Bus Accident Attorney in Parkville, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Parkville, MO. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a destructive bus accident, take the first step in your recovery by calling Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or by contacting us online.

Bus accidents almost never get the same attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can frequently be equally as dangerous and deadly. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Parkville, MO bus drivers and bus companies to maintain our safety and respect the rules. When they break that trust and do not respect the rules it can have ruinous, sometimes lifelong outcomes for you or the people you care about. Your Parkville, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make certain that you get the maximum compensation that you are owed for your damages.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has more than two decades of experience defending the injured in Parkville and throughout Missouri and fighting back against bullies like resistant insurance companies and people who egocentrically do not want to take responsibility for their careless actions. Our Parkville, MO clients have put their cases and their futures in our accomplished hands, and in total we have recovered for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their determination, devotion, tenacity, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Parkville, MO residents become whole again. You should not have to lose work, pay for pricey medical costs and also deal with the emotional shock of your injury only because someone else did not respect the rules. If you or someone you care about has been harmed in a Parkville, MO bus accident, call the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review. We start working on your case at once, and you do not owe us any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in Parkville, MO because of another person's negligent behavior, discover how much your injury may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a Parkville, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have sustained injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially unprotected. After all, you were not the driver and you got on the bus assuming that the proper safety protocols were followed. Parkville, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent rules they have a responsibility to obey, but sometimes they fail in those duties and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is frequently exerted by bus accidents, injuries can take years to fully recover from, may have lifelong consequences or in the most tragic instances can even lead to wrongful death. The Parkville, 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 investigating on your case at once, and work tirelessly until you get the best possible compensation you are owed. We have seen every type of bus accident case and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Parkville, MO individuals and families into settling for a lower recovery than they deserve. Those Parkville, MO insurance companies are afraid of us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the complicated cases. Call us today and let the compassionate, seasoned and tenacious bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal proceedings are complicated and can be difficult to comprehend for Parkville, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial capabilities of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have more than 20 years of experience fighting back against bullies and fighting the hard fight. When you hire our Parkville, MO bus accident attorney team, we oversee every aspect of your case. You can anticipate an experienced and knowledgeable bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the crash site the first chance we get. When you call us, we can have a bus accident lawyer on the scene at any time during the day or night in order to secure important evidence for your claim.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also experienced injuries in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry multiple passengers, there are almost always a lot of people who want the same answers and financial recovery you do. Eyewitness testimony is a vital part of winning your case.
• Obtain additional evidence such as tire marks, security footage, police reports, as well as key details such as how long the driver had driven without taking a break or when the last inspection and repairs were performed on the bus. A lot of different factors give rise to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Parkville, MO bus accident attorney will find out the "whys" of the accident and who needs to be held liable.
• Utilize our network of Parkville, MO accident and medical experts to determine negligence for your bus accident injuries and calculate precisely how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are entitled to and we will utilize our know-how and expertise to make sure you recover it.
• Fight back against resistant Parkville, MO insurance companies who care more about their bottom line than your health. We have seen every trick in the book that insurance companies use to try and devalue your injuries. 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 does not offer a fair settlement, we will use our finely honed litigation skills to secure you a great financial recovery for your damages.

Furthermore, our bus accident attorney team will be by your side the whole time. We manage all communication, documentation and litigation so that you can spend all of your energy on healing and making your family whole again. We collect no attorneys fees until you get the best possible compensation. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a catastrophic bus accident, contact an expert and devoted 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 operating a bus in a safe manner you will first need to determine the cause of the accident before determining who was negligent. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Parkville, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every type of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to discover who needs to be held accountable for your injuries.

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

• Driver age and experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that novice 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 occurred.
• Driver action. While the same study reported that a mere 4 percent of bus accidents were owing to a serious offense such as the driver being intoxicated, a different study by the University of Michigan found that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus collisions had committed driving errors, for example, speeding, being drowsy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A lot of bus drivers, especially the ones that drive for commercial bus companies 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 at the wheel. While most busing companies have rules about how many hours a driver can drive during a day or how frequently they have to take a break, those rules are often <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/us/greyhound-investigation/" target="_blank” rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener title="CNN"not obligated or followed.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ weight and the difficulty of steering them, icy roads or Parkville, MO construction areas can be especially dangerous for bus passengers. In some cases a third party such as a construction company will be liable. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you discover if that is the case.
• Negligence by the bus company. Bus companies are overseen by regulatory bodies, 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 reviews for more than 765,000 motor carriers, or only 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means inspectors often cannot keep up with the amount of inspections required. Some Parkville, MO bus companies do not correctly maintain their vehicles, causing them to be dangerous. Furthermore, bus companies are required to make sure that their drivers are sufficiently trained and are not overworked.
• Dangerous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can lead to a driver losing control and causing an accident. Some common examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Defective or missing traffic signals
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Insufficient lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The longer the hazardous condition has been on the Parkville, MO street, the better chance you have of holding the at-fault parties accountable. The at-fault party may be a local Parkville, MO government, or a third party whom the government paid to eliminate the problem but either did not do so in a timely fashion or did not properly repair it.

Once your experienced Parkville, MO bus accident attorney establishes the reasons for your accident, they will be able to ascertain who is responsible for your injuries and how to proceed with securing you the best possible financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are typically found negligent in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transport 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 insisting that safety is their foremost priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not following its own rules in regards to driver fatigue. Drivers are technically required to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to prevent sleepiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is not often obeyed 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 due to driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound riders have reported that their driver was eating when the accident happened, which constitutes distracted driving.

Ensuring that Parkville, MO buses are properly inspected and maintained and that they have safety equipment such as seatbelts are also the responsibility of the bus company. A bus accident might be a consequence of a bus company either neglecting to perform routine maintenance or failing to repair a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are particularly at risk of breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, bus companies cannot use negligent hiring practices. All drivers need to be correctly licensed and trained, and should only be able to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your Parkville, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will conduct a complete 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 certify the safety of their products and quickly announce recalls in the event of a malfunctioning product. If they approve an inherently faulty 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 somebody else, your Parkville, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure careless parties are held accountable for their actions.

The Parkville or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be ruinous because of the amount of people involved and because they often transpire in densely populated areas. While you can make a claim against the Parkville, MO government, there are particular 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 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 essential to call a Parkville, MO bus accident attorney straight away 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 operating a motor vehicle “within the course of their employment.” This means that you can sue or make a claim against a liable or reckless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash owing to driver error. If they became distracted by eating or talking, did not stop driving when they were feeling fatigued, did not pay attention to the Parkville, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the terrible decision to drive drunk, they need to be held accountable just like bus companies sometimes have to be. When you board a bus you trust that driver with your health and your life. If a bus driver does not take that obligation to heart and causes you injury, you can be sure that the devoted and tenacious bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make them pay.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto crash, there are frequently two or more drivers, and in some instances 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 injure you. If you were hurt in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your talented and experienced Parkville, MO bus accident attorney will help you ascertain if they are at fault and if you should make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the the type of bus crash we most typically see in Parkville 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 Parkville, MO may also be held accountable, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were particularly dangerous or they did not conduct adequate 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 Parkville, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you are awarded in a bus accident case will usually be based on the severity of your injuries and the repercussions they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained wrist that just required a quick trip to an emergency room in Parkville, MO and a couple weeks off work. Or, you may have received a catastrophic 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 Parkville, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make sure that you receive a maximum 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, rehabilitation, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning potential

  We utilize our network of medical and economic experts to compute the exact dollar amount you are entitled to, 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 grave your injuries and however much they have impacted your life, Burger Law's Parkville, MO bus accident attorney team will fight relentlessly to ensure that you get 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 Parkville, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every type of bus accident case and know the tremendous pain and catastrophic effect it can have on your and your loved ones. Your Parkville, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is empathetic, accomplished, trustworthy and relentless and will use every bit of the knowledge and skills 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, there is no time to wait. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case review.