The Lawyers of Brown and Roberto are Knoxville bus accident lawyers that handle school bus accidents, commercial bus transportation accidents and public transportation cases.
Approximately 80 school buses are involved in fatal crashes every year. Transit bus accidents also cause a significant number of deaths each year. Contact us today if you’ve been injured in a bus accident.
What Makes Bus Accident Claims Different Than Many Other Claims?
Bus accidents can come in many varieties. You may get injured in an accident with a commercial transportation company such as Greyhound bus lines or Megabus. Commercial bus cases pose several unique challenges.
First, it is important to identify the appropriate employer of the bus driver. Greyhound may use subsidiaries, contractors, affiliates and the like to manage the bus drivers. It is important to identify the appropriate employer before Tennessee’s one-year statute of limitations runs out.
Second, it is also important to look for fault on the part of the bus company. We want to know, for example, did the company push the driver too hard? Did the company have reasons to know that their driver would be dangerously tired? Does the driver have a history of wrecks and did the company know about that history?
Another way to find fault on the part of the busing company is to obtain the maintenance records for the bus that was involved in the wreck. The bus may have had faulty brakes due to improper maintenance. The company is responsible for putting a safe vehicle on the road.
All the above is true for charter bus accidents as well. Our Knoxville personal injury lawyers have experience with all types of claims.
School bus and city bus accidents can be different from accidents with Greyhound, Megabus, or charter bus accidents. The big difference between these is that often a government is one of the defendants in the claim. Tennessee is one of many states that has the Governmental Tort Liability Act described below.
Tennessee Bus Accident Laws
The Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act places restrictions on lawsuits against local governments. The Act tells us who can be sued, what the local government can be sued for and how much money can be claimed in the lawsuit. An experienced accident attorney looks for ways to get around the Act. One way to get around the act is to find other parties that are at fault. For example, we would look to see if the local school system used a busing contractor. The contractor cannot hide under the limitations on monetary damages that the local government will hide behind.
On bus accident cases involving a governmental body, it is important to know how that government makes decisions. Some local governments in Tennessee are self-insured. For those governments, claims over a certain amount must be approved by a vote. For example, in some cities, a claim over $5,000 must be approved by the city council. This means the claim can take added time to get resolved. Other local governments in Tennessee insure their buses through a pool often called “The Pool.” These claims are a lot more like ordinary insurance claims. Our Knoxville bus accident attorneys have experience with government liability claims.
Contact A Knoxville Bus Accident Attorney
Because bus accidents can be complicated, you need our Knoxville bus accident attorneys on board with you. If you have been involved in a bus accident, contact The Lawyers of Brown and Roberto at (865) 691-2777 right away for a free consultation.