Due to stringent state safety rules and regulations, bus accidents in Florida are a reasonably rare occurrence. However, many people can be hurt in bus accidents due to passenger capacity and a lack of seatbelts, and those injuries can be life-changing.
Claiming financial damages if you were hurt in a bus accident can help to pay for the costs of your medical treatment and recovery, replace lost income, and support your ongoing requirements in the future. If you were injured in this way and believe the cause was someone else’s negligence, our bus accident lawyers serving Middleton can help with everything you need to make a compensation claim.
Why It Can Be Challenging to Pursue Compensation After a Bus Accident
Public transportation is touted as convenient, economical, and better for the environment. As a result, millions of commuters rely on them to travel to work and school each day. However, while traveling by bus has many advantages, when things go wrong, and you are injured, claiming compensation can be tricky for the following reasons:
- Determining liability for causing the accident can be challenging as multiple parties may share fault.
- Injuries sustained in a bus accident can be serious, so claims against insurers are often well defended as they typically involve higher settlement amounts.
- Proving another party’s negligence and determining the financial extent of your injuries and other related losses can be difficult, especially while you recover.
Working with the assistance of a lawyer can help reduce the stress of going it alone. Our attorneys will take care of every aspect of your case and be your go-to for any questions you may have. Our goal is to make a claim process as hassle-free as possible for our clients so that you can fully focus on the most important priority: your recovery.
Our Bus Accident Attorneys Can Help You Understand Your Legal Options
Our legal team can help you understand your legal options after a bus accident and help you determine how to pursue compensation. For example, whether you should make a claim using PIP coverage, file a personal injury lawsuit, or both. In short, we cut through the legal jargon and explain things in plain terms, so you know exactly what to expect from the process.
If you sustained severe injuries, you would likely need to file a personal injury lawsuit. Unlike a claim with PIP, you will need to prove the liable party was negligent. This means establishing the at-fault party did or failed to do something they should have to protect your safety, and you were injured as a result.
While this may seem like a simple concept, in reality, it is far more complex, mainly due to the evidence required to demonstrate the following:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care
- The defendant breached their duty of care
- The breach caused your injuries
- You suffered financial damages as a result
As soon as we take your case, our lawyers will begin to work on gathering the evidence required to support your claim. This may be from medical records, details about your income, CCTV footage, police reports, witness statements, or specialist medical testimony. We can also demand evidence from the bus company where necessary, such as information about employee records or fleet maintenance reports.
Insurance Companies do Not Always Act in Your Best Interests
After both parties have disclosed the evidence, we can negotiate with the other side for an appropriate settlement. However, because insurance companies operate as for-profit organizations, they have their own agenda in negotiations, as do we: acting in your best interests.
You may even have already received an offer before any evidence is obtained, so it is beneficial to seek legal advice before accepting. Insurers rarely open with their best offer. Their suggested settlement amount may not be an accurate reflection of the compensation you deserve for financial damages related to:
- Medical bills and rehabilitation costs
- Lost income and compensation for any impact on your future employment
- Compensation for your pain and suffering (physical and psychological)
- Property damage or loss
- Any other related losses
Because we take the time to get to know our clients and understand what they have been through, we know what a reasonable settlement looks like in all our cases. However, the choice is always yours to make.
How Much does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer?
We understand how difficult it can be to cope with the physical, financial, and emotional aftermath of an injury. Therefore, to help relieve some of the financial pressure, we provide our legal services on a contingency fee basis. This means there are no up-front or out-of-pocket expenses to pay, and we only recover our fees upon obtaining a favorable verdict or settlement on your behalf.
How Long do I Have to File My Case?
Florida Statutes (Florida Statute § 95.11) allow two years for injured people to seek compensation via a personal injury lawsuit for “actions founded on negligence.” Negligent actions that commonly cause or contribute to bus accidents include:
- Driver (meaning a bus driver or the driver of another vehicle) negligence, such as distracted driving, driving while under the influence, fatigued driving, or reckless driving.
- Bus companies with poor hiring practices, such as failing to conduct suitable background checks on employees.
- Bus companies who fail to provide sufficient driver training in line with safety rules and regulations.
- Faulty or defective vehicle parts.
- Poorly maintained fleets.
- Driving without due care in poor road or weather conditions.
There are many other potential causes. The takeaway is; that if you believe your injuries were caused by the negligence of another person or organization, you deserve to be fairly compensated, and we can help you with that.
Contact Our Middleton Bus Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Review
The first step towards recovering the compensation you deserve after being injured in a bus accident can begin with a free consultation with the team at GED Lawyers. We have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients since 1995. We can help you, too.
