Need an Injury Attorney in West Virginia for Your Bus Accident?
Every year, thousands upon thousands of West Virginia citizens choose buses as their main mode of transportation, relying on these services to take them to and from work, school, or a day out on the town. You never expect to entrust your life to a bus driver, only to discover that the driver is not driving as safely as possible to get you from one place to the other. There are many challenges prevalent in these cases when you have been involved in a bus accident. Bus accident companies try very hard to reduce their amount of liability in accidents so that they are not responsible for paying damages for things like medical bills, lost wages from missed work, and more.
Have you been injured and now you wonder how to move forward with your claim? You may have questions about how to compensate after you have gathered the right information to prove that another party is at fault for your accident. Let us help.
Common Carrier Laws in Bus Accidents
If you are utilizing the services of a bus company, then you are using what is known as a “common carrier.” Common carriers are special types of entities unlike any other that offer their services as a way to transport you to one place to the other for a fee. You are probably familiar with a wide variety of common carriers in which you may have utilized in your life, from airplanes to taxicabs or passenger trains. Common carriers are not only tasked with the job of getting you from point A to point B but also doing so in the safest manner possible because passenger’s lives are a top priority to these drivers.
In most cases, it is negligence by the driver or driver’s company that leads to a serious accident. For instance, what if a driver knew there was a serious condition and did nothing to remedy it? What if the bus driver knew that there was something wrong with the brakes on their vehicle but continued to drive without maintaining the vehicle or alerting the bus company? If the brakes failed and the bus you are on ran into the back of another vehicle, causing all of you to sustain injuries, you may wonder how you can receive compensation that is owed to you for an accident that was not your fault. Any collision involving a bus, from either side, can be detrimental because of the large size of these means of transportation compared to a small vehicle.
Holding a Party Liable When Negligence Has Occurred
There are many issues when bringing a claim against a bus company. For one, the transportation industry is full of federal and state laws, which means that there are many regulations that must be abided by. You may not understand these laws on the same level that an attorney would, which means that it may be more difficult for you to determine whether or not a driver acted with negligence without the help of an experienced attorney. You want to do whatever you can to prove that the driver or company is responsible for compensating you, especially in a time where it seems like the bills are piling up every day.
The other issue is that many buses are owned by governmental agencies, which means that you may run into unique issues in your case. For instance, those who file claims against the government must not only make sure that they are giving them advanced notice of a claim but also file within the statute of limitations. On government-related cases, this statute is usually much shorter than any other type of injury case. This is why, if you have been injured, one of the best things you can do for your case is to seek the help of an attorney. Without one, how will you receive the compensation you may be entitled to? Call us today.