San Bernardino Bus Accident Lawyer

San Bernardino county has 29 bus routes that offer convenience and affordability to those who need to travel to another location. Once a passenger enters the bus, bus drivers must provide a duty of care until the bus reaches its destination and safely transport passengers to their intended location. While public transportation is a safe and reliable means of traveling throughout the city, some unfortunate circumstances may occur during these trips, which will likely result in serious damages and/or injuries.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our passionate team of bus accident lawyers are ready to take on your case and represent you during this stressful time in your life. We are a personal injury law firm with over 20 years of legal experience and our team of lawyers have handled a variety of bus accident cases from a school bus accident to catastrophic bus accidents. If you have sustained serious injuries in a bush crash, our attorneys are confident that they can get you the compensation you deserve for your losses.

We have recovered over $1.7 billion in compensation for our clients and we will continue to do our duty and give them the best legal representation that we can and help guide them throughout the legal process. As experiencing a bus accident is a taxing experience that can drain you emotionally and physically, our bus accident attorneys will be there every step of the way to address any legal questions or concerns you may have about your case.

We run on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no fees until you win. To schedule a FREE no obligation consultation, you can get in touch with us by calling us at (213) 927-3700 or by filling out our quick online contact form.

San Bernardino Bus Accident Statistics

According to San Bernardino’s county wide transportation report, there are at least 10,000 bus riders using the omnitrans bus services every year, and a 2021 Large Truck and Bus Crash Fact report from the FMCSA has deduced that school buses and transit buses accounted for about 37% of all fatal traffic crashes. While a bus crash is generally rare in California, it doesn’t mean exempt the possibility of it happening. So if you or a loved one has been involved in a bus crash due to a negligent driver, it is important to seek legal representation so you can recover damages.

Common Causes of San Bernardino Bus Accidents

When it comes to the most common causes of bus accidents in San Bernardino, there are a number of possible factors that can lead to a bus crash. However, from what is most commonly seen in the area, negligent driving errors such as drunk driving, driver fatigue, and general disregard of traffic laws are the most prominent. According to a 2018 crash stats report from the NHTSA, roughly 74% of all traffic accidents were due to driver error and negligence. So whether your bus driver or a random driver has caused a bus accident, it is important that you hire a bus accident attorney to ensure that you recover from any sustained injuries.

Types of Injuries in a San Bernardino Bus Accident

Due to the lack of general safety measures on buses, a bus passenger can potentially become injured in a severe bus accident. From what is normally seen in San Bernardino bus accidents, head, back, and internal injuries are the most common and depending on the severity of the injury it can accrue high hospital bills. So if you have suffered injuries and would like to file a claim with a bus accident attorney, it is important to understand the differences between these types of injuries so you have a good idea of what kind of compensation you can receive.

Head Injuries

Head injuries are defined as forceful blows and impacts to the head and brain. Depending on the force of the impact, the severity of a head injury can vary from minor injuries such as bruises, bumps, and scratches to serious injuries like concussions, internal brain trauma, and even brain hemorrhages.

However, if you have been involved in a bus accident, it is important that you seek medical attention because even a minor injury can potentially become a serious long-term problem if it is not properly treated. Any bus accident that has a victim experiencing a severe head injury would become eligible for compensation to cover their medical bills because the associated costs that come with a head injury can become very costly.

Spinal Cord Injuries

A spinal cord injury is referred to as damage to the back or to the bundle of nerves to the spine. There are two different subcategories of back injuries that measure different levels of severity, which are complete and incomplete. An incomplete spine injury means that there has been nerve damage that partially severed the connections from the spine to certain parts of the body and the brain. Recovery from this type of injury is typically long and costly but it is sometimes not guaranteed.

Meanwhile complete spine injury means that there is a complete severance between the nerves from the spine to certain parts of the body and the brain, which often results in paralysis or loss of motor functions. Cases such as these cannot be recovered, and requires quality of life adjustments to accommodate for permanent life long injuries.

So if you have suffered a spinal cord injury, it is important that you hire a bus accident lawyer because this is another type of injury that has naturally high medical costs and if you do not get the necessary care, there will be more significant health complications in the future.

Internal Injuries

Internal injuries are defined as damage to your internal organs and bones in your body. These types of injuries typically occur from a sudden force of impact such as car accidents. With that in mind, there are a range of injuries that can be sustained internally from internal bleeding to broken bones and even ruptured organs. 

So if you have been in a bus accident and appear to be fine and unharmed, it is important that you double check your injuries and see a doctor, because some internal injuries may exhibit subtle symptoms and will progressively become worse as time goes on.

Proving Liability for Your Bus Accident in San Bernardino

When it comes to determining liability for a bus accident, there needs to be evidence that proves that the one who caused the accident was negligent in their duties and did not follow traffic laws. Whether it was the bus driver or a random driver on the road, if either showed negligence or recklessness in their actions then they would be held responsible for all damages.

The only exception is unless there was some kind of mechanical failure or malfunction that has caused the accident. In those cases, the bus company or its affiliated maintenance department/company would become the at-fault party, because they did not fulfill their duty to properly maintain the bus for optimal performance standards. So if you are having a difficult time trying to determine liability in a bus accident, then it is recommended to hire a bus accident attorney who can help determine who is responsible.

Statute of Limitations for a Personal Injury Claim

In California, there is a statute of limitations for all personal injury claims and if bus accident victims do not file a claim within that time then they automatically waive their right to seek and claim compensation for their damages. With that in mind, accident victims have two years to file a claim as per section 335.1 of California’s Code of Civil Procedure, and any attempt to file suit after that would be immediately dismissed in court. The only exceptions to this rule is unless the victim is either a minor, in jail, legally insane, living out-of-state, or disabled.

What Are the Types of Damages That I Can Recover?

Typically in San Bernardino bus accident cases, victims would try to recover economic and non-economic damages for their injuries. While the severity of a victim’s injury will be dependent on whether or not they can receive these types of damages, an experienced San Bernardino bus accident lawyer should be able to get their clients both damages. If you are filing a bus accident claim, it is important to understand the different types of damages so you can get a better understanding of what kind of damages you can recover from.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are defined as losses from an accident that can be objectively recovered based on their monetary value. This type of damage is designed to compensate victims who have to pay for unexpected costs of being in an accident, and these costs are significant because it drastically affects their way of life and means of earning income. Damages such as medical bills, property damages, lost wages, physical therapy expenses, and quality of life adjustments are all things that can be objectively measured by their cost.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are a form of reparations to compensate a victim for losses that are subjective and difficult to objectively place a monetary value on. For example, non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and the loss of enjoyment of life are all things where the extent and depth of these subjective damages are going to vary from person to person.

However, for a victim to seek compensation for these damages, they must suffer some kind of objective loss or traumatic experience that has resulted in non-economic damages. This can range from suffering a traumatic injury that has affected their emotional outlook to experiencing a wrongful death of a loved one.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are a form of compensation that is unlike economic and non-economic, because instead of rewarding victims a monetary sum, it focuses on punishing the party responsible for the accident. This is meant to serve two purposes, the first being to give the victim and their families a sense of justice being served, and the second is to set precedence for a future case and potentially deter anyone in the future from making the same or a similar type of mistake. Although this type of damages is rare to be issued, it is mainly reserved for cases where there has been a clear display of recklessness or ill-intent.

West Coast Trial Lawyers Is Here to Help

If you or a loved one were involved in a bus accident in San Bernardino county and have sustained severe injuries as a result of someone else’s negligence then you may be eligible to sue to recover compensation. Filing a personal injury lawsuit can be a difficult and emotionally draining experience if you are unfamiliar with proper legal procedures. So it is important that you hire an experienced lawyer who is well versed in the California court system and is dedicated to your case.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our dedicated team of bus accident lawyers are ready to handle your personal injury case with the care and respect that it deserves. With over 20 years of legal experience, our attorneys have handled a variety of personal injury lawsuits from the simple to the most catastrophic, and they are confident that they can get you the maximum compensation you deserve for your losses.

We have recovered over $1.7 billion in financial compensation for our deserving clients, and we are ready to tackle your case and help guide you through the legal process. No matter what kind of bus accident you have been involved in, our legal team is available 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns you may have about your case.

We run on a contingency-fee basis, meaning that you pay no fees until you win. To schedule a FREE consultation, we welcome you to reach out to our offices by calling us at (213) 927-3700 or by completing our easy online contact form.