America’s Most Familiar Mass Transit Accident Attorneys—Bus Accident Lawyers
Public mass transit plays a vital role in the lives of many who send their kids to school on local school buses, ride a commuter bus to work or take a long distance bus to visit family in another state. While buses are one of the safest modes of transportation statistically, they also lack fundamental safety equipment found in other types of motor vehicles including airbags and seatbelts. Despite their relative safety compared to other modes of transportation, there is an average of approximately 60,000 bus accidents annually. At Jacoby & Meyers, we are committed to helping those who suffer serious injuries in a busing accident obtain the compensation they need to rebuild their life and move past their bus accident.
Bus accidents are on the rise, particularly those involving privately run rogue bus companies that operate in violation of federal and state safety regulations. These bus accidents are the product of a violation of federal safety laws and repeated violations of safety rules and standards. It has become quite common for marginal bus lines to evade regulations or enforcement of safety standards by simply closing their doors and reopening under another business name. The serious risk of busing accidents caused by marginal bus companies has become so significant that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which regulates busing companies, is considering new busing regulations to protect the public from private bus companies that continue to operate despite repeated safety violations.
Factors Making Bus Accident Litigation Unique: Common Carriers & Sovereign Immunity
Bus accident litigation is unique in that special liability rules apply and many times the defendant is a public entity that runs a public bus line, which may be part of the city mass transit system. The busing accident lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers have been handling busing accident litigation since 1972 and have successfully represented many victims who have suffered serious injuries in busing accidents caused by bus driver negligence, inadequate vehicle maintenance, substandard training and supervision by busing companies and even poorly maintained or constructed roadways. When a busing accident occurs, our experienced bus accident attorneys will examine bus driver training and personnel records, bus company maintenance and safety records, reports involving the violation of safety regulations by the busing company as well as carefully analyze any law enforcement accident reports.
Bus transportation, like other forms of mass transit, is classified as a “common carrier.” Common carriers are a form of mass transit that provides transportation to the public at a fixed rate. This is important because common carriers are held to a much higher standard of care in protecting the patrons that they transport. The rationale behind imposing a higher standard of care on common carriers is that patrons traveling on mass transit systems like busing lines have no way to protect themselves from injury. The operation and maintenance of buses is exclusively within the control of the busing company so there is little that riders can do to protect themselves from injury. When riders take a bus they are literally placing their safety in the hands of the bus driver and the bus company.
Common Causes of Busing Accidents
The causes of a busing accident can be complicated, and a wide number of parties may share responsibility for causing a busing accident. Parties that may be at-fault for busing accidents may include the following:
- Drunk or fatigued bus drivers
- Bus drivers that are distracted or violate traffic safety rules
- Drivers of other motor vehicles that do not obey traffic rules and safe driving practices
- Indifferent bus companies that fail to properly train or supervise drivers
- Independent maintenance companies that fail to properly service a bus
- Public entity for the unsafe design or maintenance of roadways
If you are involved in a busing accident and suffer serious injury or a loved one dies, you should also be aware that there are special rules that apply because these cases frequently involve a lawsuit against a public entity. Because public entities have sovereign immunity, bus accident lawsuits involving public busing lines require compliance with governmental tort claims acts. These are laws that authorize those injured in busing accidents and other motor vehicle accidents to pursue personal injury claims against governmental entities. However, government tort claims acts typically require that a claim be filed with the public entity before initiating a lawsuit. The timing requirements for initiating a claim under a tort claims act is sometimes as short as three (3) months from the time of the accident that caused your personal injury.
Jacoby & Meyers Representing Injury Victims in All Types of Busing Accident Litigation
Our experienced busing accident lawyers have the knowledge and experience to provide effective legal representation on behalf of bus accident victims caused by negligent private and public busing companies and their drivers including:
- Metro buses
- School buses
- Tour bus lines
- Long distance bus lines (Greyhound Lines)
- Commuter Buses
If you or someone you love has suffered serious injury or someone close to you has died in a busing accident, Jacoby & Meyers offers tenacious advocacy designed to obtain the best possible results for our clients who are injured in busing accidents. Our dedicated and experienced bus accident lawyers carefully analyze our clients busing accidents so that we can identify all potential responsible parties and develop the strongest litigation strategy regarding fault and the cause of your injuries. We know that bus accident victims may suffer severe injuries that may cause substantial financial, psychological and physical struggles. Jacoby & Meyers is committed to providing innovative litigation strategies and persuasive courtroom presentations on behalf busing accidents victims.
We invite you to contact us today to find out how Jacoby & Meyers can help you with all of your legal needs. We have offices nationwide, including Southern California, New York, Alabama, Florida, and Arizona so call us at 1-800-411-4LAW to see how we can help.
