Public Transportation Accidents
Public transportation injuries are a fact of life in the Bay area. Sometimes those injuries are both serious and a result of negligence on the part of someone driving a bus or operating a train. Recent news includes one story of a man being killed in a head-on collision with a bus.
Bus Accidents
Mass transit accidents resulting from overworked and careless drivers can produce injuries in many ways. Bus drivers sometimes hit pedestrians. Bus drivers who stop violently or accelerate unexpectedly can injure passengers. Of course, an inattentive driver can also crash into another vehicle, seriously injuring a passenger as well as anyone in the car. Individuals at bus stops are also vulnerable to being hit.
If you were seriously injured in a bus accident, you need to consult with a lawyer experienced in handling bus accident cases. Our firm has the experience to ask the right questions and judge whether a proposed settlement is fair. The bus company’s insurance company or legal team may lean on you to accept a low settlement. This might also happen if you were injured on BART. Don’t let anxiety over medical costs and lost wages push you into a quick settlement.
Train Accidents
Rail transit accidents happen too. Drivers sometimes make careless mistakes. Unsafe conditions on the tracks or in the cars sometimes injure people. Maintenance and repair work is often not done on time. While BART and other subway and rail services are usually quite safe, sometimes negligence does lead to passenger deaths and injuries. As with bus accidents, rail accidents take special skill to handle. Experienced accident attorneys will know what questions to ask of rail employees, how their insurance company is likely to react, and now to handle the administrative details of filing a claim.
The Cattermole Law Group has experience handling claims involving BART as well as bus systems. San Mateo has Sam Trans, but many government and private bus lines serve the area, including Greyhound, Muni, and Golden Gate Transit Bus, San Francisco trolleys, AC Transit and others. While those systems run smoothly and safely almost all of the time, accidents can happen because of driver or operator negligence.
If you were injured in a public transportation accident in the San Mateo area, contact our team of public transportation injury attorneys to discuss your case.
Additional Information
Anyone injured in a bus-car collision, any pedestrian hit by a bus, or anyone injured while aboard a bus or train may be eligible for compensation. As with any serious accident, the injured party will have to deal with lost wages, hospital bills, and ongoing costs like medication and physical therapy. Public Transportation Injury Attorneys Bus and light rail injuries tend to require special legal knowledge to handle. For example, if you were injured on or by a SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit District) bus you must file a government tort claim with the SamTrans governing board before filing suit. Other transit agencies have similar rules governing how public transportation injuries are handled.
Legal claims have to follow certain administrative procedures and also call for some investigative expertise. For example, there is a limited time available to file a claim for yourself or on behalf of a deceased family member. More importantly, video records are erased and witnesses disappear or their memories fade. A quick investigation by experienced public transportation injury attorneys is a must. The firm will have access to investigators who know how to find witnesses, secure copies of video recordings, and find evidence at accident sites.