Catastrophic Bus Accident Attorneys Serving Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura
Fighting for Your Right to Justice & Compensation
Catastrophic bus accidents can cause immense devastation, leading to loss of life, injuries, and significant property damage. Understanding the causes, risks, and preventive measures associated with these accidents is crucial for ensuring passenger safety and minimizing the likelihood of such incidents.
Human error remains one of the leading causes of bus accidents. Factors such as fatigue, distraction, speeding, and impaired driving significantly increase the risk of accidents. Inadequate maintenance of buses can lead to mechanical failures, brake malfunctions, tire blowouts, and other issues that may result in accidents. Adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain, snow, fog, or ice, can reduce visibility and traction, increasing the likelihood of accidents. Poorly maintained roads, construction zones, uneven surfaces, and road debris can pose hazards to bus drivers and passengers. Malfunctions in crucial bus components, such as brakes, steering systems, and tires, can lead to catastrophic accidents. Long hours of driving without adequate rest can impair a driver’s judgment, reflexes, and concentration, increasing the risk of accidents.
Things To Do Following a Bus Accident
If you are in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura and have been severely injured in a bus accident, we recommend you take the following steps:
First and most importantly, you should seek professional medical care immediately. By visiting a doctor, you can treat your injuries and help detect any underlying injuries which may not be readily apparent. Many injuries, such as internal bleeding and concussions, do not make themselves apparent until hours or even days after the accident. Also, a doctor will officially document the full extent of your injuries, giving you invaluable supporting evidence.
Second, you should compile as much information about the accident as possible. Whenever you have the time, write down notes about the accident while the details are still at the forefront of your mind. If there were witnesses to the accident, make sure you get their personal and contact information. Also, you should take videos and photographs of the scene of the accident when it is safe to do so.
Lastly, contact a bus accident lawyer right away. A catastrophic injury attorney can inform you of your rights and best available legal options as well as fight for your best interests. Insurance companies will try to pay you as little as possible, which is why it is important to have strong representation by your side. An experienced attorney can ensure you are not taken advantage of and will help you get the compensation you deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Bus Accidents
I was a passenger riding a bus when there was an accident between the bus and another car. Do I have any rights against the bus company for my injuries?
Possibly. Common carriers like bus companies are in a special relationship with their passengers and must use “utmost care and diligence” for their passengers’ safety. The common carrier’s duty commences when its passengers begin boarding and continues until their departure. If the bus company failed to exercise “utmost care and diligence” and you were harmed as a result, then you may have a claim against the bus company.
What should I do if I get a call from the bus company or its insurance company?
You are not legally required to speak with the bus company or their insurance company, and it is highly recommended that you do not. Insurance companies are always trying to minimize the amount they pay out. As a result, they will try to use everything you say to them against you in the future. It is in your best interests to have an attorney communicate with them so that you do not accidentally incriminate yourself. A skilled lawyer will also know when an insurance company is offering an undervalued payout, thereby potentially maximizing the amount you receive.
The bus company’s insurance adjuster is asking for my recorded statement, what should I do?
You are not legally required to give any type of statement to the bus company or their insurance company, recorded or otherwise. Almost every time, insurance companies use these “conversations” as an excuse to push blame onto the injured victims so they can minimize their payout. They will ask confusingly worded or leading questions to try and force you to accidentally incriminate yourself, even if you are completely free of any blame. You should politely decline and give them your attorney’s information instead. A lawyer can protect your rights and ensure you are not taken advantage of.
If I think the accident between my car and the bus was my fault, should I say so?
No. You should not admit fault in an accident even if you think you might be at fault. You may have a misunderstanding of the applicable laws that determine liability, and it is always best to communicate with others through an attorney. What is more, it is best to allow a skilled injury attorney conduct an investigation before deciding who is at fault. You should cooperate with the law enforcement officers in their investigation but just remember that everything you say can and will be used against you in the future.
Featured Bus Accident Cases:
Rocray v. Pasadena City Lines, Inc., 159 Cal. App. 2d 265 (1958)
Plaintiff sued a bus company alleging that she was a passenger waiting to board the defendant’s bus; that the driver negligently failed to operate the motor bus in a careful and prudent manner with due regard to her safety and welfare as she boarded the vehicle, by causing the doors to open and close several times striking her body; and that, as a proximate result of the defendant’s negligence, she suffered injury to her right hand, wrist and arm. The matter was tried before a jury, and based on its verdict, judgment was entered against the defendant. On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that a common carrier operating busses for the transportation of paying passengers is by law required to provide the utmost care and diligence for the safe carriage of its passengers. The Court of Appeal also held that a common carrier must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill.
Wilson v. Los Angeles Trona Stages, 133 Cal. App. 2d 756 (1955)
A passenger on a bus sued the bus company for injuries sustained when the bus was involved in a head-on collision with an automobile at night. The Superior Court entered judgment on a verdict for defendants, and plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeal held that the driver of a bus operated as common carrier of passengers was not entitled to rely on an assumption that the drivers of other vehicles would obey the law and would not in violation thereof interfere with operation of bus, if it was apparent, or in exercise of utmost care, should have been apparent to bus driver that another driver was not obeying the law.
Areas Served:
The litigation and trial attorneys of the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. provide services throughout Southern California including but not limited to Adelanto, Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Aliso Viejo, Altadena, Anaheim, Apple Valley, Arcadia, Arleta, Atwater Village, Azuza, Bakersfield, Baldwin Park, Banning, Beaumont, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Blythe, Boyle Heights, Brea, Brentwood, Buena Park, Burbank, Calabasas, Calimesa, Camarillo, Canoga Park, Canyon Lake, Carson, Cathedral City, Cerritos, Chatsworth, Chino Hills, Chino, Claremont, Coachella, Colton, Compton, Costa Mesa, Corona, Covina, Culver City, Cypress, Dana Point, Desert Hot Springs, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Eastvale, Echo Park, El Monte, El Segundo, El Sereno, Encino, Fontana, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Gardena, Garden Grove, Glassell Park, Glendale, Glendora, Granada Hills, Hacienda Heights, Hawthorne, Hemet, Hesperia, Highland Park, Highland, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Indian Wells, Indio, Inglewood, Irvine, Jurupa Valley, La Canada Flintridge, La-Crescenta Montrose, La Habra, La Mirada, La Palma, La Puente, La Quinta, La Verne, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lakewood, Lake Balboa, Lake Elsinore, Lake Forest, Lancaster, Lawndale, Lincoln Heights, Loma Linda, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, Maywood, Menifee, Mission Hills, Mission Viejo, Monrovia, Montclair, Montebello, Monterey Park, Moorpark, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Newbury Park, Newhall, Newport Beach, Norco, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Norwalk, Ontario, Orange, Oxnard, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Palos Verdes, Palmdale, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Panorama City, Paramount, Pasadena, Perris, Pico Rivera, Placentia, Pomona, Porter Ranch, Rancho Cucamonga, Rancho Mirage, Rancho Santa Margarita, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Rialto, Riverside, Rosemead, Rowland Heights, San Bernardino, San Clemente, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Fernando, San Jacinto, San Juan Capistrano, San Pedro, Santa Ana, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Sawtelle, Seal Beach, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Simi Valley, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, South Whittier, Stanton, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sunland, Sylmar, Tarzana, Temecula, Temple City, Thousand Oaks, Toluca Lake, Torrance, Tujunga, Tustin, Twentynine Palms, Upland, Valencia, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Ventura, Victorville, Walnut, West Covina, West Hills, West Hollywood, West Puente alley, Westchester, Westminster, Westwood, Whittier, Wildomar, Winnetka, Woodland Hills, Yorba Linda