Bus Accidents

If you or a family member was injured in a bus accident anywhere in Maryland you deserve a lawyer that can help you recover the maximum amount of compensation under the law. Bus accidents cases are not as simple as standard car accidents, and therefore it is essential to hire a lawyer that is willing to go the extra mile for clients. Benjamin represents all types of injured bus passengers including children, teenagers, and adults and he is never afraid to file a lawsuit and take the bus operators to court. The insurance companies that represent bus operators will always try to offer a quick and easy settlement right off the bat, but these initial offers are typically a fraction of what the case is actually worth. Benjamin puts the time and effort into fighting these insurance companies, and keeps his clients informed and involved each step of the way. His clients are never left out in the dark and all are all provided with Benjamin’s cell phone where he can be reached day and night.

In 2017 the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that there were over 100,000 large truck and bus crashes in 2017 and close to 150,000 injured in these crashes. In that same year there were over 1.7 million total accidents and 2.5 million people injured. The quick math on these statistics tells us that large truck and busses are involved in about 6 percent of all injury crashes. On the other hand, in 2017 there were about 5,000 fatalities involving large trucks and busses and about 37,000 total fatalities, which is closer to 14 percent. The quick math on these statistics tell us that a large truck or bus accident is far more likely to cause a fatality that a standard car accident. Large trucks and busses are operated by professional drivers, but even professional drivers can be easily distracted and prone to make the same mistakes as non-professionals. When these mistakes happen the results can be catastrophic, as it’s much harder to correct a mistake while driving a bus or truck. Simple errors such as failing to yield, going too fast around a curve, or not focusing on the road for a split second can cause a bus to crash when a car otherwise would not.

Generally speaking there are three main categories of busses, and each must be treated differently with respect to taking legal action. If you were a passenger on a bus and were injured your ability to recover damages and the amount you may recover depends on who caused the accident. Public transportation busses that are owned and operated by the State of Maryland are routinely are involved in injury accidents. For public transportation busses such as MTA busses, if another motorist caused the accident your lawyer would sue the their insurance carrier, but if the bus driver of a public transportation bus caused the accident you would have to sue the government. Under Maryland sovereign immunity laws the maximum amount of recovery against State personnel is $400,000 per person in single incident. Some states allow for a greater amount of maximum recovery and some don’t limit recovery at all, but some actually cap recovery at far less. Injuries on private charter bus companies would be treated like a standard accident, where the lawyer would go after the company’s insurance carrier. If you or a child was injured on a school bus and the bus driver was at fault for the accident then you would either sue the bus company or the government. Some school systems use private school bus companies such as Woodlawn Motor Coach, and these companies have large insurance policies that can exceed $1 million. Regardless of whether the bus driver was employed by the local government or by a private company, he or she must be held accountable if there was negligence, and Benjamin Herbst is the Maryland bus accident lawyer that will hold them accountable. Call Benjamin anytime at 410-207-2598 for a free no obligation consultation.