Bus transportation in Arizona is generally safe. But no matter how careful the bus driver may be, injury-causing accidents still occur.
If you have been injured in a bus accident in Arizona or have lost a loved one in a fatal bus accident, the bus accident lawyers at Stone Rose Law can help you receive the maximum compensation you deserve. Call us at (480) 631-3025 to speak with an experienced personal injury or wrongful death attorney.
In this post, we examine:
If you have been injured in an accident involving a bus, then you may have legal claims against one or more of multiple possible wrongdoers. These include:
Regardless of who the defendant is, most claims arising out of bus accidents are personal injury claims, which can include variations based on product liability, public entity liability, and wrongful death.
The basic elements of a personal injury claim are:
In many states, courts have applied what is known as a “common carrier doctrine” as the standard of liability for passenger carriers. This is a heightened standard of care compared to ordinary negligence. But since 2012, Arizona courts have discarded the common carrier doctrine. Instead, the appropriate standard of care for passenger carriers, including buses, is the ordinary “reasonable person standard” above.
If the bus driver was negligent, such as speeding, driving while impaired, or ignoring traffic signals, then the driver can be held liable in a personal injury claim.
Bus drivers can cause accidents by:
Bus companies are responsible for hiring qualified drivers, proper inspection, maintenance, repair of buses they own and operate, and ensuring compliance with federal and Arizona state regulations. These are reasonable duties of care to passengers and to anyone else who might be harmed by a bus accident.
If the company fails to observe these duties of care, then it could be liable for the bus accident. For example, a defendant bus company’s violations of federal or state regulations can be used as evidence to establish unreasonable behavior and/or a breach of the standard of care owed to you.
Sometimes, a government entity can be the operator of a bus service instead of a private bus company. This is common with city bus services. These public entities must still observe the same duties of care as private companies.
An important distinction between a common carrier and public transportation is in how you make a legal claim against them.
In some cases, another driver other than the bus driver, or some other individual, can engage in unreasonable behavior that can contribute to a bus accident. For example, the driver of another car can collide with the bus, or drive in such a way as to cause a bus to crash. Even a pedestrian who carelessly crosses the street in front of an oncoming bus can cause the driver to make a “panic stop” that can injure passengers.
Sometimes, people who are far away from the accident scene can contribute to a bus accident.
If the cause of the bus accident was at least partly because of an inherent design flaw or manufacturing defect that caused the bus itself to become unreasonably dangerous, a personal injury claim can be based on a theory of product liability against the bus manufacturer, or its parts suppliers, or even other parties who were involved in selling the bus to the bus company.
In a worst-case situation, a person can die because of harm suffered from a bus accident.
If this happens to someone in your immediate family, including but not limited to a spouse, parent, or child, then even though you personally did not suffer any physical harm, you can still have a legal liability claim. This is based on the harm you have suffered because of the wrongful acts that led to the death of your loved one.
The estate of the deceased person may also have a legal claim through a survival action.
The remedy for personal injury claims is money damages that you receive through settlement of your claim or through a judgment award from a personal injury lawsuit.
Arizona awards economic and non-economic damages for the emotional and physical toll that a bus accident can leave you with.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s included in the two categories:
| Types of Damages in Arizona | |
| Economic Damages | Non-economic Damages |
| Property damage | Pain and suffering |
| Medical expenses | Emotional distress |
| Estimated future medical expenses | Loss of consortium |
| Lost income | Loss of enjoyment of life |
In cases where the defendant’s behavior was willful or particularly outrageous, a court may award punitive damages. Under Arizona law, however, public entities and employees are immune from punitive damages.
Most personal injury claims settle out of court. Bus accidents are no exception to this general rule.
In most cases, you will be dealing with one or more insurance companies when negotiating your personal injury claim. It is important to have experienced legal representation during these negotiations.
Insurance companies are mostly concerned with keeping settlement payouts to a minimum. They will use a variety of tactics and strategies to do this with your claim.
Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers often work together to minimize the value of your claim for a fair settlement. They are highly experienced and savvy negotiators who should not be underestimated. Your best chance of receiving the maximum compensation for your bus accident claims is to have a bus accident lawyer on your side who is also highly experienced in settlement negotiations.
Not all settlement negotiations are successful. When this happens, it may be necessary to take the defendants to court and sue to receive fair compensation.
Trials can be lengthy and complex, but sometimes they can provide you with more compensation than a settlement would. How much you can expect to receive in a court judgment award varies dramatically depending on the nature of your injuries and the types of damages you have suffered..
It is not uncommon for bus accident judgment awards to be five-figure sums on the low end ($50,000 or more), and cases involving serious injuries can go into six-figures. A bus accident case that results in wrongful death damages can result in an award of more than a million dollars.
Depending on the circumstances of a bus accident, the federal government and the state of Arizona have multiple laws and regulations that can apply to a bus accident.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has regulations that apply to commercial motor vehicles, which include buses used in interstate commerce that:
FMCSA regulations cover requirements for drivers and vehicle maintenance. Regulations for drivers include:
Violations of these rules can result in sanctions for drivers and their employers.
Federal regulations also require a motor vehicle, like a bus, to be in working order, and that motor carriers systematically inspect and repair the vehicles they operate. Examples here include:
These requirements apply to all buses except those owned by private, non-business passenger carriers.
Violations of FMCSA regulations can affect bus operators’ and drivers’ civil liability. When a violation of an FMCSA regulation causes personal injury or property damage, it can serve as evidence of negligence, potentially leading to civil lawsuits in which the company or driver is held financially responsible for damages.
Arizona laws (Arizona Revised Statutes) can affect the potential liability of a bus driver and that person’s employer if a bus accident happens. These laws include:
Arizona transportation laws are in many ways similar to federal regulations, like defining what a commercial motor vehicle is, commercial driver qualifications and training, prohibition on the use of cell phones while driving, commercial vehicle maintenance requirements, driver rest requirements, record keeping, and more.
Unlike federal regulations that apply to vehicles used in interstate commerce, Arizona can enforce its laws against any vehicle that is engaged in business on an Arizona highway.
Bus accidents share much in common with other motor vehicle accident claims, but depending on the facts, your case can become complex to settle or to take to trial.
Especially if a public entity is involved as a possible defendant or if multiple liable parties contributed to the accident, you could find yourself negotiating with multiple defense lawyers and insurance companies and having to meet different timetables for filing a timely claim to preserve your legal rights.
At Stone Rose Law, we have personal injury attorneys who are experienced in handling bus accident cases. Over the years, we have successfully settled, litigated, and resolved many bus accident lawsuits for bus accident victims.
We use a comprehensive approach in securing fair compensation for you. Here are some of the items we take care of when representing you in a personal injury matter:
From taking over the legal process on your behalf to connecting you to top doctors in your region, the Phoenix bus accident attorney we assign to you will look out for your physical, emotional, and financial well-being. You can rest and concentrate on healing while we handle all the complex legal tasks on your behalf.
You can call our personal injury team at any time at (480) 631-3025 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Phoenix bus accident lawyers. Or you can use our online contact form to ask a question or set up a free case evaluation.
