Bus Accident Attorney in St. Louis, MO

If you or someone you care about has been injured in a disastrous bus accident, take control of your recovery by calling Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or by contacting us online.

Bus accidents rarely ever receive equal attention as plane or train wrecks, even though the can frequently be similarly dangerous and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust St. Louis, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and follow the rules. When they break that trust and break the rules it can have ruinous, sometimes lifelong outcomes for you or your loved ones. Your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will ensure that you collect the best possible compensation that you are entitled to for your damages.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has more than 20 years of experience defending the injured in St. Louis and throughout Missouri and pushing back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who carelessly do not want to take responsibility for their thoughtless actions. Many St. Louis, MO residents have put their claims and their futures in our capable hands, and to date we have secured for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their determination, dedication, relentlessness, knowledge and experience to help deliver justice in personal injury cases and help St. Louis, MO residents become whole again. You should not have to lose wages, pay for exorbitant medical costs and also manage the emotional scars of your injury only because somebody else did not respect the rules. If you or a family member has been injured in a St. Louis, MO bus accident, call the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a complimentary case review. We begin working on your claim straight away, and you do not owe us any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in St. Louis, MO because of someone else’s thoughtless actions, learn how much your injury may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a St. Louis, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have sustained injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially undefended. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on the bus under the assumption that the proper safety protocols were followed. St. Louis, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent rules they have an obligation to follow, but sometimes they fail in those duties and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is generally caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to really recover from, may have permanent consequences or in the most tragic instances can even lead to wrongful death. The St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will stand in your corner so you do not need to go it alone. When you hire us we get to work on on your case at once, and work relentlessly until you receive the maximum compensation you deserve. We have seen every type of bus accident claim and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured St. Louis, MO individuals and families into settling for less compensation than they are owed. Those St. Louis, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the complicated cases. Call us today and let the passionate, seasoned and relentless bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you safeguard your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal procedures are convoluted and can be difficult to comprehend for St. Louis, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial capabilities of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have more than two decades of experience standing up to bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every aspect of your claim. You can anticipate a seasoned and knowledgeable bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the accident site as soon as possible. When you call us, we can have a bus accident lawyer on the scene at any time of the day or night in order to acquire vital evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also involved in the crash or were close by. As buses carry a variety of passengers, there are almost always other passengers who want the same answers and financial recovery you seek. Eyewitness testimony is a essential part of winning your case.
• Collect further evidence such as tire marks, surveillance videos, police reports, in additional to key details such as how many miles the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and maintenance was conducted on the bus. Several different factors play a part in bus accidents, and your Burger Law St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney will discover the “whys” of the accident and who needs to be held accountable.
• Utilize our network of St. Louis, MO crash and medical experts to determine liability for your bus accident injuries and assess precisely how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are owed and we will use our know-how and expertise to make sure you collect it.
• Stand up to resistant St. Louis, MO insurance companies who care more about their bottom line than your well-being. We have seen every trick in the book that insurance companies use to try and weasel their way out of their duty to compensate you. When you hire us, you can be sure those deceptive maneuvers will not work in your case.
• Take your case to trial if the insurance company does not offer a fair settlement, we will use our finely honed litigation skills to win you a full financial recovery for your damages.

Furthermore, our bus accident attorney team will be in your corner whole time. We oversee all communication, documentation and litigation so that you can focus all of your energy on healing and making your family whole again. You owe us no attorneys fees until we win your case. If you or a loved one has been injured in a devastating bus accident, contact an expert and devoted bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Since it necessitates so many people to run a bus safely, from manufacturers, to bus companies to drivers, you will first need to find out the cause of the accident before determining who is liable. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every kind of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to determine who is responsible for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | St. Louis, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• Driver age and experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that inexperienced drivers under 25 years old, as well as more experienced drivers over 55 years old were more likely to be driving when a bus accident transpired.
• Driver behavior. While the same study reported that just 4 percent of bus accidents were because of a grave offense such as drunk driving, another study by the University of Michigan reported that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus accidents had committed driving errors, such as speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A large portion of bus drivers, especially the ones that drive for commercial bus lines such as Greyhound that necessitate drivers to drive hundreds of miles at all hours of the day or night, become drowsy and can even fall asleep behind the wheel. While most busing companies have specifications about how many hours a driver can drive during a day or how often they have to take a break, those regulations are often <a href=”https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/us/greyhound-investigation/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noreferrer noopener title=”CNN”not mandatory or obeyed.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ weight and the difficulty of driving them, slippery roads or St. Louis, MO construction areas can be particularly risky for bus commuters. Sometimes a third party such as a construction company is negligent. Burger Law’s bus accident attorney will help you determine if that applies case.
• Negligence by the bus company. Bus companies are regulated, but much less than other transportation industries. A 2011 study by the National Transportation Safety Board found that The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has only 878 inspectors responsible for reviews for over 765,000 motor carriers, or only 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews generally cannot stay ahead of the number of inspections required. Some St. Louis, MO bus companies do not properly maintain their vehicles, causing them to be less safe. Furthermore, bus companies are mandated to ensure that their drivers are adequately trained and are not overworked.
• Hazardous roads. Hazards in the road and road conditions can cause a driver to lose control and crash. Some typical examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Defective or missing traffic signals
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the hazardous condition has been on the St. Louis, MO road, the better your chances of holding the at-fault parties accountable. The negligent party may be a local St. Louis, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to fix the problem but either did not do so quickly enough or did not properly repair it.

Once your accomplished St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney ascertains the reasons behind your accident, they will be able to ascertain who is liable for your injuries and how to proceed with delivering you a maximum financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are frequently found at-fault in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transport buses such as Greyhounds are considered common carriers legally speaking, which means they have a duty of care to their customers to maintain their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to make sure that their drivers are not driving too many miles in a day. Despite saying that safety is their foremost priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not complying with its own rules in regards to driver fatigue. Drivers are theoretically required to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to inhibit fatigue. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not obeyed as too many breaks could cause financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study stated that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were because of driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound riders have reported that their driver was eating when the accident took place, which is an example of distracted driving.

Making certain that St. Louis, MO buses are adequately inspected and repaired and that they have safety equipment such as seatbelts are also the responsibility of the bus company. A bus accident may be the result of a bus company either neglecting to conduct routine inspections or failing to fix a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are especially susceptible to breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, bus companies need to be vigilant in their hiring practices. All drivers need to be sufficiently licensed and trained, and should only be able to drive after passing strict background checks. Your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will perform a full investigation into the bus company’s hiring practices and the person who was driving when the crash occurred.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a responsibility to certify the safety of their products and quickly announce recalls in the event of a malfunctioning product. If they approve an inherently defective design or do not recall a component that they knew or should have known was not functioning correctly, they are guilty of product liability. While they may try to place the blame on someone else, your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure liable parties are held accountable for their behavior.

The St. Louis or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be catastrophic because of the amount of people involved and because they generally transpire in densely populated areas. While you can seek a financial recovery from the St. Louis, MO government, there are specific procedures for doing so. Missouri has sovereign immunities for governmental entities and government employees than for the average citizen in injury liability suits. If you seek to make a claim against a municipality or government employee, you must file it within 90 days of the accident with the Office of Administration’s Risk Management Division. That is why it is crucial to get in touch with a St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney immediately after your accident. Do not delay, call the trusted Burger Law bus accident injury lawyers now at (314) 500-HURT.

Missouri Revised Statute §537.600 grants sovereign immunity to government entities and employees except against a government employee who was driving a motor vehicle “within the course of their employment.” This means that you can sue or make a claim against an at-fault or reckless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash due to recklessness. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or talking, did not stop when they were feeling drowsy, did not pay attention to the St. Louis, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the horrible decision to drive drunk, they need to be held responsible just like their employers sometimes have to be. When you get on a bus you trust that driver with your well-being and your life. If a bus driver does not take that duty to heart and causes you injury, you can be sure that the devoted and relentless bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make them pay.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto wreck, there are often two or more drivers, and in some instances they each may shoulder a portion of the blame. Another driver’s recklessness, such as speeding, driving while intoxicated or pulling in front of the bus too quickly can hurt you. If you were harmed in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your talented and experienced St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney will help you determine if they are responsible and if you should make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the most common type of bus accident in St. Louis and Missouri. Nationally, school bus accidents account for 40 percent of all fatal bus wrecks. While often the driver, bus company or bus manufacturer is liable, a school district in St. Louis, MO may also be held accountable, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when weather conditions were particularly bad or they did not carry out sufficient background checks when hiring drivers.

Below are some helpful links and frequently asked questions for bus accident injuries and other types of injuries:

• Do I have to Talk to the Insurance Company Before I Talk to a Lawyer?
• How Much to Expect in an Auto Accident Settlement
• What Happens During Litigation?
• Does My Family Have a Wrongful Death Claim?
• Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim

What Compensation Can A Bus Accident Attorney in St. Louis, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you collect in a bus accident case will usually depend on the severity of your injuries and the repercussions they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained wrist that merely required a quick trip to an emergency room in St. Louis, MO and a week or two off work. Or, you may have sustained a devastating spinal cord injury that leaves you disabled and in need of special equipment for the remainder of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make certain that you are awarded a full financial recovery for all of the pain and inconvenience your injury has caused and will continue to cause. Missouri Senate Bill 239 defines the damages you can receive as:

• Economic damages, including:
  • Medical expenses, such as hospital bills, rehabilitation, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity

  We work with our network of medical and economic experts to compute the exact dollar amount you deserve, accounting for inflation for future lost earning potential or future medical expenses.

• Noneconomic damages, including:
  • pain and suffering
  • mental anguish
  • inconvenience
  • physical impairment
  • disfigurement
  • loss of capacity to enjoy life
  • loss of consortium

However serious your injuries and however much they have affected your life, Burger Law’s St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney team will fight tirelessly to ensure that you receive maximum compensation for all of your damages.

Learn more about our various practice areas by clicking the links below:

• Survival Action Lawyer in Missouri
• Truck Crash Lawyers in Missouri
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Missouri

Call Our St. Louis, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every kind of bus accident case and know the incalculable pain and devastating effect it can have on your and your family. Your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is empathetic, accomplished, honest and tenacious and will use every bit of the knowledge and skills we have gained over the past two decades to win you the full recovery you rightfully deserve. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a bus accident, do not delay. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case review.

Client Reviews

What our clients are saying about us

Juanita Matthews

Year of 2023

This law firm is absolutely amazing. They took on my case, when nobody else would! They fought hard for me when it seemed there was no hope. They kept me informed and always asked for my input before making decisions on my case. Gary puts himself into every case unlike most law firm owners. Gary and his team really care about every one of their clients, and fights hard to get you a fair settlement. They actually won my case out of court, and then reduced my fees to make sure I could get my car fixed and be able to get back to some normality. I would recommend Burger Law over and above any other firm! If you go somewhere else you aren’t getting the best!

Shaunda S.

7 months ago

I am very happy with the staff at Burger Law. I mostly worked with Michael Sheldon, and he did an amazing job. I trusted him completely with my case, and he did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend this team if your ever in need of good attorneys.

Emelia M.

3 months ago

Burger Law Firm is fantastic. Laura and Genevieve were so amazing and helpful throughout the entire process. They helped me with my personal injury case every step of the way and succeeded at getting me the results I desired.

Helen L.

a year ago

We had a great experience with Burger Law for representing us after a serious car accident. Truly impressed by how professional and supportive the entire team is. And, many thanks to Genavieve and Laura – you are amazing!

Judy M.

a year ago

They did an amazing job on my case! Communication with them was great!!! Kept me informed and in the loop with everything that was going on!!! Will definitely be the 1st ones I’ll call if ever I’m in another accident!!! Thank you very much!!!

Chelsea C.

5 months ago

Let me tell you something about Burger Law.. they are so attentive and kind. Jennifer is my savior!! I love the whole team!!! They are truly a miracle team!! I appreciate their business and would recommend it to others.

David D.

2 months ago

Absolutely the best law firm in the St. Louis area. No matter the size of your case you are treated as if you are the only client on the roster. Will explain anything thoroughly and they work around your availability. Very impressed and appreciative of the service.

Lisa B.

11 months ago

Gary and Casey took great care of me for 2.5 years as my lawsuit was finally settled. I feel he helped me achieve justice for me and my 4 children after their father died from medical malpractice and neglect. Thanks to Gary, my kids now have a great start to their college and adult lives. Thank you Gary and Casey, for fighting for us so hard at our most trying and difficult time in our lives thus far. Love and God bless from my family to yours!

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