Los Angeles Bus Accident Attorneys

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Better Los Angeles Bus Accident Lawyers – Helped Draft Safety Laws?

I helped draft portions of a U.S. federal traffic safety bill. Together with my team of bus accident attorneys, I handled many different types of Los Angeles bus accident-injury claims against negligent tour operator, and their insurance companies. In my role as a Los Angeles bus accident lawyer, I can help people like you and other passengers get compensation from both private and government agencies in such bus accidents on a case-by-case basis.

Bus Accident Attorney Time Concerns

In general, these are mass casualty, complex cases with serious injuries compared to an ordinary passenger car crash. All operators for hire are common carriers under California Civil Code Section 2100. Shortened bus accident claim filing rules may also apply to public entities. You can ask our bus accident attorneys about this during your free consultation with an attentive lawyer.

Experience Fighting Bullies

An insurance company for a private company like a casino or their tour bus companies won’t pay fair compensation for medical attention and bills without properly investigating responsible parties. School buses come with tort claims act rules and unforgiving claims filing deadlines. Our caring bus accident attorneys make it easy and hassle free.

Caveat: If you sustained injuries in a life-threatening Los Angeles bus accident emergency, dial 9-1-1. If it’s safe to do so, keep reading, even if you’re an employee making a Los Angeles bus accident claim. As soon as you are able, it would be intelligent and in your best interests to speak with a skilled Los Angeles bus accident lawyer. We can even help with a school bus accident, and are are at your beck and call, 24/7 to answer your important legal question about Los Angeles bus accident cases.

Can I Fire My Bus Accident Lawyer And Hire Ehline?

Yes you can! Are you or your loved ones looking to switch to our national trial lawyers. You can hire our best Los Angeles bus accident attorney to file a claim. At the very end, we’ll discuss how injured passengers, roaming pedestrians, bus drivers, or another injured person can receive maximum compensation for medical bills and other losses for injuries sustained as a result of a collision. Bus companies will be held to account or we don’t get paid.

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 government transit lines, charter buses, school transport, large vans that provide public transit, churches buses, many intercity airline shuttles, or another bus operator like a party bus.

Stricter Duties Owed?

Also included are interstate and intrastate buses such as Greyhound buses. Most operators will be legally classified by state or federal authorities as “common carriers” under the law, holding them to a high standard of care when deciding liability for accident claims. (If you fail to exercise safety or stop when red lights are flashing, many people can suffer from your violation.) This is a reason there are stricter licensing and training requirements for these companies or their employee coach person.

Why Do I Need A Los Angeles Bus Accident Attorney?

No person expects to board and suffer accident injuries on an L.A. Dash, or Metro coach. Yet, every year, hundreds of road trip accident victims fortunate enough to survive death or disfigurement experience severe injuries requiring hospitalization.

The municipality that operates, including a private companies, could be legally liable to compensate the surviving families who suffered serious injury claims, or a wrongful death cases. We go after the liable party in all minor or catastrophic accidents.

Suppose you or your loved ones were injured by multiples vehicles involved in a motorcycle wreck? Who is most at fault? Our charismatic professionalism and our caring, award-winning legal team provide injured victims and family members with a free consultation.

After a close records inspection, our personal injury attorneys will evaluate any potential financial recovery and determine award eligibility. We will interview witnesses, 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?

If you retain Ehline Law Firm, after your free consultation, we’ll 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 Los Angeles, CA bus maintenance company or the LAUSD School Board was at fault for failed brakes, etc.
• We have the resources, training, and financial power to help you obtain the police report, hire experts, and receive total compensation after forming a personal injury attorney-client relationship.

Why do Plaintiffs Trust Us To Handle Their Serious Personal Injury Cases?

Our lead counsel, Michael Ehline, began his civilian career in 1990 after suffering permanent US Marine-related injuries. He owned a construction company and limousine transport business, later becoming a paralegal, and a Los Angeles bus accident lawyer.

Award Winning United States Personal Injury Law Firm

• Super Lawyers Rising Stars

• Proven Results and Large Settlements: $150,000,000+ RETRIEVED FOR CLIENTS

• SINCE 2005 OVER 3000+ CLIENTS

• CONTINGENCY FEE BASIS

• CLIENTS TRUST OUR EXPERIENCED LAWYERS!

• WE HAVE OVER 15 CALIFORNIA LOCATIONS!

• 24 HOUR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

• CLIENT-FOCUSED 360° CONCIERGE SERVICE

• PLUS 5-STAR-HOSPITALITY

We’re dedicated to helping clients make informed decisions and protecting the rights of accident victims, including tourists, as we pursue their case. We maintain conveniently located law offices throughout Northern, Central, and Southern California.

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, lost future earning capacity and medical expenses. Thanks Ehline Law, you were killer sharks for me.”

– Josey H.

Los Angeles Metro & DASH Bus

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 legal procedures your trial lawyers use.

• 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

• 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: 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 each day.

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 hit by a flying object or loose part from a Mini-Blue Bus defect. They might suffer significant injuries riding a city bus caused by the bus manufacturer, from using dangerous products or worse.

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 about 4:40 p.m. when the unidentified woman was struck.

“May 27, 2007. Authorities said that 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.

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 your age, if your ride Metro Dash or Metro Local buses, you may suffer serious personal injuries, making Metro Bus or DASH responsible for paying your damages, exorbitant medical bills and other out of pocket expenses.

Los Angeles 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, with transit vehicles at 35%. A municipality, state, or another type of regional authority may operate a public bus. (FMCA). When someone gets hurt, our preeminent trial lawyers can help identify the responsible parties involved and make them pay.

Severe Injury Or Wrongful Death?

Large truck and bus fatalities remain lower today than the 21st-century peak of 5,231 back in 2005.

• From 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 in 2017 represented a 1% decrease from 234 fatal bus collisions during 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 has gathered bus crash data.
• U.S. school bus incidents accounted for 40% of deaths. Long-haul transport accounted for 35% of deaths.
• Annually, around 1,000 people riding or located near city buses will 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 involved two or more vehicle.

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.

Commercial Transportation Vehicle Mishaps Rising?

Yes. One thing is sure: more and more people get injured each year in commercial delivery vehicle 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 and kids can be thrown about inside an unstable vehicle with buses involved too.

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 their 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, all around the country, typically involving long trips during both 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. Tired and exhausted drivers can just as easily fall asleep at the wheel. 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 over negligent conduct, we may prompt Greyhound to make essential safety changes. The entire transport industry may follow suit.

When companies, including Greyhound bus, place profits over people, lives are lost and ruined. Ehline Law Firm heroically makes victims whole, always seeking a maximum settlement or successful verdict.

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 a 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 increased use of electronic devices by the bus driver can lead to accidents.
• Bus driver distraction or negligence (negligent drivers failing to pay attention or fails to set the brakes) including:
• DUI/DWI – Beer, and marijuana use, including the prescription drug use of Vicodin, or Valium, etc.
• Speeding
• Failure to obey road and traffic signals
• Road rage or misbehavior
• Bus companies poorly supervising or negligently training bus drivers
• Bus companies or municipalities failing to provide persons with adequate security (knife attacks, etc.)
• Negligent or improper maintenance leading to brake failure and onboard fires
• Bus manufacturers failing 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 causing poor or low visibility and loss of tire traction.

Typical case types include:

• A collision between a megabus, car, tractor trailer truck, motorcycle (rear ended), 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
• Falling luggage and flying objects like laptop computers,
• Assault by a fellow passenger,
• Lack of Seatbelts or restraining devices.

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, using a reasonable degree of skill to provide safe carriage.

• Uber Accidents
• Lyft Accidents
• Limo Bus Accidents
• Bus Accidents
• Taxi Cab Accidents.

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 held liable for failing to install seatbelts using the 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 toward 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 duties owed.

We know families need money to pay for future rehabilitation, including recovery for future reduction or loss in wages due to light-duty or disability from work.

Your trial lawyer may convince a jury to find these parties 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: Greyhound coaches and other small charter bus companies, for example, serve specific tasks.

Passengers in a bus crash must understand the nuances between government entities and a closely held private bus company. (Ex: Casino Tours/gambling excursions for retired folks involve longer road trips) Gambling casinos and the bus company can be held liable under vicarious liability theory. Our law firm has had success in this regard.

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, fatigued, 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 Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to identify who is to be held accountable. You may have a claim against other riders or more than one bus company. No way can you handle a case against a school district on your own and receive the highest possible compensation.

Statute of Limitations Problems?

You must act within the time period one has to file a claim in the court of law. (Statute of Limitations). Against a government defendant, the plaintiff normally only has six months (180 days) from the date of the accident to file a government claim before you 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.

The Most Common Injuries Our Bus Accident Attorneys Take

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 operators 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 to pay:

• Special Economic Compensation for the injuries based on their severity and treatment costs, including the recovery of medical care bills, property loss, and lost wages (lost capability to earn and property damage)

• General Pain and Suffering Damages for your mental agony (i.e., the pain for your injuries)

• Punitive damages to punish the defendant’s reckless actions may be recoverable.

Our best lawyers work closely with medical professionals to evaluate the total amount of damages you’ve sustained for the court.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation With A Top Rated Los Angeles Bus Accident Lawyer

Passengers, safety, and security come first. Passengers are entitled to arrive safely at their destinations. Drivers must prevent accidents in Los Angeles; if not, 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 for what you deserve.

Our Los Angeles bus accident lawyers will assist you through the government or insurance claims process, including school bus accidents. We will hold your hand every step of the way. Learn about attorney representation from a case specialist at one of our nearby law offices. Phone us (213) 596-9642, visit our online chat form to leave your contact information today.

Michael Ehline

Michael is a managing partner at the nationwide Ehline Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, APLC. He’s an inactive Marine and became a lawyer in the California State Bar Law Office Study Program, later receiving his J.D. from UWLA School of Law. Michael has won some of the world’s largest motorcycle accident settlements.

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