Bus Accident Attorney in Rolla, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in Rolla, MO. If you or a family member 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 rarely ever get the same attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can frequently be equally as harmful and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust Rolla, MO bus drivers and bus companies to maintain our safety and respect the rules. When they break that trust and disregard the rules it can have ruinous, sometimes permanent outcomes for you or your family. Your Rolla, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will ensure that you recover the best possible compensation that you deserve for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has more than 20 years of experience defending the injured in Rolla and throughout Missouri and fighting back against bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who egocentrically do not want to be held responsible for their thoughtless behavior. Many Rolla, MO residents have put their cases and their futures in our trustworthy hands, and in total we have gotten them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their determination, commitment, relentlessness, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help Rolla, MO residents on their road to recovery. You should not have to lose work, pay for expensive medical costs and also manage the emotional trauma of your injury just because another person disregarded the rules. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a Rolla, 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 evaluation. We start working on your claim at once, and you do not owe us any fees until we win you the compensation you deserve.

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

Do I Need a Rolla, MO Bus Accident Attorney?

If you have experienced injuries in a bus accident, you are probably feeling especially vulnerable. After all, you were not the one driving and you got on board the bus assuming that the appropriate safety protocols were adhered to. Rolla, 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 typically caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to truly recover from, may have lifelong effects or in the most tragic cases can even cause wrongful death. The Rolla, 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 straight away, and work relentlessly until you receive the maximum compensation you are entitled to. We have experienced with every type of bus accident injury and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured Rolla, MO individuals and families into settling for a lower recovery than they deserve. Those Rolla, 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, veteran and relentless bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

The legal process is complex and can be difficult to comprehend for Rolla, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial abilities of an accomplished bus accident attorney. For over two decades standing up to bullies and fighting the hard cases. When you hire our Rolla, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every facet of your claim. You can expect an experienced 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 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 close by. As buses carry a lot of passengers, there are almost always many passengers 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, security videos, police reports, in additional to key details such as how far the driver had driven without taking a break or when the last inspection and repairs were conducted on the bus. Many different factors play a part in bus accidents, and your Burger Law Rolla, MO bus accident attorney will discover the "whys" of the crash and who needs to be held responsible.
• Use our network of Rolla, MO auto wreck 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 entitled to and we will use our knowledge and expertise to make certain you collect it.
• Stand up to resistant Rolla, 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 schemes will not work in your case.
• Take your case to trial if the insurance company will not offer a fair settlement, we will use our finely honed litigation skills to secure you a great financial recovery for your damages.

Beyond that, our bus accident attorney team will be in your corner entire 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 you get the best possible compensation. If you or a family member has been harmed in a devastating 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 run 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. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled Rolla, 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 who needs to be held liable for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | Rolla, MO Bus Accident Attorney

• The age of the driver and their experience. A 2012 Journal of Safety Research study found that beginner drivers under 25 years old, as well as more experienced drivers over the age of 55 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 owing to a grave offense such as driving while intoxicated, another study by the University of Michigan reported that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus crashes had committed driving errors, for example, speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A lot of bus drivers, especially the ones that drive for commercial bus lines such as Greyhound that require 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 regulations about how many hours a driver can drive during without a break or how frequently they have to take a break, those regulations 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 awkwardness of steering them, icy roads or Rolla, MO construction areas can be particularly risky 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 determine if that is the 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 people responsible for reviews for more than 765,000 motor carriers, or just 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews frequently cannot stay ahead of the amount of inspections needed. Some Rolla, MO bus companies do not correctly repair their vehicles, causing them to be less safe. Furthermore, bus companies are required to ensure that their drivers are sufficiently trained and do not drive too many hours without a break.
• Hazardous roads. Unsafe road conditions or hazards in the road can result in a driver losing control and causing an accident. A Few common 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
  • Insufficient lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the hazardous condition has been on the Rolla, MO street, the better chance you have of holding the liable parties responsible. The at-fault party may be a local Rolla, MO government, or a third party whom the government hired to eliminate the problem but either did not do so in a timely fashion or did not properly repair it.

Once your accomplished Rolla, MO bus accident attorney determines the reasons behind your wreck, they will be able to confirm 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 typically found liable in bus accident claims.

Commercial Bus Companies

Transport buses such as Greyhounds are regarded as common carriers legally speaking, which means they have a duty of care to their passengers to look out for their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to ensure that their drivers are not driving too many miles in a day. Despite saying that safety is their highest priority, a CNN report in 2016 found that Greyhound is not following its own rules in regards to driver fatigue. Drivers are technically obligated to stop every 150 miles and get out to inspect the vehicle to prevent sleepiness. However, the rule is not enforced and is usually not followed 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 due to driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound customers have said that their driver was eating during the time of a crash, which is an example of distracted driving.

Ensuring that Rolla, 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 the result of a bus company either neglecting to carry out routine inspections or failing to repair a broken part or component. Older buses are particularly vulnerable to breaking down and bus companies need to keep their fleets updated.

Lastly, bus companies need to be diligent in their hiring practices. All drivers need to be sufficiently licensed and trained, and should only be permitted to drive after passing strict background checks. Your Rolla, 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 accident transpired.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have an obligation to ensure the safety of their products and immediately issue recalls in the event of a malfunctioning product. If they approve an inherently faulty 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 try to shift the blame to someone else, your Rolla, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure negligent parties are held responsible for their behavior.

The Rolla or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can often be calamitous because of the amount of people involved and because they generally transpire in densely populated areas. While you can file a suit against the Rolla, 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 injury liability cases. 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 imperative to call a Rolla, MO bus accident attorney right 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 operating a motor vehicle “within the course of their employment.” This means that you can sue or make a claim against a liable or reckless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause a crash due to driver error. If they became distracted by eating or talking, did not stop driving when they were feeling sleepy, did not pay attention to the Rolla, MO road conditions and driving laws while they were driving or made the dangerous decision to drive drunk, they need to be held responsible just like their employers 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 committed and tenacious bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them accountable.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto collision, there are often two or more drivers, and in some instances they each may be responsible for a portion of the blame. Another driver’s negligence, such as speeding, driving while intoxicated or pulling in front of the bus too quickly can harm you. If you were injured in a bus wreck where there was another driver or drivers involved, your knowledgeable and experienced Rolla, MO bus accident attorney will help you establish if they are liable and if you should make a claim against their insurance company.

School Districts

School bus accidents are the the category of bus accident we most commonly see in Rolla 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 Rolla, MO may also be held accountable, for example if they did not cancel school on a day when road conditions were especially dangerous or they did not conduct 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 Rolla, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you receive in a bus accident case will usually be based on the severity of your injuries and how they have impacted and will affect they have on your life. You may have received a mild concussion that just needed a quick trip to an emergency room in Rolla, MO and a couple weeks off work. Or, you may have received a catastrophic 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 Rolla, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will ensure that you secure 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 expenses, such as hospital bills, physical therapy, assistive devices and medications
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity

  We utilize our network of medical and economic experts to compute 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 affected your life, Burger Law's Rolla, MO bus accident attorney team will fight relentlessly to ensure that you recover 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 Rolla, 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 the people you care about. Your Rolla, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is passionate, accomplished, honest and persistent and will use every bit of the knowledge and skills we have obtained over the past two decades to get you the full recovery you are rightfully owed. 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 consultation.