Bus Accident Attorney in St. Clair County, MO

Bus Accident Attorney in St. Clair County, MO. If you or a family member has been injured 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 hardly ever get the same attention as plane or train crashes, even though the can often be similarly hazardous and fatal. In 2020, there were 964 bus accidents in Missouri that resulted in personal injury or death. We trust St. Clair County, 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 terrible, sometimes lifelong outcomes for you or your loved ones. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will make sure that you win the best possible compensation that you are entitled to for your injuries.

At Burger Law, our bus accident attorney team has over 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of the injured in St. Clair County and throughout Missouri and standing up to bullies like deceptive insurance companies and people who egotistically do not want to be held accountable for their careless actions. Our St. Clair County, MO clients have put their claims and their futures in our capable hands, and to date we have won them over $175 million in verdicts and settlements. Our bus accident attorney team uses their hard work, commitment, tenacity, knowledge and experience to help right wrongs in personal injury cases and help St. Clair County, MO residents heal. You should not have to lose wages, pay for expensive medical bills and also work through the emotional shock of your injury only because someone else broke the rules. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a St. Clair County, MO bus accident, reach out to the bus accident attorney of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a complimentary consultation. We begin working on your claim straight away, and you do not owe us any fees until we win your case.

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

Do I Need a St. Clair County, 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 the bus assuming that the proper safety measures were obeyed. St. Clair County, MO bus companies and drivers have strict regulations they are supposed to obey, but sometimes they fail in those responsibilities and they leave us to pick up the pieces. Because of the force that is frequently caused by bus accidents, injuries can take years to really recover from, may have permanent effects or in the worst cases can even lead to wrongful death. The St. Clair 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 investigating on your case at once, and work relentlessly until you win the best possible compensation you are owed. We have seen every type of bus accident case and know every trick insurance companies use to try and defraud injured St. Clair County, MO individuals and families into accepting a lower recovery than they entitled to. Those St. Clair County, MO insurance companies fear us because they know our bus accident attorney team takes up – and wins – the complicated cases. Call us today and let the passionate, experienced and aggressive bus accident lawyers at Burger Law help you protect your family’s future and help make you whole again.

The legal process is complicated and can be unforgiving to St. Clair County, MO residents who do not have the litigation and trial capabilities 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 St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney team, we handle every facet of your case. You can expect an experienced and skilled bus accident attorney at Burger Law to:

• Investigate the crash 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 acquire essential 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 often many passengers who want the same answers and financial recovery you do. We will take official depositions of eyewitnesses to help in your case.
• Acquire additional evidence such as tire marks, security videos, police reports, as well as important details such as how many miles the driver had driven without taking a break or when the last inspection and repairs were conducted on the bus. A lot of different factors give rise to bus accidents, and your Burger Law St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney will find out why the crash happened and who needs to be held accountable.
• Utilize our network of St. Clair County, MO auto wreck and medical experts to determine liability for your bus accident injuries and work out exactly how much your injuries are worth. You deserve every dime of what you are entitled to and we will use our experience and expertise to ensure you receive it.
• Fight back against resistant St. Clair County, MO insurance companies who are more interested in their bottom line than your well-being. 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 ploys 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 expert litigation skills to win you a great financial recovery for your injuries.

Furthermore, our bus accident attorney team will be by your side the whole time. We take control of all communication, documentation and litigation so that you can focus all of your energy on healing and making your family whole again. You owe us no attorneys fees until you are fully compensated. If you or a loved one 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 it takes so many people to operate a bus safely, from manufacturers, to bus companies to drivers, you will first need to find out the cause of the accident before determining who is liable. Fortunately, an accomplished and skilled St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney like those at Burger Law have seen every category of car accident, truck accident and bus accident case and will be able to discover what entity needs to be held responsible for your injuries.

What Causes Bus Accidents? | St. Clair County, 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 55 years old were more likely to be driving when a bus accident happened.
• Driver action. 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 stated that 31 percent of bus drivers in metropolitan area bus collisions had been cited with driving errors, for instance, speeding, being sleepy or distracted driving.
• Driver fatigue. A large portion of bus drivers, particularly the ones 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 fatigued and can even fall asleep at the wheel. While most busing companies have rules about how many hours a driver can drive during a day 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 mandatory or obeyed.
• Road hazards. Given buses’ size and the awkwardness of steering them, icy roads or St. Clair County, MO construction areas can be particularly hazardous for bus commuters. Sometimes a third party such as a construction company is negligent. Burger Law's bus accident attorney will help you discover 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 personnel responsible for reviews for more than 765,000 trucks and buses, or a mere 1.15 inspectors per 1,000 motor carriers. This means reviews typically cannot keep pace with the number of inspections required. Some St. Clair County, MO bus companies do not properly maintain their vehicles, causing them to be a hazard. Additionally, bus companies are obligated to ensure that their drivers are sufficiently 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. A Few common examples are:
  • Potholes
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Faulty or missing traffic lights
  • Obstacles on the road, such as branches or vehicle wreckage
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Excessive grades

  The more time the hazardous condition has been on the St. Clair County, MO road, the better chance you have of holding the liable parties accountable. The liable party may be a local St. Clair County, 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 sufficiently repair it.

Once your skilled St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney ascertains the cause of your accident, they will be able to establish who is at-fault for your injuries and how to take the next steps toward winning you the best possible compensation. Below are some examples of parties who are typically found liable 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 maintain their safety. One facet of that duty of care is to ensure that their drivers are not driving too many miles without a break. Despite insisting that safety is their principal 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 cause financial losses for the company. A 2012 government study reported that 37 percent of all passenger bus crashes were caused by driver fatigue. Moreover, many Greyhound riders have reported that their driver was eating when the crash took place, which constitutes distracted driving.

Making certain that St. Clair 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 could be the result of a bus company either neglecting to conduct routine inspections or neglecting to fix 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 sufficiently licensed and trained, and should only be permitted to drive after passing stringent background checks. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law will perform a complete investigation into the bus company's hiring practices and the person who was driving when the crash occurred.

A Bus Manufacturer

Like car and other motor vehicle manufacturers, bus manufacturers have an obligation to guarantee the safety of their products and swiftly issue recalls if a product is discovered to be faulty. If they approve an inherently defective 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 St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law has over two decades of experience making sure careless parties are held accountable for their behavior.

The St. Clair County or Missouri Government or a Public Entity

Public transportation accidents can frequently be calamitous because of the number of people involved and because they typically take place in densely populated areas. While you can make a claim against the St. Clair County, 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 personal injury claims. 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 imperative to get in touch with a St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney immediately after your accident. 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 negligent or careless public bus driver in Missouri.

The Bus Driver

Even a properly licensed and trained bus driver can cause an accident through negligence. If they became distracted by looking at the roadside or talking, did not stop driving when they were feeling fatigued, did not pay attention to the St. Clair 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 their employers sometimes have to be. When you get on a bus you trust that driver with your health and your life. If a bus driver does not take that responsibility seriously and causes you injury, you can be certain that the dedicated and relentless bus accident attorney at Burger Law will hold them responsible.

The Other Driver

Like any type of auto wreck, two or more drivers are often involved, and in some instances they each may shoulder 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 harmed in a bus accident where there was another driver or drivers involved, your talented and seasoned St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney will help you determine if they are liable 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 St. Clair 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 at fault, a school district in St. Clair County, MO may also be held responsible, for instance if they did not cancel school on a day when weather conditions were especially poor or they did not carry out 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 St. Clair County, MO Recover For Me?

The compensation you are awarded in a bus accident case will usually be based on the severity of your injuries and how they have affected and will affect they have on your life. You may have received a sprained wrist that merely required a quick trip to an emergency room in St. Clair 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 remainder of your life. When you hire a dedicated and accomplished St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law, we will make sure that you secure a great 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 potential

  We work alongside 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 affected your life, Burger Law's St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney team will fight relentlessly to ensure that you collect full 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 St. Clair County, MO Bus Accident Attorney Today

We have seen every type of bus accident case and know the incalculable anguish and catastrophic effect it can have on your and your loved ones. Your St. Clair County, MO bus accident attorney at Burger Law is passionate, accomplished, straightforward and tenacious 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 wait another second. Call Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free consultation.