Some people might believe that bus accidents are singular in the sense that the ability of injured victims to file recovery lawsuits is circumscribed simply because a bus was involved.
That is generally not the case at all. As we note on the Bus Accident Page of our personal injury website at the Ventura County-based Vititoe Law Group, personal injury lawsuits in bus accident cases “can be usually filed against both public and private companies.”
In addition, they can be filed by any person who suffers from such an accident, regardless of status. Obviously, bus passengers can readily file an injury claim. Bus drivers, too, are often named plaintiffs in litigation that does not feature their own negligence as a contributing factor in an accident and resulting injuries. Pedestrians are often injured in bus accidents, as are drivers and other occupants in passenger vehicles, motorcyclists and bicyclists. All these people have a legal right to seek legal damages and appropriate remedies when their injuries arise from negligence.
As we point out on our website, the source of such negligence can be varied and broad-based, with close assistance from a proven personal injury attorney often being centrally important in identifying negligent parties and all the conditions that materially contributed to an accident.
Driver error is, of course, a key factor in many bus accidents. Perhaps a driver was overly fatigued, on powerful prescription drugs or drunk. Perhaps he or she was inadequately trained.
And then there is the bus itself. Was it in a state of disrepair? Were the tires bald? Did the company that owned the bus let maintenance requirements slide to such an extent that a comprehensive brake job was long overdue?
Sometimes, too, extraneous factors unrelated to driver readiness or bus maintenance can centrally feature in a bus crash. One example is road construction unaccompanied by adequate roadway warnings.
In summary, considerable complexity can attach to a bus-related injury claim, which may be further complicated with statute of limitation requirements relevant to the timing aspects of filing litigation.
An experienced plaintiffs’ personal injury attorney can answer questions and provide diligent legal representation on behalf of any individual who suffers a vehicle-related injury that owes to third-party negligence.
