Bus Accident Attorney in Platte County, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Platte County, MO. If you or someone you care about has been harmed in a catastrophic 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 rarely get the same 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 Platte County, 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 devastating, sometimes permanent consequences for you or the people you care about. Your Platte County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will ensure that you receive the best possible compensation that you are entitled to for your damages.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over two decades of experience fighting for the rights of the injured in Platte County 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 behavior. Many Platte County, MO residents have put their claims and their futures in our knowledgeable hands, and to date we have gotten them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, dedication, resolution, knowledge and experience to help find justice in personal injury cases and help Platte County, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose wages, pay for exorbitant medical costs and also deal with the emotional trauma of your injury just because someone else disregarded the rules. If you or a family member has been harmed in a Platte County, MO bus accident, reach out to 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 case right away, and we do not charge any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in Platte County, MO because of somebody else's negligent behavior, learn how much your claim may be worth by filling out our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a Platte County, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you were caused injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially undefended. After all, you were not the driver and you got on board the bus supposing that the appropriate safety arrangements were adhered to. Platte County, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent laws they have a duty to follow, but sometimes they fail in those obligations and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is typically caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to really heal from, may have permanent effects or in the most terrible instances can even cause wrongful death. The Platte County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will stand in your corner so you do not have to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we begin working on your case right away, and work tirelessly until you get the full compensation you are owed. We have made a claim for every type of bus accident injury and know every trick insurance companies use to try and deceive injured Platte County, MO individuals and families into accepting a lower recovery than they deserve. Those Platte County, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the difficult cases. Call us today and let the compassionate, accomplished and aggressive bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal procedures are complicated and can be difficult to comprehend for Platte County, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial experience of an accomplished bus accident attorney. For over two decades standing up to bullies and fighting the hard fight. When you hire our Platte County, MO bus accident attorney team, we manage every detail of your claim. You can bank on a seasoned and skilled bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the accident site the first chance we get. When you call us, we can have a bus accident lawyer at the site at any time of the day or night in order to obtain key evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also sustained injuries in the crash or were close by. As buses carry a lot of passengers, there are generally many passengers who want the same answers and compensation you do. We will conduct official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Obtain further evidence such as tire marks, surveillance footage, police reports, and key details such as how far the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and repairs were done on the bus. A lot of different factors cause bus accidents, and your Burger Law Platte County, MO bus accident attorney will find out the "whys" of the crash and who needs to be held liable.
• Work with our network of Platte County, MO accident and medical experts to determine liability for your bus accident injuries and compute 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 recover it.
• Stand up to resistant Platte County, MO insurance companies who are more concerned for their bottom line than your well-being. We have seen every trick in the book that insurance companies use to try and avoid their obligation to compensate you. When you hire us, you can be sure those deceptive maneuvers will not work in your case.
• Take your case in front of a judge and jury if the insurance company does not offer a fair settlement, we will use our constantly trained litigation skills to win you a great financial recovery for your injuries.

Furthermore, 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 collect no attorneys fees until we win your case. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a catastrophic bus accident, contact an expert and committed bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Since it takes so many people to run a bus safely, from manufacturers, to bus companies to drivers, you will first need to discover the cause of the accident before determining who was negligent. Thankfully, an accomplished and skilled Platte County, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every category of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to determine who is liable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Platte County, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• Driver age and experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that beginner drivers under 25 years old, in addition to more experienced drivers over the age of 55 were more likely to be driving when a bus accident transpired.
• Driver error. While the same study found that just 4 percent of bus accidents were due to a severe 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 collisions had committed driving errors, such as speeding, being sleepy 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 in the middle of the night, become sleepy and can even fall asleep behind the wheel. While most busing companies have rules 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 complied with.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ weight and the intricacy of steering them, slippery roads or Platte County, MO construction areas can be especially dangerous for bus passengers. Occasionally 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 not close to as much as 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 reviews for over 765,000 motor carriers, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews generally cannot keep up with the number of inspections needed. Some Platte County, MO bus companies do not properly repair their vehicles, causing them to be less safe. Additionally, bus companies are mandated to ensure that their drivers are properly trained and do not drive too many hours without a break.
• Hazardous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can lead to a driver losing control and crashing. Some typical examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Uneven pavement or cracks in the pavement
  • Malfunctioning or missing traffic signals
  • Obstacles on the road, for instance branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The longer the hazardous condition has been on the Platte County, MO street, the better your odds of holding the negligent parties accountable. The negligent party may be a local Platte County, MO government, or a third party whom the government contracted to fix the problem but either did not do so in a timely fashion or did not properly repair it.

Once your expert Platte County, MO bus accident attorney determines the cause of your accident, they will be able to confirm who is at-fault for your injuries and how to proceed with winning you maximum compensation. Below are some examples of parties who are generally found at-fault in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Lines

Transport buses such as Greyhounds are regarded as common carriers under the law, which means they have a duty of care to their customers to look out for their safety. Part of that duty of care is to make certain that their drivers are not being overworked. Despite insisting that safety is their principal priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not following its own rules concerning driver fatigue. Drivers are theoretically obliged to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to prevent fatigue. However, the rule is not enforced and is rarely followed as too many breaks could result in financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study reported that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were caused by driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound riders have reported that their driver was eating during the time of an accident, which is an example of distracted driving.

Making sure that Platte County, 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 may be because of a bus company either neglecting to carry out routine inspections or neglecting to repair a broken part or component. Older buses are especially prone to breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, bus companies need to be prudent in their hiring practices. All drivers need to be sufficiently licensed and trained, and should only be allowed to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your Platte County, 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 transpired.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a duty to verify the safety of their vehicles and quickly issue recalls in the event of a defective product. If they approve an inherently faulty design or do not recall a component that they knew or should have known was not functioning adequately, they are guilty of product liability. While they might attempt to shift the blame to someone else, your Platte County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure reckless parties are held accountable for their actions.

The Platte County or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can frequently be devastating because of the amount of people who could be injured and because they frequently occur in densely populated areas. While you can seek compensation from the Platte County, MO government, there are particular procedures for doing so. Missouri has stricter protections for governmental bodies and government employees than for the average citizen in tort claims. 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 reach out to a Platte County, 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 liable or reckless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash through driver error. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or texting, did not stop the bus when they were feeling overly tired, did not pay attention to the Platte County, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the horrible 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 safety and your life. If a bus driver does not take that obligation to heart and causes you injury, you can be confident that the committed and relentless bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make them pay.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto wreck, two or more drivers are frequently involved, 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 harm you. If you were harmed in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your knowledgeable and accomplished Platte County, MO bus accident attorney will help you ascertain if they are liable and if you should make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the the kind of bus accident we most typically see in Platte County 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 liable, a school district in Platte County, MO may also be held responsible, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when weather conditions were particularly bad 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 Platte County, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you receive in a bus accident case will typically depend on the seriousness of your injuries and the consequences they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained ankle that only required a quick trip to an emergency room in Platte County, MO and a week or two off work. Or, you may have sustained a disastrous 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 Platte County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will ensure that you collect 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 capacity

  We work alongside our team of medical and economic experts to quantify 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 severe your injuries and however much they have impacted your life, Burger Law's Platte County, MO bus accident attorney team will fight tirelessly to ensure that you are awarded 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 Platte County, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every kind of bus accident case and know the incalculable anguish and catastrophic effect it can have on your and your loved ones. Your Platte County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is compassionate, accomplished, honest and relentless and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have gained over the past two decades to get you the maximum recovery you are rightfully owed. If you or a loved one has been hurt 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 consultation.