Bus Accident Lawsuits

Bus drivers, private bus companies and public entities can harm bus passengers and other motorists through negligence. These negligent parties violate specific rules and regulations that govern buses. They also break traffic laws or behave in unreasonable or unnecessary ways. In cases like these, a lawsuit can help victims get justice.

Victims of bus accidents seek compensation for the physical, mental and financial harm they suffered because of the crash. The money recovered through a lawsuit can provide resources for medical care and life expenses. Recovered funds help prevent accident victims from paying for the errors of those responsible for the accident.

Motley Rice represents bus and car accident victims. We advocate for injured bus passengers. We can help you identify if you qualify for a claim and seek a bus crash settlement or litigation if you were harmed in a collision.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in 2021, over 200 buses were involved in fatal accidents in the United States. These collisions included 80 school buses, 78 transit buses and 17 intercity buses.

Bus accidents, like most types of car accidents, are often caused by human error, i.e., negligence. Some common causes of bus accidents and bus accident injuries include:

• Driver distraction
• Driver inexperience
• Driver fatigue
• Lack of passenger protections, such as seat belts, roof reinforcements and emergency exits
• Lack of transportation carrier compliance
• Lack of vehicle maintenance
• Lack of vehicle safety features
• Occupant ejection
• Vehicle rollover

If you sustained injuries in a bus crash, you may have a bus accident claim. A Motley Rice attorney can help determine the cause of the collision and seek compensation from the liable parties.

Several government entities in the U.S. regulate buses at the state and federal levels. Regulatory bodies include:

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
• The Federal Transit Administration (FTA),
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Buses are also regulated by the authorities that operate them, such as private bus companies, states, counties, municipalities and school districts.
Motley Rice handles a variety of domestic and foreign bus accident types, including:

• Charter buses
• City buses
• Coach buses
• Public buses
• School buses
• Tour buses

Bus accident victims and their families can sue for losses related to their physical injuries and mental and emotional suffering. In general, bus passenger compensation claims may include the following types of damages:

• Lost wages: If you cannot work because of a bus accident injury, you can seek compensation for your lost wages and employment benefits. If your injury is permanent or disabling and prevents you from ever returning to your job, you may also qualify for compensation for pay you could have earned in the future.
• Medical expenses: Medical expenses include the cost of your current and future necessary medical treatments. You can seek reimbursement for emergency medical transportation and emergency department services. Other covered costs include hospitalizations, doctor visits, rehabilitation, physical therapy, medications, mobility aids, medical devices and long-term nursing.
• Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering damages cover intangible losses resulting from your injury. Pain and suffering may include severe and chronic physical pain, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, emotional distress and overall reduced quality of life.
• Wrongful death of a loved one: If your loved one was fatally injured in a bus crash, a Motley Rice accident lawyer can seek wrongful death compensation on behalf of their estate and qualifying survivors. Wrongful death damages may include the loss of your loved one’s income, services and support, funeral and burial expenses, medical bills and survivors’ mental pain and suffering.

Multiple parties can be held financially liable for bus accident injuries. The bus driver may be responsible for being negligent. But a bus company may be held responsible for the driver’s negligence under a legal principle known as vicarious liability. A bus company can be negligent if it hired unqualified drivers or didn't do employee background checks.

Vehicle maintenance entities can be liable if bus maintenance was defective. Manufacturers of auto parts can also be held responsible if the bus crash involved defective bus parts.

What to know about insurance company settlements

After a bus crash, the bus company’s insurer may offer you a settlement. Before accepting their offer, you must understand the full scope of your injury and related damages.

Once you accept the insurance company’s offer, the claim is settled and can't be changed. You won’t be able to go back to the insurer and ask for more money. If you later discover you need more medical treatment or additional time off from work, you will be responsible for those expenses.

Also, it’s vital that you understand that insurance companies often don’t have accident victims’ best interests at heart. Insurance companies exist to make a profit, and one way they do this is by keeping claims payouts low. It’s to the insurer's advantage to get you to accept the lowest settlement possible.

Working with a Motley Rice bus accident lawyer can help you identify and pursue justice for all of your losses. Our lawyers can stand up to bad-faith insurance tactics, aggressively negotiate on your behalf and reject lowball offers.

What’s the average settlement for a bus accident?

There is no average settlement for a bus accident. Every personal injury case is different, and the types and amount of damages you can recover will be unique to you and your claim. Factors that can affect a bus accident settlement include:

• The severity of your injury
• The duration of your recovery
• The extent and cost of your medical treatment
• Your current age
• Your current average wage
• How long you have been off from work, and whether or not you can return to your job
• The extent to which your injury affects you physically, mentally and emotionally
• The impact of your injury on your day-to-day life and overall well-being
• The strength of your case and supporting evidence
• The liable party’s insurance coverage and insurance policy limits

Motley Rice’s personal injury attorneys have the knowledge, skills and resources to investigate and resolve cases for people who have suffered severe injuries or whose loved ones were fatally injured in public transit accidents.

Attorney Mary Schiavo is the former Inspector General of the Department of Transportation. She has extensive knowledge of rules and regulations related to transportation as well as related litigation.

Attorneys Kevin Dean, Marlon Kimpson, John David O’Neil, Lee Heath and Victoria Blatterman have litigated complex cases involving transportation catastrophes.

Our firm’s bus accident lawsuit experience includes the following cases:

Amerpoltours bus accident in Binghamton, New York

Motley Rice lawyers represented seven victims injured in a bus crash that occurred Aug. 3, 2011. The crash happened north of Binghamton, New York, on Interstate 81 South.

The passengers sustained serious injuries, including one person whose head and neck were pinned beneath the mini-tour bus through an emergency hatch when the vehicle came to a rest on its roof. The bus was owned and operated by Princeton Holdings Inc., doing business as Amerpoltours. The firm filed suit in 2012 and reached settlements in 2015 and 2016.

Grand Circle Travel bus accident lawsuit in Egypt

Motley Rice represented the victims and the families of fatally injured passengers in this Egyptian bus accident lawsuit against Grand Circle Travel.

The crash occurred on Dec. 26, 2010, in Aswan, Egypt. The bus, which was carrying 37 passengers, collided with a dump truck. The lawsuit alleged that the tour program’s director slept while the bus driver drove at recklessly high speeds on an unlit road that was under construction.

Our attorneys settled this case in the plaintiffs’ favor in 2015, weeks before it was set to go to trial in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.

Harrah’s Entertainment bus crash

Motley Rice represented victims of the Harrah’s Entertainment bus accident, which killed three passengers and injured another 40 individuals. The collision occurred on Aug. 10, 2008, when the bus hydroplaned on its way to the Tunica, Mississippi, airport. The lawsuit alleged the accident happened because the bus was defective and poorly maintained.

Motley Rice’s bus crash lawyers advocate for the rights of injured passengers. We can represent you if you were hurt or your loved one was killed in a bus collision. Our attorneys can do the following to build your case and seek compensation for your damages:

• Hire and consult with regulatory authorities, medical professionals, crash reconstructionists and other case experts
• Investigate the bus accident and gather evidence to support your claim
• Identify and pursue recoverable damages
• Negotiate with the insurance company, opposing counsel and other involved parties on your behalf
• Represent you at trial when necessary

Our lawyers understand the complex ins and outs of bus accident claims, including how to navigate federal, state and local rules and regulations. We handle cases involving school buses, government-run buses and private bus companies.

Don’t delay in reaching out to our legal team. There is a statute of limitations that will apply to your case. If we do not act before the deadline set by your state expires, we will likely be unable to seek damages with a lawsuit.

How much does a bus accident lawyer cost?

We represent our clients on a contingency fee basis. This means you will not pay any fees or expenses unless you obtain a recovery. If you receive compensation, our fee will be a percentage of your recovery and will be calculated before any of your claim and lawsuit costs and expenses are deducted. Costs and expenses will be deducted and paid from your recovery.

Motley Rice is committed to helping our clients across the country seek justice. Our law firm refuses to stand by and watch while people suffer harm due to the negligent and wrongful actions of others. Our work has led to landmark settlements and verdicts, as well as regulatory changes that protect the rights of individuals, workers, consumers and communities.

Contact our bus injury attorneys about your potential bus accident lawsuit. We can discuss your legal options during a free consultation. Complete our online form or call 1.800.768.4026 today.

Read more about our transportation litigation experience.