Albany Bus Accident Lawyer

Countless commuters rely on buses, as they offer a more convenient and cost-friendly way to travel. While most trips end without incidents, some have tragic endings. Despite being uncommon, crashes involving school buses and commercial buses can result in serious injuries. If you were involved in a collision, an experienced bus accident lawyer in Albany can help.

At Morelli Law Firm, we have helped a variety of parties recover financial compensation in bus accident cases, including passengers, occupants of other vehicles, and pedestrians. The process of recovering compensation can be daunting, but our experienced legal team can help reduce the stress of injured clients.

In the 25+ years since the founding of our firm, we have secured over $1 Billion on behalf of our clients. Contact us today to set up a free case review with one of our Albany personal injury lawyers.

Albany Bus Injury Lawyers Are Here to Help You

Regardless of how complex your bus accident may be, an experienced bus accident attorney serving Albany will fight for justice on your behalf. Your attorney can help you seek fair compensation through a personal injury lawsuit against those negligent individuals who may have played a part in the cause of the accident.

In cases involving a bus owned and operated by the government, your attorney will first negotiate with the government insurance company for a compensation settlement. If they do not reach a reasonable consensus, you can escalate the issue to file a claim against the government entity. To build a case, your attorney will:

• Review the accident and police reports
• Collect witness and passenger reports
• Document the accident site both in writing and by taking photos of the site
• Analyze your medical reports with the help of medical experts to establish the extent of the injuries you suffered
• Collaborate with experts to recreate scenarios that led up to the accident
• Handle communication with the insurance companies on your behalf

Statute of Limitations for Bus Accident Claims in New York

In New York, you must adhere to some strict rules for you to recover compensation. Failure to do so might result in losing your right to recover damages. These rules include the statute of limitations, which dictates that you must file your claim within two years from the date of the accident, according to New York’s Civil Practice Law & Rules (CVP) §214(5).

Personal injury lawyers fully understand the intricacies of these cases and will work with you to ensure that you file a solid case in a timely manner.

A Legal Team in Albany Can Help Establish Liability

To prevail in a lawsuit involving bus accidents, you must establish the cause of the incident. Doing so can help determine the responsible party for all the damages that have occurred. A bus accident attorney in Albany can uncover information regarding your accident, establish the cause of the accident, and hold the negligent party responsible for your injuries.

There are a variety of parties that are commonly liable in bus accident cases, including:

• The bus driver
• The private company or government entity that owns and operates the bus
• A third-party driver whose actions led to the accident
• The government entity responsible for maintaining the roads where the accident occurred
• The bus manufacturer
• Any company that performed maintenance on the bus

All of these parties owe a duty of care to everyone on the road to conduct themselves in a reasonably safe manner and not put others in unnecessary danger.

Negligence by Bus Companies

Far too often, bus accidents are caused by negligence on the part of bus companies. For instance, bus companies fail to conduct a proper inspection of the vehicle, and as a result, malfunction or failure of equipment causes an accident. In other situations, companies can fail to train their drivers on the kind of maintenance needed on the buses or how to operate them safely.

Negligence by Bus Drivers

Some instances in which a bus driver’s negligence leads to an accident may include the following:

• Fatigue
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Distracted driving

Fatigue

Drivers are only supposed to work a certain number of hours in a day and then have requirements regarding how long they need to be off shift before they embark on another shift. Despite strict hours of service regulations set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some bus drivers often push through their fatigue and drive past these limits.

As a result, the capacity of bus drivers to operate their vehicles safely becomes severely impaired, increasing the likelihood of an accident occurring.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol

For obvious reasons, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol is unacceptable. Intoxicated drivers are unable to focus and function properly, which puts them, passengers in the bus, and other vehicles on the road at risk of an accident.

Distracted Driving

After being behind the wheel for a long time, drivers often shift their attention off the road to other things, like texting, making a call, or applying make-up. It becomes almost impossible to act reasonably and promptly in a road situation when you’re distracted.

Driver negligence is incredibly dangerous. If the bus driver in your case is found to have acted negligently in some way, your personal injury attorney can seek to hold them accountable for the crash.

Defective Bus Equipment

A bus whose equipment is faulty or sub-standard has a higher chance of causing an accident than a quality bus. If the crash is caused by defective equipment, an Albany bus accident attorney can help you file a claim against the company or the manufacturer for negligence.

Damages You Can Collect From a Bus Accident Claim

The state of New York does not place a cap on how much compensation you can get from a bus accident claim. Economic and non-economic damages your bus accident attorney can help you collect through settlement negotiations or at trial include:

• Lost wages from time you were not able to work and healing from your injuries
• Lost future wages resulting from an injury that prevents you from working
• Medical expenses from hospital visits, prescriptions, and rehabilitation
• Property damage if your car was damaged from the accident
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and mental anguish
• Loss of consortium preventing you from having marital relations with your spouse
• Loss of companionship if an injury prevents you from engaging with others as you used to
• Both mental and physical permanent disabilities that prevent you from living life as you did before
• Diminished quality of life
• Burial and funeral costs in the event of a wrongful death

Punitive Damages

In a small percentage of cases, punitive damages may also be awarded to victims of bus accidents. The court will only consider punitive damages in extreme cases, where the damages you suffered were the result of criminal negligence or an intentional act.

Albany Bus Accident Lawyers Can Fight Insurance Companies

Negotiating with an insurance company to file a claim can be complicated. Insurers often try to deny the claim or pressure the victim into taking a small settlement. An experienced lawyer can be your partner in all communications and negotiate on your behalf to help prevent the insurance company from pressuring or intimidating you.

Because most buses are operated by government agencies, the deadline to file a claim for negligence requires prompt action. New York is a no-fault state, meaning the law requires you to file a claim for accidents involving private bus companies within 30 days.

No-Fault Auto Insurance in New York

As a no-fault auto insurance state, New York requires all bus accident victims to first seek compensation for their injuries by filing an insurance claim with their own provider if they were injured in an automobile accident. However, this does not necessarily mean that you won’t have the option to file a claim with the responsible party’s insurer or file a lawsuit against them directly.

While your first source for compensation will be your own insurance carrier, you will have the option of filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party if your medical bills exceed the limits of your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage or if you suffered a serious injury, such as:

• Bone fractures
• Significant disfigurement
•  Dismemberment
• Permanent loss of a body part or organ
• Permanent disability
• Temporary disability that prevents you from carrying out your normal daily activities for at least 90 days
• Loss of a fetus
• Permanent loss of a bodily function or system
• Limitation of a bodily function
• Death

Consult an Albany Bus Accident Attorney Today

At Morelli Law Firm, we can provide all the legal assistance to pursue a claim against the negligent parties. As a convenience to our clients, we work on a contingency-fee basis, which means that we do not require any payments upfront, and attorney’s fees are only collected when you win your case.

To get started, contact us today by calling us or completing the contact form on this website to schedule a free consultation where you can see how our Albany bus accident attorneys may be able to help you with your case.