Melville Bus Accident Lawyer
Bus accidents can cause devasting injuries to passengers and other drivers. Recovering compensation after a bus accident can be challenging for victims, who might not know where to begin the process.
Having a Melville bus accident lawyer experienced with bus accident litigation can be extremely helpful in recovering damages for your injuries. Bus accidents are complex because several parties could share liability for your injuries. In many cases, a bus company can be held liable for the negligence of its driver. However, if your injuries were caused by a government-owned bus, there will be additional challenges to filing a lawsuit that our Melville bus accident lawyers can help you overcome.
If you were injured in a bus accident, our Melville bus accident lawyers can help you determine the best paths forward in your case. For a free case assessment, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.
Who to Hold Liable for a Bus Accident in Melville
Bus accidents are complex since there could be multiple parties involved that could be liable for your injuries. While the driver might bear most of the blame for your injuries, you can typically file a lawsuit against their employer, as well. However, your ability to recover compensation could be limited if the bus was part of Melville’s public transportation system.
The Bus Driver
In many cases, the bus driver will most likely be responsible for your injuries. Bus drivers have numerous responsibilities to keep their passengers safe. This includes inspecting the bus before use and ensuring passengers follow the rules on the bus. However, bus drivers can become distracted by the technology equipped in most buses today, leading to an accident.
Private Bus Companies
There are many situations where you will be able to hold a negligent bus driver’s employer liable for their employee’s conduct. Many of the buses in use in Melville are owned by private companies, like Megabus and Greyhound. Suppose an accident involved a bus operated by a private company. In that case, they can be held accountable for their driver’s negligence if the accident occurred while performing their normal job functions. You can also usually hold private charter bus companies liable for the buses they rent out to private parties.
Public Bus Companies
Many other buses in Melville are owned and operated by a government entity, like the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE). It can be more challenging to recover compensation for accidents involving buses that operate as part of Melville’s public transportation system. Most public companies are shielded from liability because of sovereign immunity. You will likely need to overcome additional hurdles before suing a public busing company, and in some cases, you might only be able to file a lawsuit against the driver. Our Melville bus accident lawyers can review your case to determine who owns the bus that injured you and the best options to recover compensation moving forward.
When You Can File a Lawsuit for a Bus Accident in Melville
Recovering compensation after a bus accident is not always a straightforward process. New York is a no-fault state for vehicle accidents. This means that victims injured in a traffic accident can recover compensation for their damages from their personal injury protection (PIP) insurance without showing fault for the accident. While this can compensate an injured victim quickly, the tradeoff is that most victims will be barred from filing a lawsuit to recover additional damages. In most cases, you will have your insurance available, and the commercial insurance bus companies carry to cover passengers injured in an accident.
Unfortunately, insurance benefits might not be enough to cover the injuries you sustained in an accident. You must overcome New York’s serious injury threshold to file a lawsuit for injuries sustained in a bus accident. You can show you sustained a serious injury if you suffered a fracture, lost a body part or suffered a permanent loss of body function. Serious injury can also be proved if a loved one died in the accident or the victim had a miscarriage. Finally, an injury is considered serious if it prevents you from performing normal functions for 90 out of the first 180 days following an accident. Our Melville bus accident lawyers can review your case to determine if your injuries meet the threshold for a lawsuit to be filed.
Common Causes of Bus Accidents in Melville
Buses are large vehicles that can be very difficult to control. As such, there are numerous ways that accidents can occur. Some accidents are caused by the direct negligence of the driver, while others are caused by an employer’s failure to perform their duties. In some cases, the manufacturer of a defective bus part could have contributed to causing an accident. The following are some common causes of bus accidents in Melville:
- Tired driving
- Distracted driving
- Speeding
- Accidents from restricted maneuverability
- DUI
- Failure to obey traffic lights and signs
- Failure to properly inspect and maintain the bus
- Defective bus parts
- Driving in a bus’s blind spot
- Other bus passengers
Proving a bus accident lawsuit can be challenging, and how your accident occurred will impact the legal strategies used in your case. Fortunately, our Melville bus accident lawyers can help you recover compensation no matter how your accident was caused.
Time Limit to File a Melville Bus Accident Lawsuit
Every state has a statute of limitations that sets the time limit to file a personal injury lawsuit. According to C.V.P. Law § 214, bus accident victims will typically have three years from the date of their injuries to file a lawsuit in Melville. There are few exceptions to this deadline, and failure to file your lawsuit in time could mean being barred from pursuing compensation.
While three years might seem like a long time, it is much less than people think. The more time that passes, the harder it is to collect the evidence you will need to prove your case. Our Melville bus accident lawyers can help you get your case started right so vital compensation is not missed out on.
Our Melville Bus Accident Lawyers Can Help
If you were injured in a bus accident caused by another person’s negligence, our Melville bus accident lawyers can help you recover the compensation you are entitled to. Contact The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 for a free review of your case.