School Bus Accidents
Were you recently in an accident with a school bus, van, or large commercial vehicle? Are you worried about how you will pay your medical bills, who insurance will find at fault or how you will repair your car? Truck and bus accidents can be extremely serious and even fatal. The sheer size of a large vehicle colliding with a small car can total a vehicle and cause catastrophic injuries to the driver and passengers. In a serious crash of that nature, it is important you consult with a personal injury attorney before you talk to the other party’s insurance adjuster. Even if you were partially to blame, the goal of the insurance adjuster is to settle as quickly and for as little as possible.
Determining Fault
All car accidents can be scary, traumatic, and physically damaging. An accident involving a car and a school bus, however, can be dangerous for both vehicles’ drivers and their passengers. Most school buses are not outfitted with seat belts for child passengers. While it is rare for children to be ejected, school buses have been known to flip or turn over in severe high-speed accidents with cars or large vehicles. In a rear-end or side-impact collision, cars can become lodged underneath a school bus axle causing severe injuries or even death to the driver or requiring use of emergency extricating machinery.
Often in accidents involving a school bus filled with children, people are quick to blame the other driver for recklessness. While it is unfortunately true that some drivers recklessly pass a school bus with its stop sign engaged, pass a school bus on a double line, or otherwise act carelessly, school bus drivers are not perfect drivers all the time. Many lack formal training or driving hours operating heavy machinery or are distracted by unruly child passengers on board. Also, while it is illegal to use handheld devices while driving in Wyoming, both personal drivers and school bus drivers are guilty of distracted driving. Distracted driving is now the number one cause of collisions in Wyoming and neighboring states.
Vicarious Liability for County and State-Owned Vehicles
Because school bus drivers and other county-employee manned vehicles are contracted by the local county or the state of Wyoming, sometimes the county or state can be implicated in the accident. In other words, because a school bus driver was acting in the scope of employment with a government entity at the time of the accident, that government entity is vicariously liable for the employee’s actions. Unless the driver is an independent contractor, it is unlikely that the local school system, local county, or the state could discharge liability in an accident involving one of their drivers or school buses. Filing a tort claims action against a government entity as well as the individual defendant can be complicated. That is why it is important to hire an experienced lawyer who understands comparative fault and vicarious liability. Our attorneys at Rocky Mountain Personal Injury Center only represent plaintiffs and are well-versed in the theory of respondeat superior and bringing claims against government entities.
Call Our Attorneys at Rocky Mountain Personal Injury Center
Because it can be challenging to determine fault in a multi-vehicle collision or a collision with a state-owned vehicle, it is important you have a seasoned litigation attorney by your side to assist with your claim. The last thing you want to do is admit fault at the scene or preemptively make a statement to the other driver’s insurance adjuster. Seek emergency medical treatment and collect the other drivers’, passengers’, and witnesses’ information. Then call our attorneys at Rocky Mountain Personal Injury Center. We work tirelessly for our clients to obtain the recovery they are entitled to, and we can help you too.
