If you are injured in a bus accident, whether you are a passenger on the bus or an occupant of another vehicle, you can sue the bus driver if he or she was negligent, and that negligence contributed to the crash. If this is the case, you may also be able to bring a claim against the bus company as long as the bus driver was acting within the scope of his or her employment.
What Causes Bus Accidents?
There are a number of common examples of bus driver negligence that may give rise to a bus accident lawsuit, including the following:
- The driver makes an unsafe lane change and sideswipes a vehicle next to it
- He or she is speeding and unable to stop in time when traffic comes to a sudden halt, causing the bus to rear-end the vehicle in front of it
- The driver is distracted in some way, such as by texting while driving or by focusing too much attention on a conversation with a passenger, and accidentally causes a crash
- The driver operates the bus while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- The bus driver falls asleep at the wheel
What Is the Bus Driver’s Duty of Care?
Injuries incurred in bus accidents are often serious. All of the aforementioned examples would be cases where the bus driver acted unreasonably and breached his or her duty of care to bus passengers and occupants of other vehicles by not obeying traffic laws and regulations. If that breach of care caused an accident in which you were injured, then you may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the bus driver.
Texas Tort Claim Act
Note that in addition to the bus driver, the bus company may also be sued if the driver was acting within the scope of his or her employment and negligently caused a crash in which you were injured. Under the Texas Tort Claim Act, “within the scope of employment” means that the driver was acting in accordance with his or her job description and performing the duties he or she was hired to do.
Speak With a Bus Accident Attorney at Angel Reyes & Associates
A Dallas bus accident lawyer can help put you in the best position to recover maximum compensation for the full cost of your losses after a bus accident. The right attorney will know how to determine the cause of your crash, identify the right defendant(s) to pursue legal recourse against, and build your case for damages.
At Angel Reyes & Associates, we have a 98 percent client success rate for the cases we take on. We have accomplished this due to our philosophy of putting our clients first and fighting to maximize their financial recovery.
If you have been injured in a bus accident, call the Angel Reyes – Reyes Browne Law Firm 24/7 to book your no-cost consultation. You will not be charged any attorney fees unless our personal injury lawyers recover damages on your behalf.
