School Buses Carry Our Most Precious Cargo

Did you know that school buses carry more passengers annually than any other mass transit vehicle? In fact, approximately 585,000 school buses carry nearly 24,000,000 children to and from school and other activities every day.

School Bus Accidents Happen Every Day

Generally speaking, school buses are a fairly safe way to get children to and from school. But that doesn’t mean accidents don’t happen.

On average, 17,000 children are taken to the emergency room for injuries suffered in school bus accidents every year. Sadly, approximately twenty-seven (27) children between the ages of five (5) and seven (7) even die in school bus accidents every year, and the majority of these deaths are to children struck or run over by the school bus or another car after exiting the school bus.

There are a slew of reasons why bus accidents happen, including human error, insufficient safety precautions, defective school buses, dangerous road conditions, severe weather, poor maintenance, etc. Surprisingly, school buses are also not required to have seat belts for the children (seat belts are required for the driver, however), which lead to injuries where injuries wouldn’t normally be expected.

Even more surprisingly, some school bus drivers rely on the lack of seat belts as a means of getting the attention of rowdy or uncooperative children – they stop suddenly and without warning, causing all the children to be thrown about the school bus.

To better protect our children, the legislature has enacted very specialized laws pertaining to school buses, such as requiring robotic arms with stop signs to be outstretched when children board and exit, and requiring all stops in which children board or exit be within a certain distance from curb lines. But, as the old adage goes, laws were made to be broken. And when they’re broken, our children pay the price.

Those Injured in a School Bus Accident May Have Multiple Claims

Depending on the specific facts of the accident, those injured in a school bus accident may have claims against multiple defendants, including the driver that caused the accident, the state, city, or township in which the accident happened, the school district in which the accident happened, the bussing company, the designer, manufacturer, and distributor of the school bus, and many others. Additionally, those injured in school bus accidents may have claims against his/her own insurance company for medical payments, income loss benefits, uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits, funeral expenses, and much more.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a school bus accident, you may be entitled to compensation for past, present, and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and much, much more. Our goal is not just to secure compensation for your immediate needs, but to ensure that your future needs are protected as well.

For examples of our success in school bus accident cases, please visit our Case Results page.

For more information, and a free case evaluation from one of our personal injury lawyers, please contact us at Gibbons Legal today.