Transit Bus Accidents

In an urban setting like South Florida, many people rely on public transportation such as buses and trains to travel to and from work, school and other miscellaneous activities. In the U.S., 360 million people will take a bus such as Palm-Tran in Palm Beach county, BCT in Broward or MDT in Miami-Dade for a variety of different reasons. Transit buses are generally safe, however accidents do occur. Across the United States, an average of 1,000 injuries will be sustained by transit bus passengers every month. In the event of a transit bus accident, many people are at high risk of injury. In most transit buses, there are generally no secure seatbelts to be worn in the passenger area of the bus and this puts passengers at great risk of injury in the event of an accident. The Fort Lauderdale transit bus accident attorneys at The Ansara Law Firm have represented clients who have been injured in public transit bus accidents and have the expertise and unique methods to achieve successful results for their clients in court.

Transit buses are very large vehicles capable of inflicting tremendous property damage and personal injuries when accidents happen. Common Carrier laws detail how drivers of public transit vehicles must execute a higher degree of care when transporting the public than they would in a normal personal vehicle. This requirement of extensive care and awareness are to ensure the safety of passengers and to avoid accidents, but what causes a transit bus to be involved in an accident?

• Failure to keep sufficient distance between one’s vehicle and the vehicle ahead: An almost sure-fire way to increase your likelihood of being involved in a rear-end collision are to follow a driver’s bumper too closely, more commonly referred to as “tailgating.” When a bus driver tailgates a car, the leading vehicle could stop short for any reason causing the bus to crash into the leading vehicle’s rear bumper, putting the driver of the bus at fault.
• Failure to stop/yield at an intersection: If a bus fails to stop at an intersection or properly yield to oncoming traffic, the likelihood of an accident will rise.
• Failure to brake: Transit buses carry thousands of pounds of momentum, making braking one of the most important functions of a bus. If a bus driver fails to properly brake, the results could be catastrophic for passengers, pedestrians, motorcycles and other vehicles on the road. The transit bus accident lawyers at our Fort Lauderdale firm have seen many of these cases.
• Loss of control: If the mechanics of a transit bus fail resulting in the loss of control of the vehicle, anybody in the surrounding area and onboard could be at risk of injury or death.
• Negligent driving: If the bus driver is operating a transit bus in a careless or reckless manner, the passengers onboard, the driver herself and bystanders in vehicles and on foot could be put at risk of injury or death. Negligence is defined under Florida law as failure to execute the necessary level of care when executing a specific task. Relative to driving a bus, negligent behavior could include driving too fast, failing to yield or stop, failure to maintain safe control of the vehicle, driving distracted, driving under the influence, failing to use proper turn signals, or failure to maintain a safe distance between the vehicle and others on the road.

In the event of transit bus accidents, those who are injured may file a suit against the public transportation company within a timeframe as dictated by state law in order to receive compensation for any damages resulting from accidents. In order to achieve a ruling in favor of the injured, our Fort Lauderdale transit bus accident lawyers must be able to prove that the defendant acted negligently and caused the accident. “Common Carrier” laws differ from state to state, however most will describe how operators of public transportation need to exercise a higher degree of care than a regular person does when they drive their own personal vehicle.

Injuries sustained from any kind of automotive accident can have range from minor bumps and bruises to paralysis or death. The car accident attorneys at The Ansara Law Firm have handled thousands of accident cases and have seen first-hand the tremendously devastating effects that accidents can inflict in a matter of seconds. If a person who is the primary source of income for a family’s household sustains a debilitating injury or is killed in an accident as a result of negligent behavior of another driver, that family’s security and wellbeing is immediately jeopardized. At The Ansara Law Firm, we passionately believe that no person nor their family should have to suffer medically, emotionally and financially as a result of somebody else’s recklessness or carelessness. Call any of our offices to schedule an appointment with a transit bus accident attorney in the Fort Lauderdale area to discuss the possibility of pursuing compensation for a variety of damages, including:

• Lost Wages
• Loss of Earning Capacity
• Costly Medical Expenses
• Pain and Suffering
• Loss of Consortium
• Inconvenience
• Emotional Trauma
• Replacement Benefits

Don’t leave your family’s future up to chance. If you were involved in an accident on a public transit bus call our attorneys to fight vehemently to rectify the situation.

If you or a loved one recently sustained an injury from an accident involving a public transit bus, call The Ansara Law Firm at (954) 761-4011 today to increase your chances of being compensated.