Riding on a commercial or public bus should not be any more dangerous than traveling in your own car. In fact, bus travel is statistically much safer than driving in a personal vehicle. However, the fact that accidents involving buses are less common compared to collisions between commuter cars does not mean that bus crashes never occur in Louisiana, or that they cannot cause serious harm when they do happen.
Guidance from a skilled Lafayette bus accident lawyer can be vital to understanding what rights you have after getting hurt due to negligence by a bus driver, bus operating company, or a third party. The dedicated injury attorneys at Tomeny | Best can help you take full advantage of those rights and demand all the compensation you deserve for the harm you should never have suffered.
Possible Grounds for a Bus Injury Lawsuit
Just like anyone else who drives a motor vehicle on public Louisiana roads, bus drivers have a “duty of care” requiring them to obey traffic laws, pay attention to the road around them, and generally act responsibly and reasonably while in motion. Because bus drivers are classified as “common carriers,” their duty of care is even more substantial than that imposed on a typical driver.
Bus drivers are also expected to operate their vehicles in such a way that they minimize the risk of any other person on board getting hurt outside of a collision—for instance, by falling out of their seats because the driver slammed on their brakes without warning. This means it is sometimes possible to file suit over a bus-related injury, even if that injury did not stem directly from an automobile accident that the bus in question was involved in.
It is often possible to establish “vicarious liability” for a bus accident against the companies—or government entities if the bus is part of a public transit system—responsible for maintaining buses in safe condition and hiring qualified drivers. A bus crash attorney can provide more clarification on who might be liable for a particular accident.
Taking Action Within Applicable Filing Deadlines
When you can prove that someone else was to blame for the accident that left you injured, you can hold them financially accountable for your losses. Compensable damages in an injury case can be both economic and non-economic in nature. Economic damages include material losses, such as medical bills and personal property damage, while non-economic damages refer to less tangible losses, like physical and psychological suffering.
To obtain the compensation you deserve after an accident, you need to file within the state’s required timeframe. Nearly all personal injury claims in Louisiana are subject to a filing window of one year after the injury in question first occurred, in accordance with Louisiana Civil Code §3492.
Even shorter effective deadlines may apply to claims naming government agencies as defendants related to a public bus accident. Either way, support from a seasoned bus accident lawyer in Lafayette can be crucial to building a strong claim inside applicable filing deadlines.
Speak with a Lafayette Bus Accident Attorney Today
Bus accidents can affect dozens of people simultaneously and result in life-altering physical, financial, and personal losses. If you were involved in this sort of incident due to another person’s reckless or careless conduct, you have limited time to enforce your legal rights and seek fair financial recovery for the harm done to you.
Help is available from a knowledgeable Lafayette bus accident lawyer with experience helping people like yours get good results from cases much like yours. Schedule your free consultation by calling today. We are here to help you get your life back on track.
