When we use public or private bus transit, we expect it to be safe. No one climbs onto a bus thinking they'll end up in an accident. A bus accident can have permanent effects on your health and well-being and endanger the financial and emotional state of your family.
If you've been injured in a bus accident, or your loved one has tragically died in one, you may have the right to seek justice under Florida law and, in some cases, to sue the party responsible for damages. An experienced Doral bus accident attorney at Dolman Law Group can help.
Our Doral Bus Accident Lawyers Can Explain Your Legal Options
When you, your spouse, or your child has sustained an injury in a bus accident, it may be important to consult as soon as possible with experienced legal professionals who have represented other bus accident victims.
At Dolman Law Group's Doral office, our experienced bus accident attorneys can provide a free consultation to help you understand your potential legal options during this difficult time.
Representing Every Type of Case
Bus accidents can cause all kinds of injuries. Standing passengers can be thrown off their feet. Seated passengers, most of whom do not even have access to a seatbelt, can end up tossed around. Buses can also injure pedestrians, bicyclists, and passengers in motor vehicles.
When you've been injured in a bus accident, you may be entitled to compensation for the injuries that have caused you so much pain and distress. But, trying to represent yourself or settle your claims directly with the insurance company can quickly become confusing and make you feel hopeless. In these cases, a bus accident attorney may help improve your likelihood of recovering the compensation you deserve.
Common Bus Accident Injuries
Being hurt by a bus or while traveling on a bus can be devastating. It can permanently affect your ability to earn a living and support your family. Here are some common injuries sustained in bus crashes:
- Death
- Paralysis (including paraplegia and quadriplegia)
- Fractured or shattered bones with or without surgery
- Neck/back pain (including soft tissue and sciatica)
- Traumatic brain injury
- Disfigurement
- Spinal cord injuries
- Loss of limbs
- Nerve damage
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
These are just a few of the more common types of injuries you could be diagnosed with following a bus accident in Doral. If you have suffered another type of injury that is not listed above, you may still be entitled to financial compensation. Explore your legal options further when you contact our office for a free consultation.
Typical Damages in Bus Accident Cases
Under Florida law, your ability to recover compensation after sustaining injuries in a bus accident may depend, in part, on whether you are covered by an insurance policy. Florida is (for the time being) a no-fault insurance state, meaning that residents can't register a car here without carrying at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage. In Florida, when a person with PIP insurance is injured in an accident, their PIP coverage pays for at least some of their expenses, such as medical bills, no matter who is at fault for the accident and injuries.
A person who carries PIP coverage typically is insured for injuries they suffer as a driver or passenger in a car that collides with a bus. PIP insurance also usually covers passengers in the bus involved in an accident, or a pedestrian or bicyclist struck by a bus. PIP coverage also kicks in when the person's child gets injured in a school bus accident.
Floridians and visitors injured in a bus accident who do not have PIP coverage may be covered by someone else's PIP insurance policy. Also, if they sustain certain serious injuries, no matter whether they're covered by their own PIP insurance or someone else's, they may also have the right to seek damages from the parties at fault for the accident. An experienced Florida bus accident lawyer can help sort through these sometimes confusing legal options.
Wherever the compensation comes from, depending on the circumstances, the victim of a bus accident may be entitled to recover the cost of:
- Medical care
- Long-term care and rehabilitation services
- Lost earnings, including past and future
- Funeral expenses
- Pain and suffering
- In some limited cases, punitive damages
These are only a few of the more common types of damages that can be awarded in Doral bus accident lawsuits. Find out more about what your claim could be worth when you contact our office to discuss your damages in further detail.
Who Bears Liability for a Doral Bus Accident Case?
As described above, who pays for bus accident victim's immediate medical expenses depends in part on whether they or others are covered by no-fault PIP insurance. When victims sustain serious injuries in a bus accident in Florida, they may also be able to seek compensation from other responsible parties.
These other parties can include, depending on the facts of the accident, the bus owner or operator, the bus manufacturer, the driver of a motor vehicle that collided with a bus, and even the public or private entity responsible for maintaining the roads where the accident occurred. The facts of every bus accident are different, but an experienced Florida bus accident attorney can help sort through them to determine who might be held responsible for your injuries, and how to pursue justice.
Florida Shared Fault Laws
Many bus accident injury victims wait to reach out to a lawyer because they believe sharing fault for their injuries will prevent them from recovering compensation for their damages. While this would be true if the state followed a contributory negligence system, under Florida Statute § 768.81, the state follows a pure comparative negligence system. Here, sharing fault does not prevent you from recovering compensation for your damages.
However, you can expect your injury settlement to reflect a shared fault deduction that correlates to your percentage of blame. For instance, if you were to carry 20% of the liability for your injuries, you could then expect your injury settlement to be reduced by 20%. If you have questions or concerns surrounding how your injury settlement could be affected by Florida's shared fault laws, do not hesitate to contact our office to discuss your concerns further.
How do Liable Bus Companies and Drivers Avoid Paying Their Fair Share?
Insurance companies responsible for paying out benefits to victims of bus accidents often try to pay as little as possible. They may pounce quickly, trying to get victims to sign releases or make statements that cause victims to lose their rights to coverage for serious medical conditions. The same goes for other parties who may be at fault for an accident.
Even though Florida is a no-fault insurance state, when bus accident injuries are really bad or result in the wrongful death of accident victims, it's common for everyone involved to try and point the finger at someone else. Sometimes, they even try to blame the victims.
To avoid becoming a victim of these tactics, it can help to have an experienced Florida bus accident attorney by your side who protects your rights and steers you away from falling prey to people trying to avoid paying their fair share.
How Much Will a Doral Bus Accident Lawyer Cost Me?
The last thing bus accident victims want to worry about is how they are going to pay for an attorney to protect their rights. At Dolman Law Group, we understand that concern, and in appropriate cases we may agree to represent bus accident victims on a contingency fee basis in which our client pays nothing out of pocket, and we receive payment for our fees and the court costs we advance only out of any settlement or jury verdict we obtain on our client's behalf.
How Long do You Have to File Your Bus Accident Claim in Doral?
Although pursuing legal action after your bus accident may be the furthest thing from your mind, the sooner you take action on your case the better. Once the statute of limitations expires, you will no longer have the right to pursue your case.
Under Florida Statute § 95.11, the majority of personal injury claims, including bus accident lawsuits, must be filed before the four-year statute of limitations expires. Find out when this critical deadline is for your case when you contact your bus accident attorney in Doral for more information.
Doral, Florida Bus Accident Attorneys
The bus accident claims process can be complex. But when you have a knowledgeable legal advocate fighting for your right to maximum compensation, you can feel confident in your decision to move forward with your claim.
If you or a loved one is the victim of a bus accident, the experienced bus accident lawyers at Dolman Law Group's Doral office may be able to help. Call us today at (305) 930-7688 or visit us online to schedule a free consultation to discuss your options.
Dolman Law Group
8400 NW 36th St Suite 450
Doral, FL 33166
305-930-7688
What Our Clients Have to Say:
“My experience with this law firm has been extremely pleasant. After being involved in an accident where I was injured, I was able to seek treatment from the best doctors in the area. I was lucky to have a team that assisted in scheduling my appointments that worked around both my full time work schedule and my demanding grad school schedule. Even with a move out of state to New York, I was able to remain with this law firm and continue treatment in south Florida while remaining under the care of the doctors that I felt most comfortable with. Even though I suffered injuries and experienced difficulties in that aspect, the team here was able to make sure that I was able to continue work and stay on track with grad school all while I moved to a new state.”
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Anna Slough
August 2018
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