In the streets and highways of Florida, bus crashes are rarely simple incidents. A crash involving a Lynx transit bus in Orlando, a Greyhound bus alongside I-75, a charter coach headed to a cruise port, and a school bus on a neighborhood street can certainly leave several passengers injured at once. At the same time, the question of who is responsible is never obvious.
While multiple drivers, a bus company, a government agency, and several insurance carriers can certainly share the overall blame, each of these entities has a legal team working to shift liability elsewhere.
Somehow, if you or a family member were immediately hurt on or by a bus in Florida, the legal path that you follow completely depends on what kind of bus it really is. At Abercrombie P.A., we aid injured passengers, pedestrians, and various other motorists across the state of Florida to pursue compensation even after the bus crash takes place. This blog explains how the insurance company covers bus accident injuries even in the US. Do talk about how a bus accident lawyer Winter Haven can aid you to protect your rights, while the evidence still remain fresh.
Who is Liable For A Bus Accident in Florida?
While the first step in any bus accident case is exactly figuring out who owned and operated the bus, because that single fact decides which set of rules applies to your claim. Charter coach carriers like Greyhound, FlixBus, and Megabus are already classified as common carriers under Florida law.
Common carriers do owe the higher duty of care even to their passengers, which is certainly a stricter standard than the ordinary duty of care that applies to a typical bus crash.
While a common carrier should take every reasonable precaution to protect the people it transports, even a failure to meet that standard supports a negligence claim, not even against the driver.
Government-operated buses such as Lynx in Central Florida, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, HART in Tampa, and JTA in Jacksonville operate under a completely different framework. Whereas claims against a public transit agency are mostly governed by Florida Statute 768.28, the state’s waiver of sovereign immunity. This statute enables injured people to sue government agencies, even for negligence, but only if they follow strict procedural rules and accept a hard cap on damages.
At times, school buses bring in a third layer. Therefore, public school buses are primarily operated by the school district, a government subdivision subject to sovereign immunity. Private school buses and charter activity buses might be treated as common carriers. At the same time, children injured on a school bus do have a claim that certainly involves the district, the driver, and sometimes a third-party contractor who is responsible for vehicle maintenance.
Interstate buses are mostly regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which enforces federal safety regulations covering driver hours of service, alcohol testing, maintenance records, and vehicle inspections. A violation of these federal rules is powerful evidence of negligence, even in a civil case.
How Florida Statute 768.28 Changes a Claim Against a Public Bus
Somehow, if you got hurt by a Lynx, Sun Rail Shuttle, Miami-Dade Transit, or any other government-operated bus, your case isn’t just a personal injury lawsuit. It is a claim against the State of Florida and one of its subdivisions, and the procedural rules are unforgiving. While under Florida Statute 768.28(5), damages against a state agency or subdivision are capped at USD 200,000 per person and USD 300,000 per incident.
Those caps apply no matter how severe the injury might be. A bus crash certainly causes catastrophic spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or even the death of a loved one, which can certainly generate losses even in the millions. Still, the statute caps the agency’s payment at that limit unless the Florida legislature passes a separate claim bill authorizing a higher amount. Claim bills are mostly rare, take years, and are never even guaranteed.
While the statute does require written notice, section 768.28(6) certainly requires that a claimant present the claim, even in writing, to the appropriate agency, and, in several cases, also to the Florida Department of Financial Services, within three years of the accident.
The agency already has a six-month investigation period before you can file a lawsuit. While the overall statute of limitations for filing suit against an entity of the government is four years, missing the written notice step, even if you have enough time on the clock, can certainly bar an otherwise strong case.
The Florida Department of Financial Services accepts tort claim notices at its Division of Risk Management in Tallahassee, and the statute does not require any specific form.
A narrative letter that lays out the facts and nature of the claim, provided it is accurate and timely. Because these deadlines operate independently of the standard personal injury statute of limitations, injured people who wait too long to talk to a lawyer sometimes lose the right to recover anything at all.
Even though government agencies can’t be held liable for punitive damages or pre-judgment interest, even for the most egregious behavior, damages will be limited to economic and non-economic damages, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering, and may be below the limit.
Common Causes of Florida Bus Accidents
Bus crashes in the state of Florida tend to occur for a variety of reasons, and identifying the causes early is critical to building the case. The most frequent causes include the following.
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Fatigueness of the Driver
Especially on long-haul charter and interstate routes, drivers do get fatigued when federal hours-of-service rules are already pushed to the limit or even violated outright.
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Improper training
Improper training excludes drivers without the proper endorsement on their commercial driver’s license and drivers who haven’t been retained after changes to the company’s policy.
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Distracted driving
While distracted driving,h for commercial drivers, includes even dispatch radios, mobile devices, and fare systems.
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Poor vehicle maintenance
At times, poor vehicle maintenance results in tire blowouts, brake failures, and steering component failures that appear even in the bus company’s maintenance logs.
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Aggressive and Inattentive Driving
While aggressive and inattentive driving is even by other motorists, whose liability overlaps with that of the bus operator. Unsafe loading zones and passengers injured while boarding or exiting the bus. Roadway defects that might implicate the Florida Department of Transportation and a local public works department
Common Causes of Florida Bus Accidents
| Cause | Information |
|---|---|
| Fatigueness of the Driver | Especially on long-haul charter and interstate routes, drivers do get fatigued when federal hours-of-service rules are already pushed to the limit or even violated outright. |
| Improper training | Improper training excludes drivers without the proper endorsement on their commercial driver’s license and drivers who haven’t been retained after changes to the company’s policy. |
| Distracted driving | While distracted driving,h for commercial drivers, includes even dispatch radios, mobile devices, and fare systems. |
| Poor vehicle maintenance | At times, poor vehicle maintenance results in tire blowouts, brake failures, and steering component failures that appear even in the bus company’s maintenance logs. |
| Aggressive and Inattentive Driving | While aggressive and inattentive driving is even by other motorists, whose liability overlaps with that of the bus operator. Unsafe loading zones and passengers injured while boarding or exiting the bus. Roadway defects that might implicate the Florida Department of Transportation and a local public works department. |
The majority of these causes matter as they mostly point to a specific defendant. At the same time, a subtle maintenance failure points to the company’s mechanics and even to the inspection records.
Furthermore, a fatigue case does point to driver logs and dispatch records. At the same time, a design defect in the bus itself does lead to a product liability claim even against the manufacturer. Every theory has its own trail of evidence, and it needs to be preserved quickly.
In the event of a bus crash, what kind of compensation can be claimed?
Following a bus crash, an injured party in Florida is entitled to economic and non-economic damages. These cover lost wages, medical treatment, rehabilitation, medical devices, loss of future earning potential, out-of-pocket expenses, pain and suffering, emotional anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and disruption of family relations. No statute caps these figures in private carrier cases, whereas sovereign immunity claims are subject to the limitations outlined in 768.28, unless otherwise prescribed by a legislative claims bill.
If the bus crash causes death, then Florida’s Wrongful Death Act may come into play. Family members would be able to recover damages for lost income, loss of companionship, pain and suffering, and the victim’s medical bills and funeral costs.
Florida also follows the comparative negligence doctrine, under which a claimant is barred from recovery if found more than 50 percent responsible for the bus accident. It could be an injured pedestrian crossing outside of a crosswalk or an injured motorist who improperly changed lanes. The 50 percent mark is used as leverage against a plaintiff, so the evidence must support the argument that the plaintiff wasn’t more than 50 percent responsible for the crash, particularly during the initial presentation of the case.
What kinds of evidence win bus accident cases?
Evidence needed to build a case from a bus accident differs from that of the average two-car incident. Event data recorders (commonly called black boxes), which register the vehicle’s velocity and rate of deceleration, are located in the bus itself. If the carrier is a charter or interstate service, electronic logs and driver logs are maintained by the company, whereas transit companies are equipped with GPS tracking and dispatching systems.
Most modern buses are fitted with interior and exterior cameras, and every commercial vehicle comes with federal and state inspection records, maintenance logs, and driver qualification files. Once evidence has been erased, overwritten, or lost, it cannot be recovered, and the driver may already have moved to another employer. To prevent the loss of crucial evidence, the injured party must have a lawyer send preservation letters to the appropriate parties as soon as possible.
Why do bus accident claims require the help of an experienced Florida attorney?
The litigation of a bus accident case involves an overlap of personal injury, common carrier obligations, federal trucking regulations, and procedures for filing sovereign immunity claims. What could be an ordinary case after a minor two-car fender bender could escalate into a significant legal issue if a state transit agency or a Greyhound is involved. A missed notice deadline of even a week or a misplaced claim designation against the wrong government entity can be grounds to have your claim dismissed.
At Abercrombie P.A., we move quickly to begin investigations of bus crashes, send out all preservation letters to acquire relevant electronic and video data, enlist accident reconstructionists when the evidence is in dispute, and handle the claim-processing requirements of state and local government agencies.
We also help our clients throughout their medical recovery so they can make medical decisions based on their needs, not under insurance pressure. For pedestrians, motorists, or passengers, regardless of where in the state your accident occurred, Abercrombie P.A. will handle your bus accident case on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no fee to us if we cannot recover a settlement on your behalf.
Feel free to check out our website. if you’re looking for information about how to proceed after a car accident, steps you should take immediately following an automobile collision, or an estimation of how much your personal injury claim may be worth. Regarding questions about bus crashes specifically, the most productive step at this stage is to consult with an attorney.
Speak with a lawyer today.
If you or a loved one was injured as a result of a bus accident anywhere in the state of Florida, you have a short period of time in which you can assert your rights. Notice requirements of sovereign immunity, preservation of evidence, and comparative fault are all calculated from the date of the crash forward. Any undue delay in pursuing your case can cause you to lose it altogether.
Get in Touch With Abercrombie P.A.
Do get in touch with Abercrombie P.A. for a no-cost, confidential evaluation of your case. Our personal injury lawyer in Winter Park and our entire legal team will review all the details of your accident, determine which legal system applies to your claim, and clarify the scope of damages you are entitled to in your particular situation. No fee will ever be charged unless we win your case.