South Bend Bus Accident Lawyers

The fourth largest city in Indiana, South Bend is a bustling community of more than 100,000 residents, many of whom rely on buses to take them where they need to go. Whether locals are hopping on Transpo’s “Gameday Express” to cheer on the Fighting Irish, chartering a motorcoach to a formal event, or simply sending their kids off to school, buses offer a convenient means of transportation – though not always a safe one.

In 2021, 175 buses were involved in deadly collisions in the United States, with 108 deaths in school bus crashes that same year. Meanwhile, thousands of other passengers and motorists annually suffer bus accident injuries, many of them physically and economically devastating.

If you have been hurt in a bus accident in Indiana, you may be able to recover compensation from the at-fault parties, though success is never guaranteed. To increase the odds in your favor, reach out to the South Bend bus accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group. Our firm has prided itself on getting justice for the average Hoosier since 1998.

Call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or complete our contact form to arrange a free consultation with a dedicated South Bend bus accident lawyer today.

Who Is Liable for a Bus Accident?

Many individuals or entities could be liable when a bus accident occurs. The bus driver is likely to blame in a single-vehicle crash, while another driver could be responsible when a bus accident involves two or more vehicles.

In certain cases, someone who is not even present during the bus accident could be at fault for it. The manufacturer of a defective part or an outside servicing agent could be culpable when the collision is caused by a malfunction, while a construction crew or public works department could be guilty when road conditions are a contributing factor. Sometimes, multiple parties simultaneously could have different levels of liability for which they could share different levels of financial responsibility.

Given how many defendants there may be in a bus accident, it is crucial to go after every one of them within the time permitted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. The Statute is two years for most bus accidents in Indiana, though it can be shorter when government vehicles or agencies are involved. A plaintiff who does not file a lawsuit or otherwise resolve a bus accident claim before the Statute elapses could be forever barred from doing so.

Hensley’s laser-focused South Bend bus accident attorneys will be sure to meet all deadlines and requirements for establishing a valid case.

Why Do Bus Accidents Happen?

To identify who may be responsible for a bus accident, you must first identify why it happened. Common causes of bus accidents include:

● Speeding – About 15,000 Indiana traffic accidents per year are the result of vehicles traveling too fast. Speeding increases how long drivers take to stop while also decreasing how long they have to respond, a combination that can make collisions more probable and more extreme.

● Driving under the influence – Drunk driving remains a serious problem, including in Indiana, where police officers make approximately one DUI arrest every 11.98 hours. While your bus driver is statistically unlikely to be intoxicated, the same may not be true of other drivers in the vicinity.

● Fatigue – Excessive drowsiness can be almost as detrimental to driving ability as drunkenness. As many as 100,000 accidents, 50,000 injuries, and 800 deaths nationwide per year are caused by fatigue, which may disproportionately affect bus operators, who spend more than eight times as many hours behind the wheel as the typical driver.

● Distraction – Distracted driving is the second leading cause of collisions, killing about nine Americans every day, with improper phone use being a major drain on driver attention. Cellphones are involved in about 12 percent of all auto accidents, even though states like Indiana make it illegal to hold mobile devices while driving.

● Passenger-based distraction – Passengers who distract drivers are linked to an estimated 3.55 percent of crashes. Bus drivers may be at greater risk of passenger-based distraction given how many passengers they transport.

● Confusion over bus operations – The unique ways in which buses interact with traffic may confuse other drivers and lead to accidents, such as rear-end collisions at bus stops.

● Inadequate training – Indiana law requires drivers to undergo extensive training before they can be licensed to operate a bus. A bus driver whose training is inadequate may be unable to prevent a bus accident.

● Irregular maintenance of buses – Mass transit buses accumulate four times as many miles per year as most cars or trucks. Without regular maintenance, they may experience dangerous malfunctions while in use.

Our South Bend bus accident lawyers can assess the facts leading up to your accident and determine how best to proceed with your case.

What to Do After a Bus Accident

To protect that case, there are steps you should remember to take after a bus accident, including:

● Call the authorities – While your bus driver is supposed to alert the authorities after a crash, be ready to dial 911 yourself so that police and emergency personnel will arrive.

● Get treatment – Any delays in receiving medical care could negatively impact your ability to heal and allow others to call into question the relationship between the incident and your injuries.

● Take out your camera – Shoot pictures or video when it is safe to do so because a visual record of the crash site can be invaluable in establishing liability.

● Obtain witness information – Eyewitnesses can provide independent confirmation of what happened, so get the names and numbers of everyone present and encourage them to share their accounts with the responding officers.

● Avoid talking to the insurance company – If insurance company representatives get in touch, avoid talking to them if you can, since the most innocuous comment could be used against you.

● Seek legal advice – A knowledgeable legal practitioner can answer your questions and explain what you can expect if you are considering a personal injury claim.

How Our Bus Accident Attorneys Can Help

A bus accident can change your life, overwhelming you with unforeseen bills while limiting your ability to earn a living. It can be hard to know what to do or where to turn to secure the resources to keep your family afloat.

You need attorneys who are compassionate enough to support you through your struggles and skillful enough to help you overcome them. You need the South Bend bus accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been standing up for the everyday people of Indiana for more than 25 years.

If you decide to hire our firm, we will conduct a thorough investigation into everyone at fault for your bus accident and amass the materials needed to litigate your claim, including:

● Police reports

● Citations and dispositions

● Dash cam, surveillance, and traffic light footage

● Black box data

● Phone records

● Driver histories

● Bus maintenance logs

● Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

If evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the defendants exists, our South Bend bus accident lawyers will work tirelessly to find it.

Get Compensated for All of Your Losses

After putting together an airtight case against the liable parties, we will attempt to negotiate a settlement that gets you compensated for all of your losses, including:

● Medical expenses

● Lost wages

● Mental and emotional trauma

● Pain and suffering

● Diminished quality of life

● Punitive damages (if applicable)

And unlike some of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, step foot inside a courtroom, we are not afraid to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that reflects your case’s true value.

No Cost to You Until We Win

Additional expenditures may be beyond your budget right now. Fortunately, our firm works on a contingency basis, so there will be no cost to you for our services until our South Bend bus accident attorneys win your case.

When you boarded that bus, you had no idea just how arduous your trip would be, but Hensley will bring it to a satisfying conclusion.