Bus Accident Attorney in Odessa, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Odessa, MO. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a catastrophic 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 hardly ever get equal attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can oftentimes be equally as harmful and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Odessa, MO bus drivers and bus companies to keep us safe and follow the rules. When they break that trust and disregard the rules it can have devastating, sometimes permanent outcomes for you or the people you care about. Your Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make certain that you secure the full compensation that you are owed for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over two decades of experience defending the injured in Odessa and throughout Missouri and pushing back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who carelessly do not want to be held accountable for their negligent actions. Many Odessa, MO individuals have put their claims and their futures in our trustworthy hands, and in total we have won them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, devotion, persistence, knowledge and experience to help find justice in personal injury cases and help Odessa, MO residents become whole again. You should not have to lose wages, pay for ridiculous medical bills and also manage the emotional toll of your injury just because another person broke the rules. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a Odessa, MO bus accident, call the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case evaluation. We begin working on your claim right away, and we do not charge any fees until we win your case.

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

Do I Need a Odessa, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have received injuries in a bus accident, we know you are feeling especially powerless. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on the bus presuming that the correct safety measures were adhered to. Odessa, MO bus companies and drivers have stringent regulations they are supposed to respect, 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 fully heal from, may have permanent effects or in the most terrible cases can even result in wrongful death. The Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will fight on your behalf so you do not need to face an uncertain future alone. When you hire us we get to work on on your case immediately, and work relentlessly until you get the maximum compensation you are entitled to. We have experienced with every type of bus accident case and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Odessa, MO individuals and families into accepting less compensation than they entitled to. Those Odessa, 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 empathetic, veteran and tenacious bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you safeguard your family’s future and help make you whole again.

Legal procedures are complex and can be unforgiving to Odessa, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial experience of an accomplished bus accident attorney. We have more than two decades of experience standing up to bullies and fighting the hard fight. When you hire our Odessa, MO bus accident attorney team, we oversee every facet of your case. You can bank on a veteran and knowledgeable 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 of the day or night in order to secure essential evidence for your case.
• Interview eyewitnesses who were either also received injuries in the crash or were nearby. As buses carry many passengers, there are almost always other people who want the same answers and financial recovery you need. We will take official depositions of eyewitnesses to aid in your case.
• Acquire further evidence such as tire marks, surveillance footage, police reports, and important details such as how long the driver had driven that day or when the last inspection and maintenance was conducted on the bus. A lot of different factors contribute to bus accidents, and your Burger Law Odessa, MO bus accident attorney will find out why the crash happened and who needs to be held responsible.
• Work with our network of Odessa, MO auto wreck 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 utilize our savvy and expertise to make certain you recover it.
• Fight back against resistant Odessa, MO insurance companies who are more interested in their profits than your health. 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 deceptive maneuvers will not work in your case.
• Take the fight in front of a judge and jury if the insurance company refuses to 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 keeping you informed 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 charge no attorneys fees until you get full compensation. If you or a loved one has been injured 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?

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 caused your injuries. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Odessa, 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 discover what entity is liable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Odessa, 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 happened.
• Driver behavior. While the same study found that only 4 percent of bus accidents were owing to a grave offense such as the driver being intoxicated, another study by the University of Michigan reported that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus crashes had been cited with driving errors, such as speeding, being drowsy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A good deal of bus drivers, especially the ones that drive for commercial bus companies such as Greyhound that necessitate drivers to drive hundreds of miles at all hours of the day or night, become sleepy and can even fall asleep at the wheel. While most busing companies have specifications about how many hours a driver can drive during a day or how frequently 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 required or complied with.
• Road conditions. Given buses’ size and the intricacy of steering them, icy roads or Odessa, MO construction areas can be especially dangerous for bus riders. In some cases a third party such as a construction company will be liable. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you decide 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 reviews for over 765,000 trucks and buses, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means inspectors often cannot stay ahead of the amount of inspections needed. Some Odessa, MO bus companies do not properly inspect their vehicles, causing them to be less safe. Additionally, bus companies need to make certain 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 causing an accident. Some typical examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Faulty or missing traffic lights
  • Obstacles on the road, for instance branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the hazardous condition has been on the Odessa, MO street, the better your odds of holding the liable parties responsible. The liable party may be a local Odessa, MO government, or a third party whom the government contracted to repair the problem but either did not do so in a timely fashion or did not properly repair it.

Once your talented Odessa, MO bus accident attorney ascertains the reasons behind your accident, they will be able to establish who is liable for your injuries and how to proceed with delivering you the best possible financial recovery. Below are some examples of parties who are generally found at-fault in bus accident cases.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transportation buses such as Greyhounds are regarded as common carriers legally speaking, which means they have a duty of care to their passengers to maintain their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to ensure that their drivers are not being overworked. Despite saying that safety is their top priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not obeying its own rules when it comes to driver fatigue. Drivers are theoretically obligated to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the bus to inhibit sleepiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is rarely followed as too many breaks could result in financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study found that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were because of driver fatigue. Furthermore, many Greyhound customers have reported that their driver was eating when the accident took place, which constitutes distracted driving.

Making sure that Odessa, MO buses are properly inspected and repaired 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 might be because of a bus company either failing to provide routine inspections or neglecting to repair a broken part or component. Older buses are particularly susceptible to breaking down and bus companies must keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, bus companies need to be mindful in their hiring practices. All drivers need to be correctly licensed and trained, and should only be allowed to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will conduct a complete investigation into the bus company's hiring practices and the person who was driving when the wreck took place.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have a duty to verify the safety of their products and swiftly issue recalls in the event of a defective product. If they approve an inherently dangerous design or do not recall a component that they knew or should have known was not functioning correctly, they are guilty of product liability. While they may attempt to shift the blame to somebody else, your Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over 20 years of experience making sure negligent parties are held responsible for their behavior.

The Odessa or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be disastrous because of the number of people who could be injured and because they generally take place in metropolitan areas. While you can seek a financial recovery from the Odessa, MO government, there are special procedures for doing so. Missouri has stricter protections for governmental entities and government employees than for the average citizen in personal injury cases. If you want 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 essential to reach out to a Odessa, MO bus accident attorney right away after your injury. There is no time to wait, 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 a liable or thoughtless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash because of negligence. If they became distracted by eating or texting, did not stop driving when they were feeling sleepy, did not pay attention to the Odessa, 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 their employers sometimes have to be. When you ascend a bus you trust that driver with your health and your life. If a bus driver does not take that duty to heart and causes you injury, you can be certain that the committed and relentless bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them accountable.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto crash, there are often two or more drivers, and in some cases they each may be responsible for 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 hurt in a bus crash where there was another driver or drivers involved, your skilled and accomplished Odessa, 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 most common type of bus crash in Odessa 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 responsible, a school district in Odessa, MO may also be held accountable, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were particularly 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 Odessa, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you receive in a bus accident case will generally depend 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 ankle that merely required a quick trip to an emergency room in Odessa, MO and a short time off work. Or, you may have experienced a devastating spinal cord injury that leaves you disabled and in need of special equipment for the remainder of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make certain 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 work with our team of medical and economic experts to calculate the exact dollar amount you deserve, 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 impacted your life, Burger Law's Odessa, 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

Call Our Odessa, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every variety of bus accident case and know the tremendous anguish and devastating effect it can have on your and the people you care about. Your Odessa, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is compassionate, accomplished, honest and determined and will use every bit of the knowledge and abilities we have obtained over the past two decades to secure you the maximum recovery you rightfully deserve. If you or a loved one has been hurt 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.