Every day, buses transport passengers on Tampa’s roads. While many of those trips occur without incident, a tragic number of bus trips end in disaster. A bus accident could take the lives of passengers aboard the bus or others on the road. When that happens, victims have legal rights.
A Tampa bus accident lawyer at Diaco Law can provide you with compassionate and dedicated legal advocacy. Our firm has decades of collective experience representing bus crash victims, and we can put our legal knowledge to work to maximize your chances of getting compensation even in complicated claims.
Give us a call today to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how our firm will fight for you to be made whole, or fully compensated, following a devastating bus crash.
Common Types of Bus Accidents in Tampa
Different types of buses travel throughout Tampa, including:
- School buses: These usually transport school children, and sometimes volunteers. They could be owned or operated by private transportation companies, public school systems, or private schools.
- Public transportation buses: There are multiple types of public transportation in Tampa and surrounding areas, including public transport routes operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority
- Private buses: Charter buses or buses run by private companies can often be found on Tampa’s roads. These may be tour buses showing people the sites, or other privately operated buses that transport passengers from one destination to another either regularly or for a special event. .
The type of bus accident matters a great deal, because there are different processes and rules for taking legal action against private companies or individuals versus the government.
If you are involved in a bus crash involving a vehicle run by the state or local government, sovereign immunity rules will affect the process for making a claim as well as who you can take action against.
These sovereign immunity rules date back to old English common laws saying you can’t sue the king, but they now apply to impose special processes on cases against the government or its agents.
Who is Responsible for Bus Accident Losses?
No matter what type of bus accident happens, it’s important to understand who could be held responsible for the resulting consequences.
Depending on the type and cause of your crash, you could potentially pursue a legal claim against:
- The bus driver, if you can show the driver was unreasonably negligent or failed to live up to a basic duty to keep passengers and other drivers safe on the roads.
- The bus driver’s employer if you can demonstrate that the driver was acting as an agent of the employer, as companies are vicariously liable for the actions of their on-the-job staff. You can also take action if the company itself was negligent, such as in failing to maintain the bus properly or in its hiring practices.
- The bus manufacturer. If there was something wrong with the bus, such as faulty brakes or a poor design that led to a rollover crash, then you could take legal action against the maker of the vehicle.
Since bus accidents may cause very substantial damage, sometimes to a large number of people, it is important to identify all potential defendants. This helps to ensure that the right people and companies are held accountable and also that there is enough insurance coverage to fully pay for all of the losses that were caused by the bus crash.
How do Bus Accidents Happen?
Buses are large vehicles that have many blind spots. Drivers may also be subject to many distractions, including when there is a bus full of noisy passengers. Drivers are expected to be well-trained to drive these vehicles safely, and must have the correct commercial license given the type of bus and the passengers on board.
Unfortunately, sometimes bus drivers or those who operate busing companies make mistakes or engage in careless behaviors that cause crashes to occur. Some of the most common causes of bus crashes include:
- Driver distraction
- Speeding
- Unsafe lane change
- Problems at intersections
- Failure to check the blind spots on the bus
- Intoxication (CDL drivers are subject to lower BAC limits)
- Drowsy driving if drivers are expected to work shifts that are too long
- Negligent bus maintenance
- Negligent hiring when companies hire inexperienced drivers due to driver shortages
In these and other circumstances, it will be important to identify the root cause of the crash in order to be able to show that the driver was responsible.
Of course, in some cases, it is not the bus driver who is at fault, but others on the road. In these circumstances, bus passengers may be able to pursue claims against the at-fault driver who caused the bus crash to occur.
How Does a Tampa Bus Accident Lawyer Help you?
A Tampa bus accident lawyer can provide invaluable help as you navigate the aftermath of your bus accident and fight for justice.
Diaco Law has worked with victims of all types of bus accidents, and we know the ins and outs of these cases, including how to identify who is to blame and what processes you must follow when pursuing claims after a crash with a city bus or a public school bus.
Some of the different services that we can provide include:
- Gathering evidence from the scene of the bus crash, including security camera footage and, when applicable, dash cam footage
- Taking swift legal action to meet all deadlines so your claim is not time-barred, especially when there are shorter deadlines to pursue a case
- Working with you to prove the extent of your damage, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other losses
- Negotiating a settlement when appropriate if the defendant is willing to offer fair compensation, or going to court if needed to get the money you deserve.
Diaco Law has recovered millions of dollars for bus accident victims, and we know the devastation that can result when a serious or fatal bus crash happens. Give us a call today at (813) 221-7978 or contact us online to talk with a Tampa bus accident lawyer who will give your case the attention and dedicated legal knowledge it deserves.