One of the great things about living in Long Beach is our city’s bus system. The MTA makes getting to where you need to go not only convenient but comfortable as well.
Yet, while most bus trips are safe and pleasant, too many times, they end up causing physical injuries, emotional trauma, and even worse. One study found that more than 60,000 busses a year are involved in roadway accidents.
Like any major public safety problem, bus accidents can stem from a number of causes. Not all of them are due to the transportation company’s negligence.
But this fact alone does not release the MTA from its higher duty to protect its passengers.
At the same time, the MTA, like other bus services, is a powerful organization committed to protecting its interests.
This can leave accident victims feeling alone and helpless. What do you do when you find yourself in this situation?
The answer is simple. Get in touch with Long Beach bus accident lawyer Sean Salamati today. Here at the Salamati Law Firm, we’re here to help.
Bus Accident Attorney Long Beach
As a leading Los Angeles bus accident attorney firm, we keep a close eye on the world of public transportation. Here are some troubling trends we’ve noticed in recent years:
- All too often, bus drivers are overworked and overstressed: A 2012 report released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that driver fatigue contributes to more than 30,000 injury-causing bus crashes each year.
- The problem of unsafe buses extends across the transportation industry: For example, in 2018, a jury in Dallas, TX, awarded $18 million to the family of an Oregon man who was run over by a Greyhound bus. The bus driver was “exhausted and agitated from overwork” at the time of the tragedy, according to the text of the lawsuit.
- Bus accidents can bring injury and death to the most vulnerable members of our society: An especially troubling statistic shows that school bus crashes alone kill over 100 people each year, many of them children.
Why Do Bus Crashes Cause Such Severe Injuries?
Unfortunately, our experience representing clients in motor vehicle accidents in Long Beach has demonstrated that bus accidents frequently cause serious injuries to those involved, including passengers and motorists who were in no way responsible for the crash.
Passengers on buses are generally less likely to wear seatbelts than passengers of regular motor vehicles, and on some buses, some passengers may be standing at the time of the crash. There is also often unsecured baggage aboard the bus that may become a dangerous projectile in the event of an accident. Additionally, occupants of regular passenger vehicles that are involved in an accident with a bus may be particularly prone to severe injuries due to the size and weight disparity between the two vehicles.
Common Injuries Caused by Bus Accidents
Some of the injuries commonly associated with bus crashes include the following:
- Cuts and lacerations
- Broken or fractured bones
- Damaged ligaments
- Organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Neck, spine, or back injuries
- Head injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Permanent disfigurement or scarring
- Amputations
- Paralysis
- Death
Types of Damages You May Receive in a Bus Accident Lawsuit
As you can imagine, if you suffer a serious injury in a bus crash, the physical, emotional, and financial toll that it may take on you and your family for years to come can be devastating. While the legal system cannot undo the accident, it does provide recourse for you to recover sufficient financial compensation to aid you and your loved ones in adjusting to a new way of life necessitated by your injuries.
Here are some of the types of damages that you may be eligible to claim in a personal injury lawsuit with the help of a bus accident lawyer in Long Beach:
- Pay for medical bills: This can include costs such as transportation by ambulance, emergency room visits, stays in the hospital, doctor appointments, surgeries, procedures, imaging and x-rays, assistive devices, physical therapy, psychiatric therapy, prescription drugs, in-home care, and remodeling of your home necessitated by your physical disabilities.
- Lost wages: This covers all of your income and benefits that you did not receive due to being forced to miss time from work.
- Loss of earning capacity: This fills in the gap between what you would have earned had you not gotten injured and what you will actually earn in the future due to your physical or emotional injuries.
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship: Some of your closest relationships may suffer drastically due to the physical, emotional, and financial strain caused by your injuries.
Reconstructing a Bus Accident to Determine Who Is Liable
One of the challenges of being a bus accident lawyer is reconstructing the events that led to the accident. That’s why we work with leading private investigators, medical providers, and transportation experts to uncover the truth.
Quite often, our Long Beach bus accident lawyers find that multiple parties played a role in causing the victim’s suffering. For example, sometimes, driver fatigue is exacerbated by poorly planned routes, slipshod vehicle maintenance, and unmarked construction zones.
Getting you the compensation you deserve means investigating all of the potential causes of your injuries. This is the only way our clients can receive the care they need. It’s also the only way we can help to prevent future bus accidents from occurring.
Consult With a Bus Accident Lawyer Long Beach Trusts
California law sets strict statutes of limitation on the amount of time you have in which to file a claim. So contact our office today to schedule your free consultation.
In this consultation with a Long Beach bus accident attorney, you will gain information about your legal rights and the strengths and weaknesses of your case, you will be advised of any looming legal filing deadlines, you will know who to file a lawsuit against, and you will be provided with an approximate estimate of the financial value of your claim.
With this information in hand from a Long Beach personal injury lawyer, you will be able to determine whether or not any settlement offers that you receive are fair and reasonable or if they are simply lowball offers that the insurance company is hoping you will naively accept prior to consulting with an experienced lawyer.
We collect a fee only if you win your case. So, don’t let worries about big legal bills stop you from reaching out to us. Call us anytime, 24/7, to discuss your case at no cost or obligation to you.
