Throughout Orlando, you will find various buses, including private charter buses, school buses, and tour buses. Due to their size, you could sustain severe injuries if you get into a crash. Our Orlando bus accident lawyers understand the consequences of these collisions.
We aim to assist Orlando’s personal injury lawsuit clients by making the claims process as straightforward as possible. If you’ve been injured in an Orange County, FL, bus accident, we can help. We offer you a free case review to go over the facts.
Causes of Bus Accidents in Orlando
There are many ways a bus crash can occur. Potential causes of bus accidents include:
- Tipping due to unbalanced weight with too many people on one side
- Bus drivers failing to follow correct passenger loading and unloading protocols
- Distracted drivers
- Negligent or reckless driving
- Vehicles traveling at high speeds
- Fatigued drivers
- Malfunctioning or defective parts
You can sue for accidents of all types. The key point is to establish that someone behaved recklessly and you suffered preventable personal injuries.
Potential Orlando Bus Accident Injuries
The severity and types of injuries you may suffer in a bus accident depend on the accident’s location if the bus accident victim is a bus or vehicle passenger, and the speed at which the accident occurred. Examples of serious bus accident injuries include:
- Back injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Fractures
- Crushed limbs
- Spinal cord injuries
Even if your injuries are less than catastrophic, you could recover compensation for their pain and expenses.
The Florida Deadline For Filing Bus Accident Actions
When negotiations fail to achieve an agreeable settlement, you can pursue compensation through a lawsuit. Depending on the liable parties involved, two statutes may affect your deadline for filing a lawsuit in your Orlando bus accident.
Under Florida Statutes § 95.11, you have four years from the incident to file a personal injury lawsuit or two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, if you are filing an action against the government, that law falls under Florida Statutes § 768.28, which only permits you six months to file.
You must follow these strict guidelines regarding when you can bring a case to court. If you fail to do so, your Orlando bus accident lawyer will not be able to file your action or recover damages on your behalf.
Your Bus Accident Lawyer Serving Orlando Will Establish Negligence
Your Orlando bus accident attorney must establish negligence. This is one of many components that go into filing a successful injury claim. Proving negligence involves establishing the following:
Duty of Care
Every road user must follow traffic signals, obey traffic laws, and drive safely to prevent collisions. When dealing with motor vehicle crashes, every involved party has a duty of care to act reasonably.
Breach of Duty
The problem comes in when road users do not live up to their duty to act carefully. If a bus driver or another party fails to yield the right of way (for instance), they endanger others, thus breaching their duty of care.
Causation
When those irresponsible, absent-minded, or reckless actions directly lead to a bus accident, and we have evidence of it, we can establish causation. The goal here is to show that the crash would not have occurred if the driver had not been negligent.
Damages
If the bus accident resulted in physical injuries, psychological injuries, or financial loss, you are entitled to collect damages (or monetary compensation) for all you have suffered.
Our team is ready to fight for the damages you qualify to receive.
Supporting Your Orlando Bus Accident Claim With Evidence
You need evidence to prove negligence and support your claim for damages, leaving little room for doubt. Your bus accident lawyer serving Orlando will work hard to ensure you have an airtight case that the other parties can’t easily discredit.
During our investigation, we may search for and collect the following evidence:
- The bus crash report
- Traffic footage, cell phone videos, and dash camera recordings of the collision
- Witness statements
- The bus driver’s driving records and employment history
- Bus maintenance records
- Bus company complaints
- Photos of your injuries and vehicle damage
- Your medical records
- Medical bills, wage and work documentation, collision-related bills, receipts, and financial documentation
We also look into the operations of the transportation company to check for compliance with county, state, and federal standards.
Specific Steps You Should Take Following an Orlando Bus Accident
Following a bus accident, you should take steps to protect yourself. These steps are for your immediate safety and health and building a strong claim for compensation. These steps should include the following:
- Contacting the authorities
- Take photographs of the crash scene and collect contact information from others involved.
- Obtaining medical attention
How Our Orlando Bus Accident Attorneys Fight For Your Compensation
Our team is always willing to take the legal burden off clients’ shoulders, giving them more time and energy to spend on recovery. For instance, while you spend time with family and attend doctor’s appointments, we can:
- Collect evidence in support of your case, including police reports, medical records, and bus inspection reports.
- Calculate the total value of your financial, physical, and emotional injuries, so you know how much compensation to ask for.
- Identify the liable parties and notify them about your claim or lawsuit.
- Speak with the liable party’s insurance company over the phone or in person to negotiate a settlement that meets your needs, if possible.
- Take your case to court and try to persuade a jury to award you the damages you need, if necessary.
As you can see, filing a claim or lawsuit involves much work, and complications could arise anytime. Rather than go it alone and run the risk of encountering a situation you do not know how to deal with, let us do it all for you.
The Liable Parties in an Orlando Bus Accident
Multiple parties could share liability in a bus crash. Parties that an Orlando bus accident lawyer might deem at fault include:
- Bus drivers: Drivers who exceed the speed limit, take unsafe actions, or fail to pay attention to the road are often responsible for motor vehicle accidents.
- Bus manufacturers: If something goes wrong with the bus’s brakes, tires, or another part, the company that produced the part may be legally liable.
- Bus mechanics: Mechanics should work meticulously to ensure buses are safe to use and perform repairs in a responsible and timely manner. Failure to do so may constitute negligence.
- Bus owners or companies: Whoever owns the bus might be liable for the drivers’ dangerous behavior, especially if they failed to provide proper training or safety features.
- Government entities: For instance, if the crash occurred due to a pothole, a broken streetlight, or another environmental factor, you may sue the government agency in charge of maintaining the roadway.
If we can find strong evidence against multiple liable parties, we can file claims or lawsuits against all of them. This way, you can hold everyone accountable for their role in your collision and seek compensation to pay your bills.
Damages Our Personal Injury Attorneys Can Seek For You
After you initiate a claim with an Orlando bus accident lawyer, they will work toward recovering damages on your behalf. In Florida, recoverable damages may include:
- Assistive devices, including crutches, prosthetics, and wheelchairs
- Disfigurement or scarring
- Past and future medical care
- Loss of business associations
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of earning capacity
- Lost income from work absences
- Pain and suffering
- Disability
Additional damages may be available to those who lost a loved one and now wish to pursue compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit on the deceased’s behalf. We can represent you in wrongful death actions and personal injury cases.
Worry About Getting Better, and Your Bus Accident Attorney Will Do the Rest
Our injury law firm is singularly focused on providing responsive legal service. We take charge of your case so you can get back on your feet as soon as possible. We are honored when bus accident victims choose us because they trust our knowledge, experience, and skill.
To fulfill our commitment to client satisfaction, our Orlando personal injury law firm will:
- Answer all your questions about your case and the legal process.
- Provide free, no-obligation consultation.
- Provide you with your attorney’s personal cell phone number.
- Actively return your calls, texts, and emails.
- Send frequent updates on your case’s progress.
- Schedule your key appointments.
- Help you get your car fixed, if applicable.
Get Help From a Bus Accident Lawyer in Orlando
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a bus accident, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine is here to provide help. Our Orlando team of experienced attorneys will provide you with the legal representation and guidance you need to get the compensation you deserve.
Our attorneys have extensive experience handling bus accident cases and understand how to build a strong case. Contact our team so we can review your case for free today. We go the extra mile to help our clients pursue and recover fair compensation.
We Can Help.
