Bus Accidents

Glendale Bus Accident Attorney

Every day across the country, we rely on buses to carry our children to school, employees to work, and other commuters to wherever they need to go. In 2017, there were over 983,000 buses registered in the U.S. While commuter buses, city buses, school buses, and charter buses provide a useful and much-needed transportation option for many Americans, they may also be involved in serious traffic accidents. Whether the accident was caused by the bus driver, vehicle failure, another negligent motorist on the road, or by some other cause, if you were injured in a bus accident, then you are entitled to damages for any injury you have suffered.

The dedicated and experienced personal injury attorneys at McReynolds Vardanyan are prepared to investigate your claim, build your case, and maximize your recovery after a Glendale bus accident. The mass transit companies that own many of the buses are heavily insured and will pay out the damages that injured parties are owed if the companies are held to task by passionate and zealous personal injury lawyers. If you or a loved one were injured in a bus accident, we can help.

Causes of Bus Crashes

Buses crash for a variety of reasons, and the cause is not always clear. A Southern California bus accident attorney at McReynolds Vardanyan can examine the details of your bus crash and find out the cause in order to hold the proper parties responsible. Several common causes of bus accidents in the Los Angeles area include the following:

  • Driver inattention. Bus drivers are susceptible to the same types of distractions as other drivers–responding to texts or emails, performing other tasks such as eating, dealing with passengers, etc. The problem is even worse for bus drivers who are expected to sit behind the wheel for long shifts all day every day.
  • Drunk driving. Unfortunately, bus drivers are also susceptible to the same vices as everyone else on the road. Drivers with alcohol problems, whether they are operating buses or other vehicles, create a serious hazard for everyone on U.S. roadways.
  • Vehicle malfunction. Mass transit companies may be reticent to shell out for new buses or to replace every aging part of their fleet, leaving buses with old and outdated components still on the roadways. Alternatively, the bus might have been manufactured with defective parts such as an unreinforced roof, faulty brakes, or an engine with an inefficient cooling system. Any of these defects can spell disaster for bus passengers as well as other cars on the road.
  • Reckless driving, especially by unqualified or untrained drivers. Some bus companies will try to save money by hiring inexperienced drivers and cutting costs on training. Inexperienced and untrained bus drivers may be more likely to engage in reckless driving such as speeding or passing too close, or they will simply be less able to make the split-second decisions necessary to avoid a collision.
  • Dangerous road conditions. Buses are large and unwieldy at the best of times. When unsafe roadways, inclement weather, or other road hazards are added to the mix, the risk of a serious bus crash is multiplied.

Bus Accident Statistics

There are fewer buses on the road than other types of motor vehicles so, naturally, there are fewer bus accidents than car accidents. Bus accidents account for around 11% of fatal crashes on U.S. roadways annually. There are still plenty of bus crashes around the country each year, however, involving thousands of injuries and hundreds of fatalities. According to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were 232 buses involved in fatal traffic crashes across the country in 2017, leading to 274 fatalities.

The FMCSA data indicates that fatal bus crash numbers are actually on the decline in recent years and, in fact, crashes involving school and intercity buses are at a 40-year low. However, the total number of bus crashes involving injuries has remained steady over the past three years, after increasing nearly 40 percent from 11,000 to 15,000 from 2011 to 2015. 25,000 people were injured in bus crashes across the U.S. in 2017. Bus accidents remain a serious problem for drivers on U.S. roadways, and injured passengers and other motorists are entitled to recover for their damages if they are hurt in a bus accident.

Call Our Glendale Bus Accident Attorneys Today for Help

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident in Los Angeles or Southern California, the bus accident attorneys at McReynolds Vardanyan want to hear from you. Call our Glendale office at 818-855-2115 for a free consultation to evaluate your case and make sure that you are prepared to get the recovery you deserve. Our honest, dependable and compassionate bus accident attorneys are ready to meet you and meet your needs.

Speak With Our
Attorneys Today!

Get a quote