Bus Accident Attorney in St. Louis, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in St. Louis, MO. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a devastating 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 equal attention as plane or train wrecks, even though the can often be equally as dangerous and deadly. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust St. Louis, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and respect the rules. When they eschew their obligations and disregard the rules it can have terrible, sometimes permanent outcomes for you or your family. Your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make sure that you recover the best possible compensation that you are entitled to for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over two decades of experience defending the injured in St. Louis and throughout Missouri and standing up to bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who selfishly do not want to be held accountable for their careless behavior. Our St. Louis, MO clients have put their claims and their futures in our accomplished hands, and in total we have secured for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, devotion, relentlessness, knowledge and experience to help secure justice in personal injury cases and help St. Louis, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose wages, pay for expensive medical bills and also manage the emotional toll of your injury just because somebody else did not respect the rules. If you or a family member has been injured in a St. Louis, MO bus accident, get in touch with the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review. We get started on your claim straight away, and you do not owe us any fees until we win your case.

If you were injured in a bus accident in St. Louis, MO because of somebody else's negligent actions, discover how much your damages may be worth by filling out our personal injury calculator.

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

If you have sustained injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially undefended. After all, you were not the one driving and you boarded the bus presuming that the proper safety protocols were obeyed. St. Louis, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent rules they have an obligation to respect, but sometimes they fail in those responsibilities 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 fully recover from, may have lifelong effects or in the most terrible cases can even lead to wrongful death. The St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will fight on your behalf so you are not required to go it alone. When you hire us we start working on your case straight away, and work tirelessly until you get the best possible compensation you are entitled to. We have made a claim for every type of bus accident injury and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured St. Louis, MO individuals and families into settling for a lower recovery than they are owed. Those St. Louis, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes on – and wins – the tough cases. Call us today and let the compassionate, veteran and relentless 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 unforgiving to St. Louis, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial skills of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have more than two decades of experience fighting back against bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every aspect of your claim. You can anticipate an experienced and knowledgeable 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 at the site at any time during the day or night in order to acquire key evidence for your claim.
• 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 passengers who want the same answers and compensation you seek. We will perform official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Acquire additional evidence such as tire marks, security videos, police reports, and key details such as how far the driver had driven without taking a break or when the last inspection and maintenance was performed on the bus. Many different factors play a part in bus accidents, and your Burger Law St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney will find out the "whys" of the crash and who needs to be held accountable.
• Use our network of St. Louis, MO accident and medical experts to determine negligence for your bus accident injuries and put a figure on exactly how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are owed and we will utilize our experience and expertise to make certain you collect it.
• Fight back against resistant St. Louis, MO insurance companies who are more interested in their bottom line 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 ploys will not work in your case.
• Take the fight to trial if the insurance company does not offer a fair settlement, we will use our constantly trained litigation skills to secure you a full financial recovery for your injuries.

Additionally, our bus accident attorney team will be in your corner whole 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 you get the best possible compensation. If you or a family member has been hurt in a disastrous bus accident, contact an expert and committed bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Because it necessitates so many people to operate a bus safely, from manufacturers, to bus companies to drivers, you will first need to discover the cause of the accident before determining who is liable. Thankfully, an accomplished and skilled St. Louis, 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 find out who is liable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | St. Louis, 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 25 years old, in addition to more experienced drivers over 55 years old were more likely to be driving when a bus accident happened.
• Driver behavior. While the same study reported that just 4 percent of bus accidents were caused by a serious offense such as drunk driving, a different study by the University of Michigan found that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus crashes had committed driving errors, such as speeding, being drowsy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A large portion of bus drivers, especially those that work for commercial bus lines such as Greyhound that require drivers to drive hundreds of miles in the middle of the night, become sleepy and can even fall asleep at the wheel. While most busing companies have regulations 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 enforced or obeyed.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ mass and the difficulty of driving them, slick roads or St. Louis, MO construction areas can be especially hazardous for bus riders. Occasionally a third party such as a construction company is at fault. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you decide if that applies 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 inspectors responsible for inspections of over 765,000 commercial motor vehicles, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means inspectors often cannot keep up with the quantity of inspections required. Some St. Louis, MO bus companies do not correctly repair their vehicles, causing them to be a hazard. Additionally, bus companies are obligated to make sure that their drivers are properly trained and are not overworked.
• Hazardous roads. Hazards in the road and road conditions can cause a driver to lose control and crash. A Few typical 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 longer the dangerous condition has been on the St. Louis, MO road, the better chance you have of holding the at-fault parties responsible. The at-fault party may be a local St. Louis, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to eliminate the condition but either did not do so quickly enough or did not adequately repair it.

Once your accomplished St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney establishes the reasons behind your wreck, they will be able to determine who is liable for your injuries and how to take the next steps toward winning you a maximum financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are frequently found negligent in bus accident claims.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transport 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. Part of that duty of care is to ensure that their drivers are not driving too many hours in a day. Despite insisting that safety is their top priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not complying with its own rules regarding driver fatigue. Drivers are technically mandated to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to hold off fatigue. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not obeyed 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 owing to driver fatigue. Additionally, many Greyhound riders have said that their driver was eating when the accident took place, which constitutes distracted driving.

Making sure that St. Louis, MO buses are adequately inspected and repaired and that they have safety equipment such as seatbelts are also part of the bus company's duty. A bus accident could be because of a bus company either neglecting to perform routine inspections or neglecting to fix a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are especially vulnerable 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 adequately licensed and trained, and should only be permitted to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your St. Louis, 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 accident took place.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have an obligation to confirm the safety of their vehicles and immediately announce recalls in the event of a malfunctioning product. If they approve an inherently unsafe 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 try to place the blame on somebody else, your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure liable parties are held accountable for their actions.

The St. Louis or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can frequently be calamitous because of the number of people involved and because they generally take place in densely populated areas. While you can make a claim against the St. Louis, MO government, there are specific procedures for doing so. Missouri has sovereign immunities for governmental bodies and government employees than for the average citizen in personal injury suits. If you seek 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 crucial to get in touch with a St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney right 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 an at-fault or careless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause an accident due to driver error. If they became distracted by eating or talking, did not stop when they were feeling sleepy, did not pay attention to the St. Louis, 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 seriously and causes you injury, you can be confident that the committed and aggressive bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make them pay.

The Other Driver

Like any type of motor vehicle collision, there are frequently two or more drivers, 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 hurt you. If you were harmed in a bus accident where there was another driver or drivers involved, your skilled and veteran St. Louis, 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 St. Louis 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 responsible, a school district in St. Louis, MO may also be held accountable, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were especially poor 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 St. Louis, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you collect in a bus accident case will typically depend on the seriousness of your injuries and the repercussions they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained wrist that merely needed a quick trip to an emergency room in St. Louis, MO and a short time off work. Or, you may have sustained 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. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make sure that you collect 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 costs, such as hospital bills, physical therapy, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning potential

  We work alongside our team of medical and economic experts to determine 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 serious your injuries and however much they have affected your life, Burger Law's St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney team will fight tirelessly 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 St. Louis, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every type of bus accident case and know the immense anguish and disastrous effect it can have on your and your family. Your St. Louis, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is passionate, accomplished, honest and determined and will use every bit of the knowledge and skills we have acquired over the past two decades to get you the full 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.