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Marlton Bus Accident Lawyers

It’s common to view buses as one of the safest modes of transport. After all, how much risk can you face when you’re in a vehicle that’s bigger than most other cars on the road? And don’t bus drivers need to undergo training so that they can safely maneuver buses through traffic?

Unfortunately, despite all of this, many Americans also find themselves injured in bus accidents.

Here’s the thing: When a bus gets into an accident, there’s another vehicle (or worse, a pedestrian) on the other side of the crash. Most people in buses come away from accidents alive—people in cars, pedestrians, and other individuals involved in these crashes are not always so lucky.

Console & Associates P.C. Can Help if a Marlton Bus Accident Hurt You

Were you or someone you love injured in a bus accident? If so, Console & Associates P.C. can help you pursue legal justice and get back to life as you know it. We work aggressively to help our clients win cases and collect compensation. Reach out to us today to find out more about our services or to ask a legal professional about your bus accident.

Types of Buses: How Dangerous Are Different Kinds of Buses?

Most of us will drive past a wide variety of buses on a day-to-day basis. People in the United States rely on buses to travel over 28 billion miles per year.

No matter what kind of bus is in an accident, these huge vehicles can cause a lot of damage. Standard vehicles are no match for the weight and size of a bus.

Some examples of different kinds of buses include:

  • School buses: Involved in 40 percent of fatal bus crashes across the U.S.
  • Transit buses: Involved in 35 percent of fatal bus crashes across the U.S.
  • Intercity buses: Involved in 13 percent of fatal bus crashes across the U.S.

All of these buses can deal serious damage to passenger cars and other standard vehicles. If a bus is traveling quickly or is loaded with additional cargo, it can be even more dangerous. Here are some factors that affect bus accident risk:

  • Buses’ size and weight makes them risky on the road.
  • Buses do not have the same safety features as many other vehicles; this puts passengers and other people involved in accidents at risk.
  • Anyone can be hurt by a bus accident; bicyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, people in other cars, and other people near roadways are all at risk.
  • People boarding or exiting buses are also at risk.

Bus Rollovers and Tipovers

Tipovers and rollovers are two of the most common bus accidents. They occur in buses because of their abnormal size, shape, and weight distribution. It’s pretty easy to imagine how a bus might carry a lot of weight up high—higher than the top of a standard car. That weight can easily get swung and tipped if a bus swerves or turns too sharply. Sometimes, even extreme wind can knock over a bus.

Buses’ design contributes to the rolling pattern they usually follow in these accidents. Some of them may roll or tip when they strike another object, like a curb. It doesn’t always take a huge, moving collision to make buses roll dangerously.

Recoverable Damages After a Marlton Bus Accident

When you work with a lawyer after a bus accident, he or she will attempt to recover damages to account for what happened.

Compensation for damages can take many forms—sometimes it’s for time missed from work, sometimes it’s for medical bills, and so on.

Often it’s for:

  • Medical expenses: You may recover past, present, and projected medical expenses associated with your accident. This includes the costs of surgeries, prescriptions, custom medical equipment, individualized treatment, and more.
  • Property damage: Expensive property damage may occur in a bus accident. If the accident resulted in the loss or destruction of your property, like a car, you can work with a lawyer to pursue compensation for the damage.
  • Pain and suffering: Nobody deserves to endure physical pain because of someone else’s neglect, but when negligence leads to bus accidents, many survivors do experience pain and suffering. Recovering monetary damages can ease some of the emotional tolls of pain and suffering.
  • Lost wages: Many accidents cause people to miss time from work. Whether you miss one day or several months on the job, you don’t deserve to lose wages because of someone else’s neglect. Damages to account for lost wages exist for this reason.
  • Diminished earning capacity: Missing time from work is never ideal, but for some people, a bus accident means more than just time off the job. Certain accidents cause people to lose earning capacity—they can never earn the same amount of money they did before the crash. If this is you, ask a lawyer about pursuing compensation for diminished earning capacity.
  • Mental anguish: Mental anguish damages are similar to pain and suffering, but they account for some of the mental cost of an accident. It is very common to experience mental anguish after you undergo a traumatic event or receive injuries; mental anguish damages compensate you for this.
  • Disability and disfigurement: Some Marlton bus accident survivors grapple with disfigurement or disability as a result of their accident. No amount of financial compensation can account for this, but New Jersey law allows accident survivors to pursue damages to ease some of the burdens of disfigurement and disability.

Injuries After a Marlton Bus Accident

People can sustain many different injuries during a bus accident. Some bus accidents cause severe injuries, and others cause injuries that may appear mild. Even if you believe your accident only caused mild injuries, however, you should still visit a doctor.

A medical professional can help confirm your health and safety after a crash and inspect you for:

  • Cuts, lacerations, and bruising: These injuries can range from mild to severe—some lacerations and bruising are only surface-level, but some cause damage internally or beneath the skin. Someone may experience mild bruising and small cuts on their exterior, only to find they suffered internal bruising and need stitches for their lacerations.
  • Brain and spinal cord injuries: Brain and spinal cord injuries are very serious. Some of them can lead to lifelong disability or even death. Even the mildest brain injury has the potential to cause complications for the rest of a person’s life. Back injuries, in particular, may become more painful and difficult to deal with over time.
  • Neck injuries: Neck injuries can also pose a serious risk to someone’s well-being. One of the most classic neck injuries associated with accidents— soft tissue damage called whiplash—can cause debilitating pain. Another example of a neck injury is vocal cord damage.

Common Causes of Marlton Bus Accidents

Why do bus accidents happen?

Bus accidents happen for many reasons, but we can trace most accidents back to someone’s negligence or recklessness. Even accidents that seem blameless (like accidents that the weather appeared to cause) are someone’s fault.

For example: Imagine a bus gets into an accident with a normal car. It may seem like the bus driver failed to brake before hitting the car, but perhaps the bus’s brake system failed. If this is true, who’s liable?

It depends. The bus driver wouldn’t be liable if his or her brakes stopped functioning, but someone might be. Perhaps it was someone who performed maintenance on the bus and failed to notice or fix faulty brakes. Maybe it was the manufacturer of the brakes, and something got jostled during production. Maybe the bus company skipped routine maintenance to save money. Any of these parties could be liable for the crash, even though the immediate cause might not make you think of a manufacturer, mechanic, or company.

Below, we’ve collected a handful of the most common causes of bus accidents. Your accident may not involve a straightforward cause—and that’s okay! We can help you determine who was at fault for what happened in even the most complicated Marlton bus accident claims.

Inclement Weather or Other Conditions

On the surface, inclement weather is at the root of lots of accidents—but really, bad weather isn’t actually responsible for a crash. More often, a poorly trained bus operator or another driver who fails to account for the rain causes an accident. Responsibility for the accident might come down to the driver (or the fleet manager for improper hiring).

Inclement road conditions often cause problems for people trying to drive on roadways. It’s easier to navigate a bus on a smooth road than a street with lots of potholes, or poor signs, or minimal road markings. These factors can all shift liability to a city government.

Driver Error

Bus drivers can and do make mistakes that endanger people on the road. Just like errors on the part of any other driver, bus driver error can cause accidents.

Some driver errors include:

  • Improperly driving a bus in a small, confusing, or crowded place
  • Driving distracted (texting, eating, talking, looking back at passengers, driving while tired or emotional)
  • Reckless or aggressive driving, including speeding

Management or Maintenance Negligence, Fleet Negligence

We have traced bus accidents back to negligent fleet managers and service providers. Even though we trust these people to ensure safe buses for everyone, they don’t always do their jobs. Large vehicles like buses already pose a lot of risk on the road—and when they aren’t safely maintained or used, they become even more dangerous.

If regular maintenance or service would have prevented an accident, a maintenance or service worker may bear responsibility.

Sometimes fleet managers also put people on the road at more risk by forcing bus drivers to drive longer than they should. Overworked bus and truck drivers frequently cause accidents—and it’s often their managers’ fault.

Finding a Marlton Bus Accident Lawyer

Can a bus accident lawyer help me?

Richard P. Console Jr.

Marlton bus accident lawyer, Richard P. Console Jr.

Most people find that hiring an attorney is one of the most important and beneficial steps to take after an accident. Working with a lawyer allows you to focus on your medical recovery rather than dealing with insurance agents, other attorneys, and endless paperwork. You don’t need to feel like you’re trapped in a whirlwind after a bus accident.

An attorney can help.

  • Attorneys help their clients fight to recover the compensation they deserve.
  • With an attorney, you have someone who has experience proving fault and negligence in court.
  • Your lawyer can help you create a clear picture of your well-being after your accident; he or she will help you determine how to begin the legal process and approach recovery.

Console & Associates P.C.: Your Compassionate Marlton Bus Accident Attorneys

If you were hurt in a bus accident, you probably have a lot of questions about your rights and your legal options. Here at Console & Associates P.C., we offer legal services to help accident survivors return to the lives they love. Our team of Marlton personal injury attorneys are always prepared to answer your questions—and, if you need legal support, you can retain one of our skilled lawyers on a contingency fee basis. That means that you don’t need to pay for our services unless your case wins or settles.

A Marlton bus accident lawyer at Console & Associates P.C. can help you take back your life after an accident. Don’t let your accident keep you from health or financial stability. If you have questions—or if you’d like a legal consultation—contact us today or call us at (856) 778-5500 for more information.

Console and Associates, P.C. (Marlton Office)

1 Holtec Drive, #100
Marlton, NJ 08053
(856) 778-5500

Client Testimonial

“My experience with Console and Associates was great. They were by my side since the very beginning of the accident and helped me through any concerns I’ve had. A special thanks to Mr. Ellery for being so professional, trustworthy and fighting hard for what I deserved. Also a special thanks to Christa for answering all my questions, being so understanding, and working so quick and efficiently!!! I will definitely come back if needed.” – Brianna K.
★★★★★

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