Yes, you may be able to sue a bus company after an accident if its driver, its policies, or its upkeep of the bus caused your injuries. A company can be liable for its driver’s mistakes and for its own failures, such as poor hiring or skipped repairs. If a city agency ran the bus, special rules apply.
The key question is whether the company was careless and whether that carelessness hurt you. Our bus accident lawyers at Sweet James look at both the driver’s actions and the company’s choices when judging a case. The sections below explain how these claims work.
What You Must Prove in a Claim Against a Bus Company
Injury claims usually rest on four basic points, and bus claims are no different. You need to show the company owed you care, failed to give it, caused the crash or made it worse, and that you suffered real losses.
Bus companies that carry the public for a fare are often called common carriers. In many states, the law asks them to take very high care of riders, which can make the first two points easier to prove.
Proof usually comes from records, video, witnesses, and your medical files. Sweet James’ founding attorney James Bergener once represented insurance companies, so he knows how bus companies tend to fight back.
Suing the Company for Its Driver’s Mistakes
Employers are usually liable for careless acts their workers commit on the job. If a bus driver was speeding, texting, or running a light during a route, the company may be liable for the crash.
Some companies try to dodge this rule by calling drivers independent contractors. Whether that label holds up depends on how much the company controlled the driver’s work, and courts often look past it.
Our team at Sweet James reviews driver contracts and work records to show who was in charge. That can decide whether the company’s larger policy has to pay.
When the Company Is at Fault for Its Own Choices
A bus company can be liable even when its driver did nothing unusual that day. Company choices that may support a claim include:
- Hiring a driver with a bad record or the wrong license
- Skipping safety training for new routes or new buses
- Setting schedules that push drivers to speed or skip rest
- Keeping a driver on the road after complaints or crashes
- Putting off brake, tire, or steering repairs
- Ignoring problems found in safety checks
These claims can depend on company records the company would rather not share. Sweet James has more than 400 legal professionals, which gives us the staff to dig through these records when a case calls for it.
Private Bus Companies vs. Public Transit Agencies
A private company is sued much like any other business. The claim goes to its insurer first, and a lawsuit can follow if talks fail.
A public agency is different. Many states require a formal notice of claim first, sometimes within six months or less, and some limit how much an agency can pay. Some cities also hire private firms to run their routes, and then both the city and the firm may be part of the claim.
At Sweet James, we check early who owned the bus, who ran the route, and who employed the driver. The answers decide which rules apply and who can be sued.
Company Records That Can Prove Your Case
Bus companies keep many records, and some can help prove what went wrong. Records worth asking for include:
- Driver hiring files, license checks, and past crash records
- Training records for the driver and the route
- Driving logs showing how long the driver worked
- Repair and safety check logs for the bus
- Onboard video and data from the bus’s event recorder
- The company’s safety history on federal records
Bus companies that cross state lines must register with federal safety regulators, and some of their safety data is public. Our attorneys at Sweet James send letters early asking the company to keep its records, since some may be erased on a schedule.
Deadlines to Sue a Bus Company
Every state sets a deadline, called a statute of limitations, to file an injury lawsuit. In many states, the deadline is two or three years from the crash, but some allow less time.
Claims against public agencies often have much shorter notice deadlines, and the time to sue may be shorter too. An open insurance claim does not pause any of these deadlines.
Our attorneys at Sweet James have taken more than 500 cases to trial and have more than 25 years of experience helping injury victims. We track every deadline from the start of each case.
Talk to Sweet James About Suing a Bus Company
If you are asking whether you can sue a bus company after an accident, the answer depends on who ran the bus, what went wrong, and how quickly you act. Sweet James can review the facts, identify every party who may be liable, and handle the claim against the company and its insurers.
We answer calls 24/7, offer help in Spanish, and charge no fees or costs unless we win. Call Sweet James today for a free consultation about your bus accident case.
