Dacula, Georgia, has a wide range of bus services available. Some are used in public transport, while others are purposed for private transportation. Yet, regardless of who operates them, these buses often get into accidents that affect their passengers and other drivers.
If you have been in one of these bus accidents recently, now is the time to call a Dacula bus accident lawyer at John Foy & Associates to get legal support in filing a claim.
You Can Sue After a Bus Accident
All bus operators must administer a reasonable duty of care to their passengers and other roadway users, including drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Compensation is due if their negligent actions or that of another associated party led to an accident that injured you. To recover this compensation, it will likely be necessary to file a legal claim against the bus driver, their employer, or a maintenance company that failed to perform its duties.
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Bus Accident Victims
Bus accidents pose a serious threat to the physical well-being of anyone who is involved. If you are riding on the bus, a crash may cause you to be propelled in any direction, resulting in an impact on the structures within the bus. People in other vehicles that get hit by a bus can be crushed, impaled, or driven off the road.
Even people who are not directly impacted can be affected, as they may be forced to react quickly by driving off of the road to avoid a collision. If you found yourself wrapped up in any of these or many more relevant scenarios, it is time for you to exercise your right to compensation. By filing a claim, you can recover damages associated with any injuries or property damage you incurred during the bus accident.
The Causes of Bus Accidents
With so many consequences at hand, it helps to know what may lead to a bus accident. Here are some examples of situations that can lead to a serious bus accident.
Not Obeying Traffic Signs and Signals
Buses are sometimes held to a strict schedule. To meet their timeline, they may ignore stop signs and other signals. This is inherently dangerous because other drivers and pedestrians may be unable to react to them entering an intersection without the right of way.
If someone assumes that they will stop appropriately at the upcoming sign or signal, a collision may occur. When a plaintiff can prove that this is what happened, their odds of recovering compensation rise substantially.
Negligent Hiring and Training
Drive a bus is a hard, focus-driven job. To control these incredibly large vehicles, drivers must be trained thoroughly to ensure that they understand how the bus they are driving functions. If an employer fails to provide this training or hires someone who does not have the capacity to drive safely, they may be liable for injuries caused by the accident.
Filing a claim against a bus company is difficult, though, so hire a bus accident lawyer in Dacula to start working on your case.
Mechanical Failures
Buses are complex machines with many mechanical features. If some of these features fail, the driver can easily lose proper control of the vehicle. Without the ability to control the vehicle, they may struggle to avoid collisions and other accidents.
Even if a mechanical failure is the reason why an accident happened, liability may still fall on the bus driver or bus company. But, in some cases, liability instead falls onto the company that was responsible for performing maintenance on the bus.
Fatigued Drivers
Even if a driver is normally competent, fatigue can lower their ability to react to stimuli while they are on the road. Bus drivers are heavily regulated to ensure that they do not spend too much time carrying passengers, yet some drivers break these rules. Others do not get to sleep early enough and come to work tired. This fatigue build-up can easily cause an accident, but fatigue is no excuse.
Safety should be the priority and allowing a fatigued bus driver to work breaches the bus company owner’s duty of care.
Potential Liable Parties in Dacula Bus Accidents
Bus accidents are more complex than car accidents because several parties could be to blame for bus accidents. Some examples of potentially liable parties include:
- Private bus companies
- Government organizations that operate public buses
- Bus drivers
- Third-party drivers
- Pedestrians
- Bus maintenance companies
Each of these parties can impact the safety and security of a bus. For example, if a bus driver goes to work drunk, their negligence could easily cause an accident. On the other side of things, a pedestrian darting into the street may force a bus driver to swerve, causing an accident. In both scenarios, serious injury may occur.
Depending on the circumstances, victims may still need to sue the bus company or government entity that operates the bus. To learn what the best course of action is, seek aid from a Dacula bus accident lawyer.
Get Compensation Following Bus Accidents
When someone is involved in a bus accident, it may not be immediately clear who is liable. To improve your understanding of what steps victims need to take next, speaking to a Dacula bus accident attorney is imperative.
To get in touch with a bus accident attorney in Dacula, reach out to John Foy & Associates. You can use the contact form on this page to get started with a free case evaluation.
404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form