Bus Accident Attorney in Cole County, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Cole County, MO. If you or someone you care about has been hurt 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 rarely ever get equal attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can often be just as hazardous and deadly. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Cole County, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and obey the rules. When they eschew their duty and do not respect the rules it can have ruinous, sometimes lifelong consequences for you or the people you care about. Your Cole County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will ensure that you secure 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 Cole County and throughout Missouri and fighting back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who selfishly do not want to be held accountable for their reckless actions. Our Cole 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 determination, commitment, resolution, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Cole County, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose wages, pay for exorbitant medical costs and also work through the emotional trauma of your injury only because somebody else broke the rules. If you or a family member has been injured in a Cole 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 get started on your claim right away, and you do not owe us any fees until we win you the compensation you are entitled to.

If you were injured in a bus accident in Cole County, MO because of another person's thoughtless behavior, find out how much your injury may be worth by using our personal injury calculator.

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

If you were caused injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially unshielded. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on board the bus supposing that the appropriate safety protocols were obeyed. Cole County, MO bus companies and drivers have strict rules they are supposed to obey, but sometimes they neglect 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 lifelong effects or in the most tragic cases can even lead to wrongful death. The Cole County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will fight by your side so you are not required to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we begin investigating on your case right away, and will not let up until you get the maximum compensation you deserve. We have experienced with every type of bus accident claim and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Cole County, MO individuals and families into accepting less money than they are owed. Those Cole County, MO insurance companies are afraid of us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes on – and wins – the tough cases. Call us today and let the compassionate, accomplished and tenacious 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 unforgiving to Cole County, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial abilities of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have over two decades of experience fighting back against bullies and fighting the hard fight. When you hire our Cole County, MO bus accident attorney team, we oversee every aspect of your case. You can bank on a seasoned and savvy 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 obtain vital evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also involved in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry a variety of passengers, there are often other passengers who want the same answers and compensation you do. Eyewitness testimony is a vital part of winning your case.
• Collect 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 done on the bus. Several different factors give rise to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Cole County, MO bus accident attorney will determine why the crash happened and who needs to be held liable.
• Use our network of Cole County, MO crash and medical experts to determine negligence for your bus accident injuries and assess precisely how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are owed and we will implement our savvy and expertise to make sure you receive it.
• Stand up to resistant Cole 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 weasel their way out of their obligation to compensate you. When you hire us, you can be sure those ploys 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 expert litigation skills to secure you a full financial recovery for your injuries.

Beyond that, our bus accident attorney team will be in your corner whole 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 charge no attorneys fees until you are fairly compensated. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a calamitous bus accident, contact an expert and committed 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 operating a bus in a safe manner you will first need to learn the cause of the accident before determining who is liable. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Cole County, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every variety of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to determine what entity is responsible for your injuries.

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

• The age of the driver and their experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that inexperienced 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 took place.
• Driver behavior. While the same study stated that only 4 percent of bus accidents were owing to a grave offense such as driving while intoxicated, a different study by the University of Michigan stated that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus crashes had been cited with driving errors, for instance, speeding, being fatigued or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A good deal of bus drivers, particularly 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 at the wheel. While most busing companies have regulations about how many hours a driver can drive during without a break or how often they have to take a break, those rules 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 followed.
• Road hazards. Given buses’ mass and the awkwardness of driving them, slippery roads or Cole County, MO construction areas can be especially risky for bus passengers. In some cases a third party such as a construction company is liable. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you decide if that is the case.
• Negligence by the bus company. Bus companies are overseen by regulatory bodies, 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 inspectors responsible for reviews for over 765,000 trucks and buses, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews generally cannot stay ahead of the quantity of inspections needed. Some Cole County, MO bus companies do not properly inspect their vehicles, causing them to be a hazard. Additionally, bus companies are mandated to make certain that their drivers are adequately trained and do not drive too many hours without a break.
• Dangerous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can lead to a driver losing control and causing an accident. Some typical examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Uneven pavement or cracks in the pavement
  • Faulty or missing traffic lights
  • Obstacles on the road, for example branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Insufficient lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the dangerous condition has been on the Cole County, MO street, the better your odds of holding the at-fault parties responsible. The liable party may be a local Cole County, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to fix the problem but either did not do so quickly enough or did not adequately repair it.

Once your skilled Cole County, MO bus accident attorney ascertains the cause of your accident, they will be able to establish who is liable for your injuries and how to take the next steps toward delivering you a full financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are frequently found at-fault in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are considered common carriers legally speaking, 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 sure that their drivers are not driving too many hours in a day. In despite of saying that safety is their foremost priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not complying with its own rules regarding driver fatigue. Drivers are technically obliged to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to inhibit fatigue. 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 reported that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were because of driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound riders have stated that their driver was eating when the accident happened, which is an example of distracted driving.

Making sure that Cole County, MO buses are properly inspected and maintained and that safety equipment such as seatbelts are present and up-to-date are also part of the bus company's responsibility. A bus accident may be a consequence of a bus company either failing to conduct routine maintenance or failing to repair a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are especially predisposed 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 properly licensed and trained, and should only be able to drive after passing strict background checks. Your Cole 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 crash took place.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have an obligation to certify the safety of their vehicles and immediately announce recalls if a product is found to be dangerous. 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 Cole County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure at-fault parties are held accountable for their actions.

The Cole 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 frequently take place in metropolitan areas. While you can file a suit against the Cole 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 personal injury cases. If you want 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 urgent to get in touch with a Cole 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 a wreck through recklessness. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or talking, did not pull over when they were feeling drowsy, did not pay attention to the Cole County, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the dangerous decision to drive drunk, they need to be held accountable just like bus companies sometimes have to be. When you go on board a bus you trust that driver with your health and your life. If a bus driver does not take that duty seriously and causes you injury, you can be confident that the devoted and aggressive bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them accountable.

The Other Driver

Like any type of motor vehicle collision, there are often two or more drivers, and in some cases they each may shoulder 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 knowledgeable and accomplished Cole County, MO bus accident attorney will help you ascertain if they are at fault and if you can make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the the kind of bus accident we most typically see in Cole 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 Cole County, MO may also be held responsible, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were especially dangerous or they did not perform proper 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 Cole County, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you collect in a bus accident case will usually depend on the severity of your injuries and the repercussions they have on your life. You may have received a sprained ankle that only needed a quick trip to an emergency room in Cole County, MO and a week or two off work. Or, you may have experienced a disastrous spinal cord injury that leaves you disabled and in need of special equipment for the rest of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished Cole County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make certain that you are awarded a fair 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 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 affected your life, Burger Law's Cole County, MO bus accident attorney team will fight relentlessly to ensure that you are awarded 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

Call Our Cole County, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every sort of bus accident case and know the immense anguish and catastrophic effect it can have on your and your loved ones. Your Cole County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is passionate, accomplished, honest and determined and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have acquired over the past two decades to secure you the full recovery you rightfully deserve. If you or a loved one has been harmed 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 free case evaluation.