Bus Accident Attorney in Oak Grove, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Oak Grove, MO. If you or a loved one has been injured in a devastating bus accident, take control of your recovery by calling Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or by contacting us online.

Bus accidents hardly ever get equal attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can frequently be similarly hazardous and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Oak Grove, MO bus drivers and bus companies to maintain our safety and follow the rules. When they eschew their obligations and disregard the rules it can have ruinous, sometimes permanent effects for you or your loved ones. Your Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make sure that you win the maximum compensation that you deserve for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over two decades of experience defending the injured in Oak Grove and throughout Missouri and fighting back against bullies like resistant insurance companies and people who selfishly do not want to be held accountable for their thoughtless behavior. Many Oak Grove, MO residents have put their claims and their futures in our knowledgeable hands, and in total we have recovered for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, devotion, persistence, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Oak Grove, MO residents heal. You should not have to lose wages, pay for sky-high medical costs and also work through the emotional shock of your injury just because somebody else broke the rules. If you or someone you care about has been harmed in a Oak Grove, MO bus accident, reach out to the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation. We start 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 Oak Grove, MO because of another person's careless actions, find out how much your injury may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a Oak Grove, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you were caused injuries in a bus accident, you are probably feeling especially vulnerable. After all, you were not the driver and you got on board the bus presuming that the appropriate safety arrangements were obeyed. Oak Grove, MO bus companies and drivers have firm laws they are supposed to respect, but sometimes they fail in those obligations and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is frequently caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to truly recover from, may have lifelong effects or in the most terrible instances can even cause wrongful death. The Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will stand by your side so you do not need to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we start working on your case right away, and work tirelessly until you are awarded the best possible compensation you are owed. We have made a claim for every type of bus accident claim and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Oak Grove, MO individuals and families into accepting a lower recovery than they entitled to. Those Oak Grove, MO insurance companies are afraid of us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes on – and wins – the tough cases. Call us today and let the empathetic, accomplished and relentless bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you safeguard your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal proceedings are complicated and can be unforgiving to Oak Grove, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial experience of an accomplished bus accident attorney. For over 20 years fighting back against bullies and fighting the hard fight. When you hire our Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every facet of your claim. You can anticipate a seasoned and talented bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the crash 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 obtain vital evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also received injuries in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry multiple passengers, there are almost always other passengers who want the same answers and financial recovery you do. Eyewitness testimony is a vital part of winning your case.
• Acquire additional evidence such as tire marks, surveillance videos, police reports, and important details such as how many miles the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and repairs were conducted on the bus. Several different factors contribute to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney will discover the "whys" of the accident and who needs to be held liable.
• Work alongside our network of Oak Grove, MO accident 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 entitled to and we will implement our savvy and expertise to make certain you recover it.
• Fight back against resistant Oak Grove, MO insurance companies who are more interested in their profits than your health. We have seen every trick in the book that insurance companies use to try and avoid their responsibility to compensate you. When you hire us, you can be sure those schemes will not work in your case.
• Take your case to trial if the insurance company will not offer a fair settlement, we will use our constantly trained litigation skills to secure you a great financial recovery for your damages.

Additionally, our bus accident attorney team will be keeping you informed entire time. We manage all communication, documentation and litigation so that you can focus 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 someone you care about has been injured in a calamitous bus accident, contact an expert and dedicated bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Because it requires so many people to operate a bus safely, from manufacturers, to bus companies to drivers, you will first need to determine the cause of the accident before determining who caused your injuries. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Oak Grove, 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 discover who is liable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Oak Grove, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• The age of the driver and their 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 only 4 percent of bus accidents were due to an egregious offense such as driving while intoxicated, a different study by the University of Michigan stated that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus collisions had been cited with driving errors, for instance, speeding, being fatigued or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A lot of bus drivers, especially those that are employed by 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 regulations 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 required or complied with.
• Road hazards. Given buses’ size and the intricacy of driving them, slippery roads or Oak Grove, MO construction areas can be especially risky for bus riders. In some cases a third party such as a construction company will be at fault. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you discover 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 personnel responsible for inspections of over 765,000 commercial motor vehicles, or only 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews often cannot stay ahead of the amount of inspections required. Some Oak Grove, MO bus companies do not adequately inspect their vehicles, causing them to be dangerous. Furthermore, bus companies need to make sure that their drivers are sufficiently trained and do not drive too long without a break.
• Dangerous roads. Faults in the road and road conditions can cause a driver to lose control and crash. A Few typical examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Malfunctioning or missing traffic lights
  • Obstacles on the road, for instance branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Poor lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The longer the dangerous condition has been on the Oak Grove, MO road, the better chance you have of holding the negligent parties responsible. The negligent party may be a local Oak Grove, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to eliminate the issue but either did not do so quickly enough or did not properly repair it.

Once your skilled Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney confirm the cause of your crash, they will be able to confirm who is responsible for your injuries and how to go forward with delivering you a full financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are generally found liable in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are deemed common carriers legally speaking, which means they have a duty of care to their riders to look out for their safety. One aspect of that duty of care is to make sure that their drivers are not being overworked. Despite saying that safety is their utmost priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not obeying its own rules in regards to driver fatigue. Drivers are theoretically mandated to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to prevent sleepiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not followed as too many breaks could cause financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study reported that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were caused by driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound customers have reported that their driver was eating during the time of a crash, which is an example of distracted driving.

Ensuring that Oak Grove, MO buses are adequately inspected and maintained and that they have safety equipment such as seatbelts are also the responsibility of the bus company. A bus accident could be because of a bus company either failing to carry out routine maintenance or neglecting to fix a broken part or component. Older buses are particularly vulnerable to breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Finally, bus companies need to be prudent in their hiring practices. All drivers need to be adequately licensed and trained, and should only be able to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will carry out a full investigation into the bus company's hiring practices and the person who was driving when the crash happened.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a duty to ensure 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 try to shift the blame to somebody else, your Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure at-fault parties are held responsible for their behavior.

The Oak Grove or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be devastating because of the number of people involved and because they frequently take place in densely populated areas. While you can seek a financial recovery from the Oak Grove, MO government, there are special procedures for doing so. Missouri has sovereign immunities for governmental entities and government employees than for the average citizen in personal injury suits. If you want to file a suit 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 vital to call a Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney immediately after your injury. There is no time to wait, 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 reckless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash due to negligence. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or talking, did not stop the bus when they were feeling overly tired, did not pay attention to the Oak Grove, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the foolish decision to drive drunk, they need to be held accountable just like their employers sometimes have to be. When you go on board a bus you trust that driver with your health and your life. If a bus driver does not take that duty seriously and causes you injury, you can be sure that the devoted and aggressive bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make them pay.

The Other Driver

Like any type of motor vehicle accident, two or more drivers are frequently involved, and in some cases they each may bear a percentage of the blame. Another driver’s recklessness, such as speeding, driving while intoxicated or pulling in front of the bus too quickly can injure you. If you were injured in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your knowledgeable and experienced Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney will help you establish if they are responsible and if you can make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the most common type of bus crash in Oak Grove and Missouri. Nationally, school bus accidents account for 40 percent of all fatal bus accidents. While often the driver, bus company or bus manufacturer is at fault, a school district in Oak Grove, 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 Oak Grove, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you collect in a bus accident case will typically be based on the seriousness of your injuries and how they have affected and will impact they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained wrist that merely required a quick trip to an emergency room in Oak Grove, MO and a week or two 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 Oak Grove, 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 costs, such as hospital bills, physical therapy, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity

  We utilize our network of medical and economic experts to quantify 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 impacted your life, Burger Law's Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney team will fight aggressively to ensure that you collect the best possible 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 Oak Grove, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every kind of bus accident case and know the incalculable anguish and devastating effect it can have on your and the people you care about. Your Oak Grove, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is compassionate, accomplished, trustworthy and tenacious and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have gained over the past two decades to win you the maximum recovery you are rightfully owed. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a bus accident, do not wait another second. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free case evaluation.