstable vehicle.
Buses and commercial road vehicles are everywhere in Long Beach, Torrance, and Culver City—their sheer size and speed place commuters and bystanders at risk during stop-and-go traffic. Pedestrians and bicyclists traveling Palos Verdes Estates and South Bay remain at significant risk for vehicle sideswipes.
Traffic Corridor Factors
Glendale’s high-traffic corridor is famous for municipal and charter bus wrecks, with higher-speed inland areas on freeways like the 91 West seeing many buses flip and roll over. In Redondo Beach, California, two little girls riding bicycles were run over on Pacific Coast Highway.
A Metro bus’s rearview mirror almost ripped one of its heads off, killing both. The Creative Indulgence surveillance footage proved they were unable to stand a chance.
Greyhound Bus Accident Dangers
Greyhound and other private tour bus lines deliver many people and goods daily around the country, typically involving long trips during intrastate and interstate transportation.
Records from Greyhound indicate that from October 3, 1997, – October 3, 2001, 42 bus occupants attacked or assaulted a driver, attempting to grab the steering wheel or push down on the brake. We just saw an example of a foreseeable event causing a bus accident that service operators should prevent.
When our Greyhound accident lawyers sue and win, we may prompt them to make essential safety changes at Greyhound, with the entire transport industry following suit.
When companies, including Greyhound Bus, place profits over people, lives are lost and ruined. Ehline Law Firm heroically makes victims whole.
What Commonly Causes Private And Public Bus Accidents?
The ways bus accidents happen vary depending upon the bus accident victim. The reasons for bus accidents can be numerous and uncountable, with human error causing most California bus accidents.
Typical human errors causing or contributing to common causes of bus accidents include:
- Driver fatigue and distracted driving – The bus driver’s increased use of electronic devices can lead to accidents.
- Bus driver distraction or negligence (negligent drivers failing to pay attention or failing to set the brakes) including:
- DUI/DWI – Beer, and marijuana use, including the prescription drug use of Vicodin, Valium, etc.
- Speeding
- Failure to obey road and traffic signals
- Road rage or misbehavior
- Bus companies poorly supervise or negligently train bus drivers
- Bus companies or municipalities failing to provide persons with adequate security (knife attacks, etc.)
- Negligent or improper maintenance leads to brake failure and onboard fires
- Bus manufacturers fail to properly design or construct a quality public transport vehicle causing mechanical failure. (Ex: Faulty brakes, a person hurt by a low-rise coach, etc.)
- Negligent road construction or maintenance causing terrible road conditions (CalTrans, etc.)
- Poor road lighting or weather conditions cause poor or low visibility and loss of tire traction.
Typical case types include:
- A collision between a Megabus, car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, or stationary object can kill. (Ex: your driver may turn the wheels close to the curb, sideswiping pedestrians with the side view mirrors).
- Slip and Fall from sudden acceleration and deceleration (Read more).
- Falling luggage and flying objects like laptop computers,
- Assault by a fellow passenger,
- Lack of Seatbelts or restraining devices.
What Is A Common Carrier?
Anciently, a common carrier was typically a stagecoach or stage wagon operator:
“One who undertakes for hire or reward to transport the goods of any who may choose to employ him, from place to place.” As in the past, common carriers maintain unique trust positions beyond an ordinary person to keep passengers safe using utmost care and diligence, meeting scheduled routes beyond the ordinary, and using reasonable skill to provide safe carriage.
Do Common Carrier Bus Companies Have A Duty To Provide Bus Passengers With Seatbelts?
Although buses are among the safest forms of transportation, many fundamental differences exist between buses and passenger vehicles. The most glaring dissimilarity is modern buses, including school buses. Generally, these are required under the Vehicle Code or federal law to maintain seat belts.
If not, an older bus owner may be liable for failing to install seatbelts with utmost care and diligence. (Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Super. Ct. (Chisefski) (1970) 3 Cal.App.3d 356, 359-360.)
But many causes for a catastrophic injury could exist, including other drivers. So lack of seat belts alone won’t be conclusive evidence for obtaining justice. A jury can consider the limited number of seats or governmental entities requiring a bus passenger to stand.
Who Is Liable For My Bus Accident?
Our partners will gather, research, itemize and analyze your bus accident and its causes, identifying the multiple parties jointly and severally responsible and the duties owed. Our experienced lawyer does what other law firms won’t.
We know families need money for future rehabilitation, including recovery for future reduction or loss in wages due to light duty or disability from work.
Your trial lawyer may find these parties must be held liable:
- Private Lines (often paid by their private insurance company).
- Public Lines.
- Any third party hired by either of the above to maintain facilities.
- Third-party motorists must cover their pure comparative fault in a bus accident case.
- Carriage manufacturers.
- Private Bus Company Liability: For example, Greyhound coaches and other small charter bus companies serve specific tasks.
- Passengers in a bus crash must understand the nuances between government entities and a closely held private bus company. (Source). (EX: Casino Tours are like tourism/gambling excursions for retired folks and involve longer road trips, making gambling casinos liable under vicarious liability theory with the bus company.)
The Public Transportation Agency, Public Bus Drivers and Liability
The government: The government (L.A. Metro, school districts, etc.) must safely maintain its buses and routes, whereas a private school has other obligations. No bus operator or controller should allow inexperienced, tired, and medically unqualified drivers on our roads, period!
The City of L.A. or L.A. County will typically absorb public bus accident liability expenses caused by negligent employees. You must hire the best Woodland Hills personal injury lawyer to identify who will be held accountable. You may have a claim against other riders or more than one bus company. You cannot handle a case against a school district on your own.
Statute of Limitations Problems?
You must act within the period one has to file a claim in a court of law. (Statute of Limitations). Against a government defendant, the plaintiff typically only has six months (180 days) from the accident date to file a government claim before they can file a lawsuit against the parties responsible.
In other types of bus accidents, the plaintiff must sue within two years unless an exception shortening time applies, like a cruise ship passage contract. Plaintiff will forfeit their right to receive damages from parties with responsibility otherwise. By crossing paths with Ehline Law Firm, you and your loved one can better protect your case.
The Most Common Injuries Our Law Firm Takes
When a crash happens, besides fatal crashes, the injuries are pretty bad, including:
- Burns, abrasions, and contusions
- Bone or joint dislocation
- Head injury (TBI)
- Spinal cord damage
- Broken bones
- Dental injuries
- Slipped disks
- Amputation
- Whiplash.
We also accept abuse cases against bus drivers guilty of sexually assaulting students.
What Compensation Can Bus Accident Victims Win?
Liable parties must be held accountable to pay reasonable damages for an accident under California law.
A governmental entity will also be held responsible for paying:
- Special Economic Compensation for the injuries based on their severity and treatment costs, including the recovery of property loss and lost wages (lost capability to earn)
- General Pain and Suffering Damages for your mental agony (i.e., the pain of your injuries)
- Punitive damages to punish the defendant’s reckless actions may be recoverable.
Our team works closely with medical professionals to evaluate the total damages you’ve sustained for the court.
Free Case Evaluation From Woodland Hills Bus Accident Attorneys
Passengers, safety, and security come first. Passengers are entitled to arrive safely at their destinations. Drivers of these potential “steel coffins” must prevent accidents in Woodland Hills; otherwise, we will sue the errant bus company, its bus drivers, and other entities like negligent manufacturing companies. We won’t rest until all private and public bus entities are held responsible. You deserve money damages recovery.
Our Woodland Hills bus accident lawyers will assist you through the government or insurance claims process, holding your hand every step of the way. Request a free consultation 24/7. To learn about attorney representation from one of our nearby law offices, phone (747) 330-1783 or visit our online chat form to leave your contact information today.
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