Houston is home to thousands of vehicles on the road every day, taking passengers to work and to enjoy leisure activities. Visitors and commuters often take advantage of the local transit system, which employs both trains and buses. When large vehicles such as city buses navigate the city streets and highways, the risk of injury to a car or pedestrian is extremely high.
If you or a loved one have been hurt in a crash involving public transit, private coach, or a school bus, you need skilled legal guidance from an experienced Houston bus accident lawyer. Understanding who is liable for your injuries and property damage can be complicated. Instead of trying to figure it out alone, schedule a free consultation with attorney Steve Lee to learn how to pursue your case.
Causes of Bus Accidents in Houston
Buses are vital to a large city’s workforce and can be a low-cost transport choice for tourists who do not want to bother with a rental car. However, the way these large vehicles move through traffic is very different from passenger cars and trucks. They frequently stop and start for passengers, pulling in and out of travel lanes.
Even when there are designated bus lanes, such as for the Houston METRO buses, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycle riders, and automobiles can be hit if the bus driver is distracted or is not careful. In addition to METRO buses, you could be hurt by Greyhound buses or a private charter bus on a tour.
A crash involving a private or public bus can result from causes such as:
- Blind spots
- Cars, bikes, or pedestrians in a bus lane
- Defects in steering, accelerating, braking, or other systems
- Distracted, drowsy, or inexperienced bus drivers
- Drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Faulty repair work or bus maintenance
- No protective equipment for passengers, such as seatbelts
- Other drivers who cause the bus to wreck
- Speeding
- Unbalanced loads on the bus
- Unsafe road conditions, such as debris, construction, or potholes
- Weather conditions such as ice, snow, or heavy rain
Regardless of the details of your bus accident, the cause can likely be traced back to negligence or human error. Hiring a Houston bus accident attorney can help you determine all liable parties and seek appropriate compensation from them. You do not have to face the aftermath of their poor choices without financial relief.
Attorney Steve Lee has seen many types of bus accidents. He is not afraid to go after large agencies that manage public transportation buses or a private bus company chartering tour coaches. He believes in following the facts and evidence to identify who could be at fault, including the bus driver, other motorists, repair shops, and bus company owners. In cases involving school bus accidents, Steve will ensure your child’s rights and future are protected from negligent drivers.
Legal Rights of Bus Accident Victims with Catastrophic Injuries
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were over 1 million buses driving more than 15 million miles between 2017 and 2020. Much like heavy tractor-trailers, buses are more difficult to control, have a much greater mass than passenger vehicles, and can cause catastrophic injuries.
The term “catastrophic injury” is generally understood to mean conditions such as:
- Spinal cord damage that causes paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Amputation or loss of both hands, both feet, or one of each
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affecting motor or cognitive ability
- Third-degree burns over 40% or more of your body
- Third-degree burns on 40% or more of your face
- Wrongful death of a parent who leaves surviving minor children
Injury victims may experience broken bones, burns, internal bleeding, and blunt force trauma to organs and the head. For example, suppose a driver passes a school bus carrying children, then swerves and brakes in front of it, causing a crash. School buses do not have necessarily seatbelts, and these accident victims can suffer serious injuries, including fatalities.
The younger the victim, the greater their need for compensation since their severe injuries could impact their entire lives. They may be unable to complete higher education, maintain a job, or even care for themselves. Victims in injury cases like these have the right to hire an attorney to investigate and aggressively litigate their claims for financial relief from those who are at fault. As a bus accident lawyer in Houston, attorney Steve Lee is ready to help you.
Medical Bills After a Houston Bus Accident
Whether your injuries after a bus accident are minor or catastrophic, you will likely face medical bills and other expenses as a result of the crash. Those who are permanently disabled may need extensive therapy and rehabilitation that could last for months, years or the rest of their lives. Extremely severe injuries also leave victims with astronomical hospital bills from ER, ICU, and surgical treatment.
All of this medical care can spiral into millions of dollars over the course of your recovery. When someone else is shown to be liable for your bus accident injuries, you must add holding them accountable to your list of worries. Although it can be challenging to deal with insurance companies and perhaps a trial, it gets easier when you hire an accomplished attorney like Steve Lee.
Our legal team understands how the insurance industry works and knows how to use personal injury law to your advantage. Instead of negotiating with insurance representatives who want to make a low offer and close your claim fast, we will ensure that you receive fair compensation for all your losses. We believe you should have every penny you deserve.
Additional Damages from a Houston Bus Accident
Bus accident injuries leave most victims unable to work, at least when they are physically recovering. Emotional trauma, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, may delay your return to work. This puts a financial strain on your family as you try to negotiate a fair insurance claim.
Economic damages (those with a fixed price) you could experience include:
- Cost of a service animal
- Damage to your vehicle, cell phone, computer, luggage, or other personal property
- Household services (cleaning, cooking, maintenance) you can no longer perform
- Increase in your insurance premiums
- In-home care or the cost of an assisted living facility
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Medical or mobility devices
- Medications
- Physical therapy
- Psychological therapy
- Prosthetic or mobility devices
- Travel costs for medical treatment
- Renovations to your home because of a disability
For insurance claims against those liable for your bus accident, you can seek repayment for these economic losses in full. Most insurance policies will cover these costs but often do not include the non-economic or subjective ways the crash affects your life. When the at-fault party’s insurance does not have a high enough coverage, or you have extensive subjective losses, you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to receive maximum compensation.
Non-economic losses include:
- Amputation, scarring, and disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Humiliation
- Loss of enjoyment of normal activities
- Loss of society and isolation
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Paralysis
When someone else is careless or negligent, you should not have to suffer pain, financial loss, or emotional damage as a result. You have legal rights, including the right to hold them accountable in court and to be made whole. Being made whole means different things to each person, and your bus accident attorney in Houston will ask questions to define how this applies to your case.
Attorney Steve Lee and his professional legal team will listen to your story with compassion, investigate your claim with integrity, and pursue a remedy for your case with tenacity. We do not stop working until we secure the best possible outcome for your unique circumstances. Since we work on a contingency fee basis, you do not owe us our fees until we win your case for you.
Contact Houston Bus Accident Lawyer Steve Lee Today
If you have been the victim of a bus crash in the city of Houston or anywhere in Harris County, turn to the experience of attorney Steve Lee. We offer a free consultation to get started, so it costs you nothing to find out if your claim is valid and worth pursuing. When you decide to hire us, you will work with a knowledgeable Houston bus accident attorney who puts your interests first and fights fiercely for your needs.
You deserve effective and skilled legal representation so you can focus on healing. We will manage every aspect of your case from beginning to end, pushing back against lowball offers from insurance companies or opposing counsel. We collect evidence, interview witnesses and experts, analyze the accident, and create the strongest case possible to let the other side know we mean business.
Do not wait any longer to bring your case to our office. The Texas statute of limitations for personal injury cases like bus accidents is only two years from the date of the crash. If you delay and miss this deadline, you could lose your chance to seek relief through the courts. We will not let that happen to you. Contact us to schedule your free case review today.