Need an Injury Attorney in Utah for Your Bus Accident?
From 2002 to 2006 in Utah, a study was conducted that shows us there were about 462 accidents involving buses. This means that there were about 92 bus accidents every single year throughout the state, injuring 461. When you entrust your life in the hands of a bus driver, you expect to be cared for to the best of their ability, but this does not always happen and sometimes a terrifying accident results. With many people traveling to and from work and seeing the sights in Utah, it’s no surprise that bus accidents happen every year. If you have been injured due to the negligence of a bus driver or another party, you may have a claim. We can help.
Bus Accidents: Common Carrier Law
If you ride the bus from work or just because it’s your favorite type of transportation, you are utilizing something known as a “common carrier.” Common carriers are a special entity that offers their business as a way to transport people or goods from one place to another for a fee. There are many other types of common carriers out there in which you have probably used for services, such as passenger trains, taxicabs, and more. Common carriers are tasked with the job of taking you from one place to another – but this also means that they must do anything in their nature to keep you safe from harm. This means that every common carrier driver out there must be certified to operate the mode of transportation that they use and use the highest degree of care when it comes to the safety of their passengers, under all circumstances.
Every year, people are injured in bus accidents because a driver failed to abide by the rules of the road or keep riders safe from harm. And sometimes it’s not just an accident that causes harm. Let’s say that there is a broken step on the bus and the bus driver knows it but does nothing to remedy the situation. If you fell off the step and broke your arm, the driver could be liable for injuries because they should have known about the condition and still did nothing to protect riders from injury.
When Negligence Occurs in a Bus Accident
Yes, the majority of bus drivers are going to do anything in their nature to protect you from harm. Unfortunately, others are not going to uphold their duty to you and this means that they could put you in a position that risks your life. Bus drivers can act negligently in many ways, from texting while driving, to taking their eyes off the road to driving fatigued even when they know that they are exhausted. And, when one of these serious accidents occurs, it is not just the bus driver that can be held liable for an accident – it’s the company, too. Bus companies are consistently being named in personal injury suits for not properly training drivers, or failing to maintain vehicles even though they are supposed to routinely.
If you have one of these specific cases, you will find that it may be difficult to compensate for your injuries because buses are owned and controlled by governmental agencies. This includes anything from the bus you take to work or the school bus that your child rides in every single day. You want to ensure that you are naming the correct parties and filing your suit on time in this case, because you may have to abide by much stricter deadlines when it comes to your case. That’s why, if you or your loved one have been injured in a serious bus accident, you should act quickly to gain the compensation necessary for your accident. Call us for more information on where to start.