Bus accidents are often very serious, especially for the passengers on the bus. We may not be required to wear seat belts on buses, which can potentially lead to injuries during crashes, especially when buses fall onto their sides or flip upside down. Additionally, buses are very large, and pedestrians and other drivers hit by buses often face serious injuries.
Our attorneys are prepared to take your case and help you file for damages against the bus driver, the bus company, and the various insurance companies involved. In many of these cases, the crash will be the at-fault bus driver’s fault, but some crashes are caused by other drivers on the road, and we can seek justice by also filing claims against them when necessary.
Call our bus accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 for a free case review.
Bus Accident Claims Against Insurance, Drivers, and Bus Companies in Carroll Gardens
When you file a bus accident claim, there are a few different methods of recovering compensation, and there are a few different parties you might be able to file your claim against. Because of our no-fault insurance rules in New York, your ability to sue might also be limited, forcing you to rely on insurance when you face injuries that are less than “serious.” This “serious injury threshold,” however, does allow lawsuits and claims directly against the at-fault driver in any case with permanent injuries, a disability lasting at least 90 of 180 days, serious scarring, or broken bones. Death or a lost fetus also qualifies for lawsuits by the affected family.
Our bus accident lawyers often look to filing claims or lawsuits against the following people or policies to get you the damages you need for a bus accident injury:
Your Insurance
If you were driving another car when you were hit by a bus, you should first consider filing with your own no-fault insurance. This can provide some medical coverage and lost earnings coverage as a stopgap while you pursue a lawsuit against at-fault parties. Additionally, many drivers have other first-party benefits that would kick in regardless of who caused the accident, helping provide additional relief. However, this insurance stops short of covering 100% of your expenses in these covered areas, and it will never cover pain and suffering damages, so if you can file a lawsuit or a third-party claim against the at-fault parties for your serious injuries, it may be best to do so.
If, for some reason, the at-fault driver’s insurance is too low to cover your needs, you might also have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy that can help.
The Bus Driver’s Insurance
If you were a passenger on the bus when it crashed, then the bus driver’s no-fault insurance should cover you regardless of who caused the accident. This insurance coverage also applies to cyclists and pedestrians hit by a bus driver.
As with the no-fault insurance discussed above, this coverage might have some limits, such as a restriction on covering full lost wages and a block on pain and suffering damages. If you qualify for a lawsuit with serious injuries, we can reach past this no-fault insurance and file a claim against the bus driver’s liability insurance or even sue them in court.
Keep in mind that if the bus driver was at fault and you suffered serious injuries, then their liability insurance should be available to cover your injuries regardless of whether you were on the bus or in another car at the time. Additionally, whether you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit, it will usually be the insurance company paying at the end of the day.
Bus insurance is often far higher than a normal driver’s insurance, given the expectation that there will be multiple passengers affected in accidents and that large buses are capable of more destruction than smaller cars or SUVs. This often means that the no-fault coverage and liability insurance both have much higher capacities to cover your injuries in full.
Other Driver’s Insurance
If another driver was at fault for the accident, then you can file a claim against their liability insurance instead of the bus driver’s insurance. This might be of limited help if multiple bus passengers were injured, given that the driver’s insurance limit will likely be divided among many passengers. This is where filing a claim with the bus driver’s insurance first is often helpful.
Direct Liability
In some cases, you can sue the driver directly, and they can be made to pay out of pocket for any damages beyond what their insurance covers. However, this is often difficult if they do not have a lot of assets or money you can sue them for.
Suing Bus Companies
While individuals might not have the funds to cover your accident without insurance, bus companies may. If you can bring the bus company into the lawsuit, that often gives you access to higher damages between the bus company’s insurance and its assets and money.
You can typically sue a bus company in two ways: they can be held liable for their driver’s accents on the job or for their own mistakes. When you sue the bus company for its driver’s errors, they take on the driver’s liability instead of the driver paying out of pocket. When you sue them directly, they might take on only a share of the fault, depending on whether their contribution to the crash was just one of many causes or was the sole cause of the crash.
Bus companies can be held directly liable for regulatory violations, equipment malfunction, dangerous maintenance and upkeep of their vehicles, negligent hiring of dangerous drivers, negligent retention of drivers that had a past history of mistakes or accidents, and other issues like these. Often, this direct liability is not the only cause of the crash, and bus companies may be liable alongside their driver or other drivers for the injuries you sustained.
Call the Carroll Gardens Bus Accident Lawyers Who Will Fight for You
Call The Carrion Law Firm’s bus accident lawyers today at (718) 841-0083 to discuss your potential case in a free case analysis.