Seguin Bus Accident Lawyer
Several charter and commercial bus services are available to area residents. Public or private, what all these bus operators have in common is a legal duty of care requiring them to act lawfully and responsibly as common carriers to prevent their passengers—and other people outside their vehicles—from getting hurt in preventable accidents.
Any bus driver who fails to live up to this duty and causes someone else to get hurt as a direct result may hold civil liability for ensuing damages, but recovering effectively for those damages can be difficult without a skilled personal injury attorney’s help. By working closely with a dependable Seguin bus accident lawyer, you can more effectively enforce your rights under state law and give yourself the best possible chances of obtaining fair compensation for your accident-related losses.
How Long Do Bus Crash Victims Have to File Suit?
Filing suit against an employee of a commercial or charter bus company or against the company itself, works similarly to filing suit over any other type of accident involving a private individual or organization. However, if the person to blame for a bus-related injury—whether it stems from a traffic accident or from some other form of negligent behavior like a driver braking too quickly and causing a passenger to fall out of their seat—works for a government-run public transit agency, difficult rules and restrictions may apply to an ensuing civil claim.
For example, under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003, most people who get hurt through the negligence of a private person or company have two years after initially sustaining injury to formally file suit against the person at fault for harming them. However, under the Texas Tort Claims Act, people intending to sue any government agency or employee over a bus crash have just six months at most to formally notify their intended defendant of their intentions. In certain municipalities, the time limit may be as short as 90 or 45 days after the accident, as a Seguin bus collision attorney can explain in more detail.
Other Limitations Under the Tort Claims Act
Unfortunately, the Tort Claims Act also restricts how much money an injured person can demand as restitution for damages they suffered through the negligence of a government employee or agency. There are no caps on recovery in claims against private individuals and companies, so it is possible to recover for the full value of both short-term and long-term losses like medical bills, lost working capacity, personal property damage, and various kinds of physical and psychological suffering.
If the claim is against a municipality, though, the Tort Claims Act only allows that municipality to be held liable for $250,000 worth of personal injury damages per injured person, $500,000 of personal injury damages per accident, and $100,000 of property damage per accident. Claims against units of local government have even stricter caps of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for personal injury damages, making it more important than ever to have help from a knowledgeable bus crash lawyer in Seguin to maximize available recovery.
A Seguin Bus Accident Attorney Can Help
While traffic accidents involving buses are rare, they still happen, and they can cause serious injuries. On top of that, anyone who wants to seek civil recovery after a crash involving a public transit vehicle may have a lot more legal and procedural hoops to jump through.
No matter the circumstances leading up to your injury, assistance from a seasoned Seguin bus accident lawyer can greatly improve your chances of achieving a favorable result from your lawsuit or settlement demand. Call today to learn more.
