4 Frequently Asked Bus Accident Questions
Are you seeking compensation for your injuries and have questions? Here are 4 frequently asked bus accident questions. Schedule a free consultation.
1. How Much Is My Bus Accident Claim Worth?
How do you determine the value of a bus accident claim? We were recently contacted by a man who had the exact same question. If you have sustained an injury in a bus accident, you might be wondering the same thing. My answer is this— it depends on many different factors.
One of the first factors that it depends on is how badly you’re injured. The more severe the injury, the higher the medical bills, the higher the lost wages, and the more effect it’s going to have on someone’s life. including their relationships and their overall pain and suffering. Those are things that increase or decrease the value of any personal injury case.
If you have been a victim in any type of bus accident and you’re wondering how much your case is worth or what you should do, you should seek an attorney who has experience in handling personal injury actions and litigating cases. A trial lawyer who has experience in successfully litigating cases involving buses and any type of bus accident is your best bet. Bus accident cases are similar to other types of personal injury claims, but they’re also a little bit different, and you want to make sure that the lawyer that your retain has the necessary experience, not only in the courtroom but in handling the type of claim that you’re bringing to them.
2. What Mistakes Should I Avoid After a Bus Accident?
What are common mistakes that people make in bus accident claims? We were recently contacted by a man who was on Augusta public transit when the bus driver took off too fast. This individual fell and hurt his back. If you’re watching this at home, you may have gone through something similar or you may have been hurt in a bus accident.
One of the biggest mistakes that this man made, and a mistake that we’ve seen before, is that he did not immediately report it to the bus driver because he didn’t really think that he was hurt. He made no type of incident report at all. He simply got off the bus at his stop. Later on that night, he started having back pain, and the next day he was at the doctor’s office.
The fact that he hadn’t report the incident, had no idea who around him had witnessed it, and didn’t even know the name of the bus driver put him in a complicated position where he was having to fight even more of an uphill battle in order to make a claim against the city. Another mistake that I see people make is that they delay in getting legal representation. If you are reading this, I would urge you to get an attorney as quickly as possible.
Bus accidents are different. In this man’s case, it was an accident that happened on the city bus. Chances are, if you have a claim as the result of a bus accident, it’s going to be a city bus, or possibly a school bus. It’s going to be a county-owned bus, state-owned or city-owned bus, and there are specific rules that you have to follow in order to bring claims against cities, counties and states. These rules are different in every state, and they are set up to where you do not comply with them, your claim is barred. It doesn’t matter how negligent the bus driver was; it doesn’t matter how badly you’re hurt; it doesn’t matter that you could’ve brought that same exact claim against another driver. It only matters that you didn’t comply with the procedural requirements and now your claim is barred sovereign immunity.
If you have been injured in any type of bus accident, particularly involving any kind of city-, county- or state-owned bus, hire an attorney as soon as possible. Hire one who has experience not only prosecuting claims involving personal injuries, but also has experience in handling claims against county and state entities.
Claims involving buses are similar to other personal injury cases, but they also are different. If you’ve been injured in a bus accident, we would be more than happy to sit down and answer any questions that you have.
3. What Should I Do if I was Injured in a Bus Accident?
What should you do when you have been involved in a bus accident? We were contacted last week by a person who was in a car wreck involving a bus, and she had that same question. If you’re reading this, you probably have the same question– what do I do now?
First off, you need to make sure that you get the medical treatment that you need. Depending on how injured you are, you want to make sure that you take care of yourself. You also want to make sure that the police are called. The police are going to come there and do an accident report. You want to make sure that the police memorialize everything that has happened in that accident. On that accident report is going to be the name of the driver of the bus, the insurance for the bus, and the insurance company that carries coverage for the bus. So, first, get the medical treatment that you need and make sure that the police respond to the scene.
When you’ve been released from the hospital, you want to make immediate plans to get an attorney. The bus company, whether it’s the city of Augusta or a private bus line, is going to contact you. They’re going to want a statement from you, and it’s going to make sense that they want that statement from you. Don’t give it to them. You want to really hire an attorney as quickly as possible. That attorney will be able to help you navigate how to give a statement, how to present your claim to the insurance company or to the city representative without giving a recorded statement, and all the little things like that that that matter. An attorney who’s handled bus accident claims in the past will be able to help you with these crucial matters.
Make sure you get medical treatment that you need. Make sure that you have the police respond to the scene of the wreck, and then, after that, make sure that you get an attorney as quickly as possible. If you have any questions about how to handle a bus accident claim, we’d be more than happy to sit down with you and talk to you.
4. Should I Speak to an Insurance Company After a Bus Accident?
The question is, after a bus accident, is it a good idea to talk to the adjusters or attorneys representing a bus company. We recently spoke to a man who was injured on a city bus, and he had that same question – should he engage with the attorneys for the city, or should he hire an attorney? I don’t think that it’s ever a good idea to give a statement to an insurance adjuster and certainly not to an attorney for the defendant, no matter whether it’s a bus accident, a bicycle accident, or any other personal injury case. It’s not in your best interest, and it’s not going to end well for you.
If I were you, I would remember that, in the context of a bus accident, you just want to make sure that you give a statement up front either in the form of an accident report, when you’re giving a statement to the police officer, or if you’re injured on the bus, then via an incident report. This insures that they have documentation that the incident actually happened as well as documentation of witnesses who saw you get hurt while you were on the bus. Those things are important.
What can hurt you later is talking and giving statements to people whose interests do not align with your own. I would tell anyone to not give a statement to an attorney, an insurance adjuster, or to anyone representing a bus company or county or city bus until you have consulted an attorney. You do not want to put yourself in that position. If you are in that position right now or you anticipate being in that position, and you have questions about it, please feel free to give us a call. We would love to sit down and answer any questions that you have.
Contact Our Georgia Office Today
Were you or a loved one seriously injured in a bus accident and have questions aside from our 4 frequently asked bus accident questions?
Contact the experienced Augusta bus accident lawyers at Malchow Johnson Injury Lawyers, today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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