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Bus Accident Attorney in Warren County, MO
Bus Accident Attorney in Warren County, MO. If you or a family member has been harmed 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 rarely receive 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 Warren County, MO bus drivers and bus companies to maintain our safety and respect the rules. When they break that trust and break the rules it can have devastating, sometimes lifelong outcomes for you or the people you care about. Your Warren County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will ensure that you recover the full compensation that you are entitled to for your injuries.
At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has more than two decades of experience defending the injured in Warren 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 thoughtless actions. Many Warren County, MO residents have put their cases and their futures in our trustworthy hands, and to date we have recovered for them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their determination, devotion, relentlessness, knowledge and experience to help secure justice in personal injury cases and help Warren County, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose work, pay for sky-high medical costs and also handle the emotional shock of your injury just because someone else did not respect the rules. If you or a family member has been harmed in a Warren County, 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 complimentary case evaluation. We start working on your claim immediately, and we do not charge any fees until we win your case.
If you were injured in a bus accident in Warren County, MO because of someone else's negligent behavior, learn how much your claim may be worth by filling out our personal injury calculator.
What's The Process to Settle My Personal Injury Claim?
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Do I Need a Warren County, MO Bus Accident Attorney?
If you were caused injuries in a bus accident, you are probably feeling especially powerless. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on board the bus presuming that the adequate safety arrangements were obeyed. Warren County, MO bus companies and drivers have strict regulations they have a responsibility to respect, but sometimes they neglect those duties and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is generally caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to fully heal from, may have permanent effects or in the most terrible instances can even cause wrongful death. The Warren County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will stand in your corner so you do not need to go it alone. When you hire us we start working on your case immediately, and work tirelessly until you win the maximum compensation you are owed. We have made a claim for every type of bus accident case and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Warren County, MO individuals and families into accepting less compensation than they are owed. Those Warren County, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the tough cases. Call us today and let the empathetic, seasoned and aggressive bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.
Legal procedures are complex and can be difficult to comprehend for Warren County, 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 standing up to bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our Warren County, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every facet of your claim. You can expect an experienced and savvy 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 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 involved in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry many passengers, there are almost always many passengers who want the same answers and financial recovery you seek. We will conduct official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
- Obtain additional evidence such as tire marks, security videos, police reports, in additional to key details such as how many miles the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and maintenance was performed on the bus. Several different factors give rise to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Warren County, MO bus accident attorney will find out the "whys" of the accident and who needs to be held responsible.
- Work alongside our network of Warren 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 entitled to and we will use our savvy and expertise to ensure you get it.
- Fight back against resistant Warren 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 avoid their duty 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 will not offer a fair settlement, we will use our expert litigation skills to win you a full financial recovery for your damages.
Additionally, our bus accident attorney team will be by your side the whole time. We oversee 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 harmed in a devastating bus accident, contact an expert and dedicated bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.
Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?
Because bus drivers, companies and manufacturers all have a part to play in operating a bus in a safe manner you will first need to learn the cause of the accident before determining who was negligent. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Warren 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 find out who needs to be held responsible for your injuries.
What Causes Bus Accidents? | Warren County, MO Bus Accident Attorney
- Driver age and experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that recently licensed drivers under the age of 25, 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 found that a mere 4 percent of bus accidents were owing to 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 been cited with driving errors, for example, speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
- Driver fatigue. A good deal of bus drivers, particularly those that are employed by commercial bus companies such as Greyhound that necessitate drivers to drive hundreds of miles in the middle of the night, become drowsy and can even fall asleep behind the wheel. While most busing companies have specifications about how many hours a driver can drive during without a break or how often 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 required or obeyed.
- Road hazards. Given buses’ size and the intricacy of maneuvering them, slippery roads or Warren County, MO construction areas can be particularly dangerous for bus commuters. Sometimes a third party such as a construction company is 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 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 reviews for over 765,000 commercial motor vehicles, or a mere 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means inspectors typically cannot keep up with the amount of inspections needed. Some Warren County, MO bus companies do not correctly maintain their vehicles, causing them to be a hazard. Furthermore, bus companies are mandated to make certain that their drivers are adequately trained and do not drive too long without a break.
- Dangerous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can result in a driver losing control and crashing. Some typical examples are:
- Potholes
- Uneven pavement or cracks in the pavement
- Faulty or missing traffic lights
- Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
- Inadequate lighting
- Excessive grades
The longer the dangerous condition has been on the Warren County, MO road, the better chance you have of holding the negligent parties accountable. The liable party may be a local Warren County, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to eliminate the issue but either did not do so soon enough or did not properly repair it.
Once your accomplished Warren County, MO bus accident attorney establishes the reasons for your crash, they will be able to establish who is at-fault for your injuries and how to take the next steps toward getting you maximum compensation. Below are some examples of parties who are typically found at-fault in bus accident cases.
Commercial Bus Companies
Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are considered common carriers under the law, which means they have a duty of care to their customers to maintain their safety. One aspect of that duty of care is to make certain that their drivers are not driving too many hours in a day. In despite of insisting that safety is their top priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not obeying its own rules regarding driver fatigue. Drivers are technically obliged to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to prevent drowsiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not obeyed as too many breaks could cause financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study found that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were due to driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound passengers have reported that their driver was eating when the accident occurred, which is an example of distracted driving.
Making sure that Warren County, MO buses are properly inspected and maintained and that safety equipment such as seatbelts are present and up-to-date are also the responsibility of the bus company. A bus accident could be because of a bus company either failing to conduct routine inspections or neglecting to repair a broken part or component. Older buses are especially at risk of breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.
Finally, bus companies cannot use negligent hiring practices. All drivers need to be properly licensed and trained, and should only be able to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your Warren County, 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 transpired.
A Bus Manufacturer
Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a responsibility to certify the safety of their products and quickly issue recalls if a product is found to be unsafe. 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 place the blame on someone else, your Warren County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure liable parties are held responsible for their behavior.
The Warren County or Missouri Government or a Public Entity
Public transportation accidents can often be catastrophic because of the amount of people who could be injured and because they frequently take place in densely populated areas. While you can seek compensation from the Warren County, 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 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 vital to reach out to a Warren County, 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 an at-fault or reckless public bus driver in Missouri.
The Bus Driver
Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a wreck through recklessness. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or talking, did not stop the bus when they were feeling sleepy, did not pay attention to the Warren County, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the terrible decision to drive drunk, they need to be held responsible just like bus companies sometimes have to be. When you ascend a bus you trust that driver with your safety and your life. If a bus driver does not take that responsibility to heart and causes you injury, you can be confident that the committed and tenacious bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them accountable.
The Other Driver
Like any type of auto crash, two or more drivers are often involved, and in some cases they each may share 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 talented and seasoned Warren County, MO bus accident attorney will help you establish if they are at fault and if you can make a claim against their insurance company.
School Districts
School bus accidents are the the category of bus crash we most typically see in Warren County 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 Warren County, MO may also be held accountable, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were particularly poor or they did not carry out 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 Warren County, MO Recover For Me?
The compensation you get in a bus accident case will usually be based on the severity of your injuries and how they have impacted and will impact they have on your life. You may have sustained a mild concussion that merely needed a quick trip to an emergency room in Warren County, 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 Warren County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make certain 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 capacity
We work alongside our network of medical and economic experts to quantify 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 serious your injuries and however much they have affected your life, Burger Law's Warren County, MO bus accident attorney team will fight aggressively 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 Warren County, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today
We have seen every kind of bus accident case and know the immense pain and devastating effect it can have on your and the people you care about. Your Warren County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is compassionate, accomplished, honest and determined and will use every bit of the knowledge and skills we have gained over the past 20 years to get you the maximum recovery you rightfully deserve. If you or a loved one has been injured 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.