While buses provide a convenient and affordable way for people to travel around Newark and to other areas, they present hazards for other roadway vehicles, mostly because of their massive size. They can cause far more damage than, and to, smaller vehicles.
Buses vary in size and weight depending on the needs of the carrier, but most city buses are between 35 and 50 feet long and about eight feet wide; the average city bus weighs between 25,000-40,000 pounds. The enormous size of the vehicle is necessary to transport up to 60 people at one time.
If a Newark bus accident injured you, you could pursue compensation for your injuries. A bus accident lawyer from Console & Associates P.C. can help you to understand the legal process and fight for the compensation you deserve. Read on to learn more from our experienced Newark bus accident lawyers.
Many different types of buses travel U.S. roadways. On average, Americans take around 700 million passenger trips each year on roughly 4,000 interstate bus lines, with some of those lines traveling through Newark. In addition, Newark boasts a strong transport system of intercity lines, as well as airport shuttles, school buses, and private tour buses. More than a quarter of the residents rely on public transportation to get to work in Newark.
The unusually large size makes a bus difficult to maneuver and poses some serious risks of collision due to:
As with other vehicles, many factors related to human error can cause a bus to crash.
Some of the more common causes of bus accidents include:
Richard P. Console, Newark bus wreck lawyer
If someone else’s careless or reckless actions injured you in a bus accident, you have likely found that there are a lot of complexities in your case. Perhaps you are not sure who caused the accident because you were a passenger on the bus and could not see what happened. Perhaps you were an occupant in a much smaller car, dealing with a severe injury from a collision with the larger vehicle.
Whatever the circumstances of your case, bus accidents often produce difficult legal cases with which we can help you.
The potentially liable parties in a bus accident claim depend on the details of the accident.
To prove that someone is liable (meaning legally responsible) for the expenses that you have incurred and the impacts on your life that you have faced as a result of your injuries, you must establish the following elements:
Those who are commonly found liable in bus accident cases include:
Victims can recover compensation through a lawsuit in civil court. The statute of limitations for filing a Newark bus accident lawsuit is generally two years from the date on which the accident occurred. However, if your bus accident case is against a governmental agency, such as a state or municipal transit authority, the deadline can change. Cases against the government often have much shorter filing deadlines. Your attorney can advise you if you face a different filing deadline.
Because of New Jersey’s “choose no-fault” car insurance system, some individuals can pursue early medical expenses and wage loss compensation through their own personal injury protection policy. This is often a faster resource for obtaining the money needed shortly after the accident takes place. If you have a New Jersey auto insurance policy, you can seek PIP coverage regardless of who is liable.
However, PIP policies do not cover non-economic damages and often reach their limits before providing complete coverage of expenses. Sometimes they don’t pay out at all or dispute your claim, as other insurance companies would. If so, call us for help.
To file a lawsuit against an at-fault party in a bus accident case in which you were injured as a driver or occupant of another vehicle on the roadway, an individual’s injuries must meet the state’s serious injury threshold.
Injuries that meet this threshold include:
New Jersey allows the recovery of both economic and non-economic damages through lawsuits.
Some of the damages that you might recover include the out-of-pocket costs of:
You can also pursue compensation for the impacts the injury has had on your life, known as non-economic damages. Common impacts claimed in this damage category include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of the enjoyment of life.
Bus accidents are complex. The Newark personal injury attorneys at Console & Associates P.C. could help you make sense of the legal process involved in pursuing compensation for your Newark bus accident injuries. For a free case evaluation, contact us online or call (862) 229-1137.
494 Broad Street, #208B
Newark, NJ 07102
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