Whiplash & Whiplash Injury St. Louis

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St. Louis Bus and Taxi Accident Claims: What Are Your Rights?

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While buses and taxis are generally among the safest and most effective ways to get around, things sometimes go wrong, resulting in an accident.

Unfortunately, these accidents can have catastrophic impacts and often result in severe injuries to passengers, pedestrians, and other road users. Additionally, these accidents cause psychological damage and could make victims wary of traveling on public transport ever again.

Understandably, after a bus or taxi accident, you may be worried about your legal rights. Let’s discuss your rights as a bus or taxi accident victim and how an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney can help ensure they are protected.

taxi sign on top of a car
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What Are the Common Causes of Bus and Taxi Accidents?

Buses and taxis are usually busiest during peak hours. For this reason, it’s not surprising that most bus and taxi accidents happen at this time. Here are the top causes of bus and taxi accidents.

Bus Accidents

Bus accidents are often caused by braking too hard or suddenly, driving recklessly, or driving unreasonably fast around sharp corners.

Some of the parties at fault for your injuries in a bus accident are the bus driver and the bus management company. However, there are instances where multiple parties may be at fault. Our attorneys can help you determine the parties liable for your injuries and resulting damages.

Taxi Accidents

Common causes of taxi accidents include inclement weather, failure to replace faulty parts, drunk driving, and distracted driving. At-fault parties in a taxi accident may include the taxi driver, maintenance worker, or the cab company.

When you take a taxi, you trust the driver with your physical integrity. Although taxi drivers are experienced, accidents can happen, and you can get injured. Fortunately, it’s easier for a passenger to get compensation since they cannot be deemed liable for the accident. You can file a claim towards the taxi driver, the other driver involved, or even both drivers. 

Were You Hit by a Taxi While Driving or As a Passenger in Another Car?

If the taxi driver is determined to be at fault for the accident, you can typically file a claim against them or the company they work for. In at-fault states, such as Missouri, you can file a claim even if you share the responsibility for the accident. The settlement will be calculated based on how much each of you were at fault for the accident.

Should You Pursue the Taxi Driver or the Company They Work For?

This depends on what caused the accident and who is at fault. If a problem with the taxi maintenance and a technical issue led to the accident, the company will generally be held liable for not keeping their vehicles safe for the users. Even if the accident was caused by pure human negligence on the driver’s part, you may be able to sue the company, as the principle of “vicarious liability” may apply (they are responsible for what their employees do while on duty).

How to File a Taxi Accident Claim?

In both scenarios, you should start gathering evidence as soon as possible, right at the scene of the accident. Collect information about the drivers who were involved, eyewitnesses, and the scene of the accident. Take pictures of the vehicle you were in, the other vehicle, and your injuries. Call the police even if the accident seems minor because hidden injuries and underestimated property damages are usually found later.

What Are My Rights After a Bus or Taxi Accident?

If you or your loved one is injured in a bus or taxi accident, you may be eligible for compensation from the liable party. Some of the damages you are entitled to include:

  • Lost wages during the time of recovery and possible loss of future income
  • Permanent disabilities
  • Rehabilitation
  • Medical expenses

Do You Need Assistance Proving Liability?

Just like any other type of car accident, proving liability in a bus or taxi accident requires strong evidence and may involve quite a bit of investigation and documentation. It’s not something we recommend pursuing on your own. Before you file a claim or start your journey of proving liability, make sure you speak with an experienced car accident attorney.

Apart from gathering and documenting necessary evidence and determining the at-fault party, your attorney can also connect you with expert witnesses. Expert witnesses can help explain to the court how the accident happened and demonstrate how the at-fault party could have prevented the accident.

Speak With a St. Louis Auto Accident Lawyer

Have you been injured in a St. Louis bus or taxi accident? Speak with an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney at The Hoffmann Law Firm today. We have over 20 years of experience and a proven track record of successful claims. Call us 24/7 for a FREE case evaluation.

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What We Can Learn From the New Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts Report

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The latest Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report was released earlier this year and contains data from 2017.

truck accident

The Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts is an annual report released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that describes the situation of car accidents involving large vehicles from a certain period of time, on US territory. FMCSA compiles data taken from various statistics and provides a comprehensive analysis of that data, in a wider context.

The latest Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report was released earlier this year and contains data from 2017, which is put into context by comparing results from previous years with the latest statistics.

Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts for 2017

The LTBCF report is organized into four sections:

  • Trends – presenting current data in historical context to illustrate trends and possible causes
  • Crashes – counts of crashes, three-years statistics where relevant
  • Vehicles – counts of vehicles involved in crashes
  • People – counts of people involved in crashes, whether they were drivers, occupants or pedestrians.

In these sections, counts are presented by themselves and by comparisons with other data, taking into account the following:

  • Crashes: counts of crashes
  • Vehicles in crashes: types of vehicles involved in the crash
  • People in crashes: all the people who were involved in the crashes, demographics, victims, where they were at the time of the cars
  • Drivers in crashes: counts of vehicle drivers involved in crashes

Here we will detail some of the most interesting findings in the Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report 2017. We will present them as they are organized in the report, by chapter.

Trends

From 2016 to 2017, there was a 9% increase in the number of accidents involving large trucks and buses, with the number of fatal crashes increasing by 8%.

In the case of bus crashes, a historical low was registered in 2017, since the first LTBCF report in 1975. Only 73 school buses and 13 intercity buses were involved in fatal crashes in 2017.

At the same time, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes increased, as did their involvement rate. Over the past year (at the time of the data collection,) the number of large vehicles in car crashes raised from 4,251 to 4,657.

Crashes

23% of the police-reported crashes that involved large trucks were injury crashes, with 1% being fatal. The total number of police-reported crashes in 2017 was about 450,000.

Of all large vehicle fatal crashes, 63% involved two vehicles and 20% a single-vehicle.

Large trucks were often involved in crashes when crossing rural areas (57% of fatal crashes), Interstate Highways (27% of fatal crashes), or both (13% of fatal crashes).

Vehicles

Critical precrash event: in 73% of the cases, it was another vehicle, a person, an animal or an object on the large truck’s lane; in 23% of the cases, it was the large vehicle’s own movement.

People

Safety issues: 9% of the large truck drivers involved in fatal accidents were not wearing a seatbelt. 45% of them were killed in the crash.

Driving under influence: 5% of large vehicle drivers in fatal crashes consumed drugs (with 59% of the total not even tested). When compared to the number of drivers of all vehicles involved in crashes, you can see a decrease (15% of the total tested positive for at least one drug).

This data is only a fraction of all the information provided by the LTBCF report of 2017. These numbers not only give us an insight into how trends change over the decades, but it also gives us practical information when it comes to road safety and dangers.

If you have been involved in a St. Louis car accident, get in touch with an experienced attorney to ensure your legal right to compensation is protected right from the start of your claim. Give us a call 24/7 at (314) 361-4242 for a FREE case evaluation.

What Happens If a St. Louis Bus Driver Hits My Car?

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If a bus driver hits your car, you could end up with severe damage to your vehicle and health.

Between pedestrians, bicyclists, and other cars, you have enough to worry about when driving around in St. Louis. Unfortunately, there is one more vehicle that you need to pay close attention to, and it’s one of the most dangerous of all of them. Buses are involved in a surprisingly high proportion of collisions and often come with complicated legal consequences that are best handled by a St. Louis car accident attorney. As a driver, it is important to understand what steps to take after being involved in any sort of automobile accident.

st louis bus accident lawyer

Why Buses Frequently Hit Drivers

There are two reasons why bus drivers frequently hit nearby cars. The first is size and weight. If you’ve ever driven a big truck before, you know how odd and unnatural it feels to operate such a large vehicle. Buses are even bigger, making their operation exceptionally difficult. These control issues frequently cause bus accidents. The second reason is the fact that these vehicles are continually stopping and starting. Bus drivers need to pull over to the side of the road every few hundred feet, which means making lane changes and sudden stops throughout their drives. This unsafe movement pattern also leads to many collisions.

Bus Accident Injuries

Bus accidents come with the standard range of injuries. They can be as tame as a strain or as severe as a concussion or bone break. What makes them unique is the size and height of the vehicle involved. As you might imagine, a large and heavy bus is likely to do serious damage to a smaller car. Additionally, the height of the bus gives it more of a chance at injuring your head. Lastly, the size and strength of these vehicles put you at risk of rolling over, which often leads to incredible harm.

How They Could be at Fault

If you want to file a personal injury lawsuit, the bus driver must be at least partially at fault. The following are a few conditions in which that would be the case.

Legal Complications

When a private company owns the bus that hits you, the legality is not too complex. The most common example of this situation is when people hire party buses for nights out on the town. Under these conditions, you can pursue compensation from the driver or the company that sponsors him. Where it gets complicated is when the government employs the bus. Two examples of this are city and school buses. When an organization is run by the government or has their backing, bringing a lawsuit against them is much more complex.

If a bus driver hits your car, you could end up with severe damage to your vehicle and health. If this ever happens, it is in your best interests to speak with a St. Louis personal injury attorney as soon as possible and discuss what compensation you may be entitled to.

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