Bus Accident Attorney in Brookfield, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Brookfield, MO. If you or a loved one has been harmed 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 almost never receive equal attention as plane or train wrecks, even though the can often be similarly hazardous and deadly. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Brookfield, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and obey the rules. When they eschew their duty and disregard the rules it can have devastating, sometimes lifelong effects for you or your loved ones. Your Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make certain that you secure the maximum compensation that you are owed for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over two decades of experience fighting for the rights of the injured in Brookfield and throughout Missouri and fighting back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who egocentrically do not want to be held responsible for their careless behavior. Our Brookfield, MO clients have put their cases and their futures in our accomplished hands, and in total we have collected for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, devotion, resolution, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Brookfield, MO residents heal. You should not have to lose wages, pay for pricey medical costs and also work through the emotional trauma of your injury only because another person did not respect the rules. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a Brookfield, MO bus accident, contact the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation. We begin working on your case immediately, and you do not owe us any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in Brookfield, MO because of someone else's reckless behavior, find out how much your damages may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a Brookfield, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have sustained injuries in a bus accident, you are likely feeling especially powerless. After all, you were not the driver and you got on the bus assuming that the appropriate safety arrangements were adhered to. Brookfield, MO bus companies and drivers have strict laws they have a responsibility to obey, but sometimes they neglect those duties and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is generally exerted by bus accidents, injuries can take years to really heal from, may have permanent effects or in the most terrible cases can even lead to wrongful death. The Brookfield, 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 begin working on your case right away, and work tirelessly until you receive the maximum compensation you deserve. We have experienced with every type of bus accident injury and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Brookfield, MO individuals and families into settling for less compensation than they entitled to. Those Brookfield, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the tough cases. Call us today and let the passionate, seasoned and tenacious bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

The legal process is convoluted and can be difficult to comprehend for Brookfield, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial abilities 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 Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney team, we oversee every aspect of your claim. You can anticipate an accomplished and talented bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the accident site immediately. 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 essential evidence for your claim.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also involved in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry a lot of passengers, there are often many people who want the same answers and compensation you seek. We will conduct official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Collect additional evidence such as tire marks, surveillance videos, police reports, in additional to important details such as how far the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and repairs were performed on the bus. A lot of different factors play a part in bus accidents, and your Burger Law Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney will find out the "whys" of the crash and who needs to be held liable.
• Work with our network of Brookfield, MO crash and medical experts to determine negligence for your bus accident injuries and work out precisely how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are entitled to and we will implement our knowledge and expertise to make certain you receive it.
• Fight back against resistant Brookfield, 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 responsibility to compensate you. When you hire us, you can be sure those ploys will not work in your case.
• Take the fight to trial if the insurance company will not offer a fair settlement, we will use our constantly trained litigation skills to win you a full financial recovery for your damages.

Beyond that, our bus accident attorney team will be keeping you informed entire time. We take control of all communication, documentation and litigation so that you can spend all of your energy on healing and making your family whole again. We charge no attorneys fees until we win your case. If you or a family member has been hurt in a calamitous bus accident, contact an expert and committed bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Since bus drivers, companies and manufacturers all have a part to play in running a bus safely you will first need to discover the cause of the accident before determining who was negligent. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every variety of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to find out who is responsible for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Brookfield, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• The age of the driver and their experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that recently licensed drivers under the age of 25, as well as more experienced drivers over 55 years old were more likely to be driving when a bus accident took place.
• Driver behavior. While the same study reported that a mere 4 percent of bus accidents were owing to a grave offense such as driving while intoxicated, a different study by the University of Michigan found that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus wrecks had committed driving errors, for example, speeding, being drowsy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A lot of bus drivers, especially the ones that are employed by commercial bus companies such as Greyhound that require drivers to drive hundreds of miles at all hours of the day or night, become drowsy and can even fall asleep at 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 frequently <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/us/greyhound-investigation/" target="_blank” rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener title="CNN"not enforced or followed.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ weight and the difficulty of driving them, slick roads or Brookfield, MO construction areas can be particularly dangerous for bus commuters. Sometimes a third party such as a construction company is at fault. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you discover if that is true in your case.
• Negligence by the bus company. Bus companies are overseen by regulatory entities, 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 people responsible for inspections of more than 765,000 trucks and buses, or only 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews often cannot stay ahead of the amount of inspections required. Some Brookfield, MO bus companies do not properly maintain their vehicles, causing them to be a hazard. Furthermore, bus companies need to make sure that their drivers are adequately trained and are not overworked.
• Dangerous roads. Faults in the road and road conditions can cause a driver to lose control and crash. A Few common examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Uneven pavement or cracks in the pavement
  • Defective or missing traffic signals
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Poor lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the hazardous condition has been on the Brookfield, MO street, the better your chances of holding the negligent parties responsible. The negligent party may be a local Brookfield, MO government, or a third party whom the government paid to repair the condition but either did not do so quickly enough or did not adequately repair it.

Once your talented Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney deduces the cause of your wreck, they will be able to establish who is at-fault for your injuries and how to proceed with winning you a maximum financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are frequently found negligent in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are considered common carriers legally speaking, which means they have a duty of care to their patrons to maintain their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to make sure that their drivers are not driving too many hours in a day. Despite saying that safety is their top priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not obeying its own rules in regards to driver fatigue. Drivers are technically mandated to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to inhibit drowsiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is rarely obeyed as too many breaks could lead to financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study found that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were because of driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound passengers have stated that their driver was eating when the accident took place, which is an example of distracted driving.

Making certain that Brookfield, MO buses are sufficiently inspected and maintained 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 carry out routine maintenance or neglecting to repair a broken part or component. Older buses are particularly prone to breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Finally, bus companies cannot use negligent hiring practices. All drivers need to be sufficiently licensed and trained, and should only be permitted to drive after passing strict background checks. Your Brookfield, 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 wreck happened.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have an obligation to guarantee the safety of their products and quickly issue recalls in the event of a faulty product. If they approve an inherently unsafe design or do not recall a component that they knew or should have known was not functioning properly, they are guilty of product liability. While they may attempt to place the blame on someone else, your Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure reckless parties are held responsible for their behavior.

The Brookfield or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be catastrophic because of the amount of people involved and because they usually take place in densely populated areas. While you can seek a financial recovery from the Brookfield, MO government, there are specific procedures for doing so. Missouri has stricter protections for governmental entities and government employees than for the average citizen in personal injury claims. If you want to file a suit against a municipality or government employee, you must file it within 90 days of the injury with the Office of Administration’s Risk Management Division. That is why it is necessary to get in touch with a Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney at once 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 a negligent or thoughtless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash because of driver error. If they became distracted by eating or talking, did not stop the bus when they were feeling fatigued, did not pay attention to the Brookfield, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the foolish 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 safety and your life. If a bus driver does not take that obligation seriously and causes you injury, you can be confident that the committed and aggressive bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them accountable.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto collision, there are often two or more drivers, and in some cases they each may shoulder a portion of the blame. Another driver’s negligence, such as speeding, driving while intoxicated or pulling in front of the bus too quickly can hurt you. If you were hurt in a bus accident where there was another driver or drivers involved, your knowledgeable and seasoned Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney will help you establish 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 Brookfield and Missouri. Nationally, school bus accidents account for 40 percent of all fatal bus crashes. While often the driver, bus company or bus manufacturer is responsible, a school district in Brookfield, MO may also be held accountable, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were particularly dangerous or they did not conduct 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 Brookfield, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you receive in a bus accident case will generally depend on the severity of your injuries and the ramifications they have on your life. You may have gotten a mild concussion that merely needed a quick trip to an emergency room in Brookfield, MO and a couple weeks off work. Or, you may have received a devastating spinal cord injury that leaves you disabled and in need of assistive devices for the rest of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will ensure that you secure a great 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, physical therapy, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity

  We work alongside our network of medical and economic experts to determine 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 severe your injuries and however much they have impacted your life, Burger Law's Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney team will fight tirelessly to ensure that you recover maximum compensation for all of your damages.

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

• Truck Crash Lawyers in Missouri
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Missouri
• Car Accident Attorney in Missouri

Call Our Brookfield, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every category of bus accident case and know the incalculable anguish and calamitous effect it can have on your and the people you care about. Your Brookfield, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is empathetic, accomplished, straightforward and relentless and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have acquired over the past two decades to secure you the full recovery you are rightfully owed. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a bus accident, do not delay. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free consultation.