Bus Accidents

Bus Accident Lawyer in Commerce City, CO, Fighting for Injured Victims in Pursuit of a Fair Settlement

Like large trucks, buses can cause extreme damage in an accident with pedestrians, cyclists, and the occupants of smaller motor vehicles. Despite the many safety precautions, a bus crash can happen in several ways. For the bus accident victim, the road to recovery is often long, full of costly hospital bills, physical rehab, health insurance phone calls, and legal documents.

Read Serious Injury Bus Accidents FAQs

The legal team of Flanagan Law offers its services to you while you are recovering from your bus accident injuries. We can shoulder the burden of insurance company negotiations and the legal wrangling of filing a lawsuit against those responsible for the accident.

Personal injury attorney Samantha Flanagan seeks to alleviate the stress for her clients while also providing dedicated and compassionate legal representation in the pursuit of financial compensation. In addition to helping with the difficulties of dealing with insurers and the legal system, the attorney also offers her network of doctors and physicians to clients looking for better medical care if necessary.

Schedule a free case evaluation by calling the Commerce City-based law firm today.

What Are ‘Common Carriers?’

A common carrier is any person or company that transports goods or passengers and is trusted with the safety and well-being of those valuables during transport. The difference between common carriers and contract carriers is that a contract carrier only carries goods or passengers for certain clients. A private bus is a contract carrier that can deny services to certain customers, but a common carrier is open to public access without discrimination. A local regulatory authority often supervises common carriers.

Common carriers include a line of passenger cruise ships, Amtrak trains, taxi companies, freight companies, and public bus lines like the Metrobus, MTA bus, or another city bus.

Knowing the difference between common and contract carriers following an accident is essential. A common carrier has a duty of care towards the people and goods it is transporting. If the standard of care is violated, negligence charges may apply. If you are injured in a bus accident involving a common carrier, the bus company may be liable for damages.

Who or What May Be Held Liable in a Bus Accident Case?

How a bus accident claim proceeds will depend on two primary factors: whether the lawyer can prove negligence and whether the bus was privately owned or if a city or state municipality owned it. It may be tempting to assume that a bus is owned by the city – such as a school bus owned by the school district – but this is not always the case. Sometimes a school district hires a private contractor, so the school bus is privately owned and operated.

After your injuries have been tended to, the first order of business is to determine the bus owners. Whether you were injured by a tour bus, transit bus, charter bus, city bus, an intercity bus like Greyhound, or some other type of bus entirely, we must seek to find the owners.

In addition to the bus owner, it is possible to file a claim against the bus driver and possibly even the bus manufacturer.

Are Bus Accidents Common?

Approximately 60,000 bus accidents happen annually in the United States. Thankfully, most of these accidents only result in property damage. However, some accidents result in catastrophic injuries and fatalities.

Recent studies show that bus accidents have slowly increased, but deaths have decreased. This suggests that buses are becoming safer for riders and motorists who share America’s roads.

What Kind of Compensation Could a Bus Accident Victim Hope to Recover with the Help of a Lawyer?

With a solid legal case, taking on smaller private bus companies, larger government bus systems, and intercity buses like Greyhound is possible. A strong case could net you the maximum compensation for your injuries. A bus that carries over 15 passengers must have at least $5 million in liability insurance coverage. This is to protect the company and its employees.

Damages could help alleviate the burden of lost wages, medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, and physical therapy rehabilitation.

Schedule a Free Consultation with an Experienced Colorado Bus Accident Attorney Today

Bus accidents can be traumatic events that leave lasting scars on the body and mind. Do not feel the need to accept any settlement offered, and don’t feel you must tackle a lawsuit alone. Flanagan Law would be proud to act on your behalf.

Schedule a free consultation by contacting our law office at 720-928-9178.

Bus Accident Articles