Bus Accident Attorney in St. Clair County, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in St. Clair County, MO. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a catastrophic bus accident, take control of your recovery by calling Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or by contacting us online.

Bus accidents rarely receive the same attention as plane or train accidents, even though the can frequently be just as dangerous and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust St. Clair County, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and obey the rules. When they eschew their responsibilities and disregard the rules it can have devastating, sometimes lifelong consequences for you or your family. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make sure that you get the maximum compensation that you deserve for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of the injured in St. Clair County and throughout Missouri and pushing back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who selfishly do not want to take responsibility for their reckless behavior. Our St. Clair County, 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 hard work, devotion, persistence, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help St. Clair County, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose work, pay for exorbitant medical bills and also work through the emotional shock of your injury only because someone else disregarded the rules. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a St. Clair County, 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 case immediately, and we do not charge any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in St. Clair County, MO because of someone else's reckless actions, learn how much your claim may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

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

If you were caused injuries in a bus accident, you are likely feeling especially powerless. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on board the bus under the assumption that the appropriate safety arrangements were followed. St. Clair County, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent regulations they are supposed to respect, but sometimes they neglect those responsibilities 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 permanent effects or in the worst instances can even result in wrongful death. The St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will fight on your behalf so you are not required to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we start working on your case straight away, and will not let up until you win the full 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. Clair County, MO individuals and families into accepting less money than they are owed. Those St. Clair County, MO insurance companies are afraid of us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes on – and wins – the complicated cases. Call us today and let the compassionate, experienced 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 St. Clair County, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial skills of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have over 20 years of experience fighting back against bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every aspect of your claim. You can bank on an accomplished and skilled 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 during the day or night in order to secure essential evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also sustained injuries in the crash or were close by. As buses carry a variety of passengers, there are often a lot of people who want the same answers and financial recovery you do. We will take official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Collect additional evidence such as tire marks, surveillance footage, police reports, as well as important details such as how long the driver had driven without taking a break or when the last inspection and repairs were done on the bus. Several different factors cause bus accidents, and your Burger Law St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney will discover why the crash happened and who needs to be held responsible.
• Use our network of St. Clair County, MO accident and medical experts to determine negligence for your bus accident injuries and calculate exactly how much your damages are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are owed and we will use our savvy and expertise to make sure you recover it.
• Fight back against resistant St. Clair County, MO insurance companies who are more concerned for their profits than your well-being. We have seen every trick in the book that insurance companies use to try and devalue your claim. When you hire us, you can be sure those schemes 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 full financial recovery for your damages.

Beyond that, our bus accident attorney team will be keeping you informed entire 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 charge no attorneys fees until we win your case. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a calamitous bus accident, contact an expert and devoted bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Because bus drivers, companies and manufacturers all have a role to play in running a bus safely you will first need to determine the cause of the accident before determining who is liable. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled St. Clair County, 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 determine who needs to be held liable for your injuries.

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

• The age of the driver and their experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that novice drivers under the age of 25, as well as more experienced drivers over the age of 55 were more likely to be driving when a bus accident occurred.
• Driver action. While the same study found that only 4 percent of bus accidents were due 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 wrecks had been cited with driving errors, for example, speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A large portion of bus drivers, especially those that drive for commercial bus lines 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 behind 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 mandatory or complied with.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ weight and the difficulty of maneuvering them, slick roads or St. Clair County, MO construction areas can be especially hazardous for bus commuters. In some cases a third party such as a construction company is at fault. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you discover if that is the case.
• Negligence by the bus company. Bus companies are regulated, but not nearly 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 inspectors responsible for inspections of more than 765,000 motor carriers, or only 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means inspectors typically cannot keep up with the amount of inspections required. Some St. Clair County, MO bus companies do not correctly repair their vehicles, causing them to be dangerous. Additionally, bus companies need to ensure that their drivers are sufficiently trained and are not overworked.
• Hazardous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can result in a driver losing control and crashing. A Few common examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Defective or missing traffic lights
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Insufficient lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The longer the dangerous condition has been on the St. Clair County, MO road, the better chance you have of holding the at-fault parties responsible. The liable party may be a local St. Clair County, MO government, or a third party whom the government paid to repair the issue but either did not do so quickly enough or did not correctly repair it.

Once your talented St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney deduces the reasons behind your crash, they will be able to determine who is liable for your injuries and how to go forward with winning you a full financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are typically found liable in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Lines

Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are regarded as common carriers under the law, which means they have a duty of care to their riders to look out for their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to make certain that their drivers are not being overworked. In despite of saying that safety is their foremost priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not obeying its own rules when it comes to driver fatigue. Drivers are theoretically required to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to stave off fatigue. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not followed as too many breaks could lead to financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study reported that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were owing to driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound passengers have reported that their driver was eating when the accident transpired, which constitutes distracted driving.

Making sure that St. Clair County, MO buses are correctly inspected and repaired 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 failing to provide routine inspections or neglecting to fix a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are particularly susceptible to 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 permitted to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will conduct 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 a responsibility to verify the safety of their vehicles and quickly issue recalls in the event of a faulty product. If they approve an inherently faulty 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 might attempt to shift the blame to somebody else, your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure reckless parties are held responsible for their actions.

The St. Clair County or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be devastating because of the number of people who could be injured and because they usually occur in densely populated areas. While you can file a suit against the St. Clair County, MO government, there are specific procedures for doing so. Missouri has stricter protections for governmental bodies and government employees than for the average citizen in tort 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 imperative to call a St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney straight away after your injury. 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 thoughtless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause an accident due to negligence. If they became distracted by eating or texting, did not stop when they were feeling overly tired, did not pay attention to the St. Clair County, 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 bus companies sometimes have to be. When you board a bus you trust that driver with your safety and your life. If a bus driver does not take that duty to heart and causes you injury, you can be certain that the devoted and tenacious bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them responsible.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto accident, 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 accident where there was another driver or drivers involved, your talented and seasoned St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney will help you determine if they are at fault and if you should make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the the kind of bus crash we most typically see in St. Clair County 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 responsible, a school district in St. Clair County, MO may also be held accountable, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when weather conditions were especially dangerous 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. Clair County, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you recover in a bus accident case will generally depend on the gravity of your injuries and how they have impacted and will affect they have on your life. You may have received a mild concussion that merely required a quick trip to an emergency room in St. Clair County, MO and a week or two 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 St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will ensure that you receive 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 use our network of medical and economic experts to calculate the exact dollar amount you are owed, 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 affected your life, Burger Law's St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney team will fight tirelessly to ensure that you collect 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 St. Clair County, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every category of bus accident case and know the immense pain and ruinous effect it can have on your and the people you care about. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is empathetic, accomplished, honest and determined 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 injured in a bus accident, do not delay. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free case evaluation.