Bus Accident Attorney in Crystal City, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Crystal City, MO. If you or someone you care about 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 ever get equal attention as plane or train wrecks, even though the can often be just as dangerous and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Crystal City, MO bus drivers and bus companies to maintain our safety and respect the rules. When they eschew their obligations and disregard the rules it can have terrible, sometimes lifelong effects for you or your family. Your Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make sure that you secure the full 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 Crystal City and throughout Missouri and pushing back against bullies like dishonest insurance companies and people who egocentrically do not want to take responsibility for their negligent behavior. Many Crystal City, MO families have put their claims and their futures in our capable 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, tenacity, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Crystal City, MO residents heal. You should not have to lose work, pay for sky-high medical costs and also handle the emotional scars of your injury only because someone else did not respect the rules. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a Crystal City, MO bus accident, call the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review. We begin working on your claim at once, and we do not charge any fees until we win you the compensation you are owed.

If you were injured in a bus accident in Crystal City, MO because of someone else's thoughtless actions, find out how much your injury may be worth by filling out our personal injury calculator.

Do I Need a Crystal City, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have sustained injuries in a bus accident, you are probably feeling especially unprotected. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on board the bus assuming that the appropriate safety measures were obeyed. Crystal City, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent laws they are supposed to obey, 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 really recover from, may have permanent effects or in the worst instances can even cause wrongful death. The Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will fight by your side so you do not need to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we get to work on on your case straight away, and work relentlessly until you get the best possible compensation you deserve. We have made a claim for every type of bus accident case and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Crystal City, MO individuals and families into settling for a lower recovery than they entitled to. Those Crystal City, 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 empathetic, seasoned and tenacious bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal proceedings are complex and can be difficult to comprehend for Crystal City, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial capabilities of an accomplished bus accident attorney. For over 20 years standing up to bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every detail of your case. You can expect an accomplished and skilled bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the accident 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 essential evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also involved in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry multiple passengers, there are often many passengers who want the same answers and compensation you need. We will perform official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Collect further evidence such as tire marks, surveillance footage, police reports, as well as key details such as how long the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and maintenance was conducted on the bus. Several different factors contribute to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney will find out why the crash happened and who needs to be held accountable.
• Work alongside our network of Crystal City, MO crash and medical experts to determine liability for your bus accident injuries and calculate precisely how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are entitled to and we will implement our savvy and expertise to ensure you receive it.
• Stand up to resistant Crystal City, MO insurance companies who are more interested in their profits 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 schemes 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 finely honed litigation skills to win you a great financial recovery for your damages.

Furthermore, 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. You owe us no attorneys fees until you get fair compensation. If you or a family member has been harmed in a disastrous bus accident, contact an expert and dedicated bus accident attorney at Burger Law today.

Who is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?

Since bus drivers, companies and manufacturers all have a role to play in operating a bus safely you will first need to determine the cause of the accident before determining who was negligent. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every kind of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to determine what entity needs to be held accountable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Crystal City, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• The age of the driver and their experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that inexperienced drivers under the age of 25, as well as more experienced drivers over 55 years old were more likely to be driving when a bus accident transpired.
• Driver action. While the same study found that only 4 percent of bus accidents were caused by a severe offense such as drunk driving, a different study by the University of Michigan stated that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus crashes had committed driving errors, such as speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A large portion 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 sleepy and can even fall asleep behind the wheel. While most busing companies have rules 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 enforced or complied with.
• Road hazards. Given buses’ size and the intricacy of driving them, slippery roads or Crystal City, MO construction areas can be especially risky for bus commuters. Sometimes 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 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 reviews for more than 765,000 motor carriers, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews typically cannot stay ahead of the number of inspections required. Some Crystal City, MO bus companies do not adequately maintain their vehicles, causing them to be dangerous. Additionally, bus companies are required to make certain that their drivers are sufficiently 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 common examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Malfunctioning or missing traffic signals
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Poor lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the dangerous condition has been on the Crystal City, MO street, the better your chances of holding the liable parties responsible. The liable party may be a local Crystal City, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to eliminate the issue but either did not do so in a timely fashion or did not properly repair it.

Once your accomplished Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney ascertains the reasons for your wreck, they will be able to establish who is at-fault for your injuries and how to take the next steps toward winning you maximum compensation. Below are some examples of parties who are typically found at-fault 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 customers to look out for their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to make sure that their drivers are not being overworked. In despite of saying that safety is their top priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not complying with its own rules when it comes to driver fatigue. Drivers are technically required to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to inhibit fatigue. However, the rule is not enforced and is not often followed as too many breaks could result in financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study stated that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were due to driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound passengers have stated that their driver was eating when the crash transpired, which constitutes distracted driving.

Making sure that Crystal City, MO buses are correctly 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 carry out routine maintenance or failing to repair a broken part or component. Buses with more miles under their wheels are especially susceptible to breaking down and bus companies must keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, 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 Crystal City, 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 occurred.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a duty to ensure the safety of their products and immediately issue recalls if a product is discovered to be dangerous. If they approve an inherently dangerous 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 Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure reckless parties are held accountable for their actions.

The Crystal City or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can frequently be ruinous because of the number of people involved and because they frequently transpire in metropolitan areas. While you can seek a financial recovery from the Crystal City, 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 want to make a claim 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 call a Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at once 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 due to driver error. If they became distracted by eating or texting, did not stop when they were feeling sleepy, did not pay attention to the Crystal City, 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 ascend a bus you trust that driver with your well-being and your life. If a bus driver does not take that obligation to heart and causes you injury, you can be sure 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 frequently two or more drivers, and in some instances 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 injure you. If you were harmed in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your skilled and veteran Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney will help you determine if they are at fault and if you can make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the most common type of bus accident in Crystal City 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 at fault, a school district in Crystal City, MO may also be held responsible, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when weather conditions were particularly 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 Crystal City, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you get in a bus accident case will typically be based on the severity of your injuries and how they have affected and will affect they have on your life. You may have sustained a sprained wrist that merely needed a quick trip to an emergency room in Crystal City, MO and a couple weeks off work. Or, you may have experienced a devastating spinal cord injury that leaves you disabled and in need of assistive devices for the remainder of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will ensure that you are awarded 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 expenses, such as hospital bills, physical therapy, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning potential

  We use our network 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 affected your life, Burger Law's Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney team will fight aggressively to ensure that you receive the best possible compensation for all of your damages.

Learn more about our various practice areas by clicking the links below:

• Survival Action Lawyer in Missouri
• Truck Crash Lawyers in Missouri
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Missouri

Call Our Crystal City, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every category of bus accident case and know the incalculable pain and disastrous effect it can have on your and your loved ones. Your Crystal City, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is empathetic, accomplished, trustworthy and persistent and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have acquired over the past two decades to secure you the the best possible recovery you are rightfully owed. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a bus accident, do not delay. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case review.