When you let your child ride on a school bus, you expect that the driver and all other drivers will take extra caution regarding the children aboard. Unfortunately, school bus collisions are growing more common. A few years ago, in Elkton, Maryland, a car rear-ended a parked school bus, injuring three special needs students, according to WBAL TV 11 News. The three students, aged 8 to 10 years old, were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Because the school bus was parked and had not been moving just prior to the crash, the blame will likely fall on the shoulders of the 30-year-old driver who hit the bus from behind. In school bus crashes, seeking compensation for your child’s injuries can be more difficult than typical car vs. car collisions. However, the first step is to contact an attorney so that the investigation into who was at fault, compiling your damages, and assessing the negligent party’s assets can begin.
Determining the Cause of the Crash will Lead to Who was Responsible
The 30-year-old driver of the car who veered into the bus, which was parked on the right hand side of the road all the way into the shoulder without flashing lights, was under investigation for cell phone use at the time of the crash. Rear end collisions are becoming more common these days as drivers spend, on average, nearly five seconds at a time looking down when they use their phone to read or respond to a text, according to the International Business Times. In the span of 4.6 seconds, a car that is travelling 55 miles per hour covers the length of a soccer field. According to a recent study performed by Zendrive and reported in Wired, drivers use their cell phones on 88 percent of trips, and spend an average of 3.5 minutes on their phone per hour-long trip. When multiple children are injured in a crash, the total insurance policy limit will likely be tapped out. This presents additional legal challenges, and an attorney can provide great assistance in figuring out how to maximize the financial compensation that you will receive.
Was the Driver of the Bus Responsible?
In some cases, the driver of the bus may be responsible for causing the crash. If they were on duty, they may be considered an agent of the school district. Filing a lawsuit against a school district, or receiving a fair settlement, can be very tricky. In some cases, filing a lawsuit may not be a viable option for success, and is something that you and your attorney will need to discuss.
Contact Maryland Personal Injury Attorney Tara K. Frame in Maryland Today
If your child was injured in a school bus accident, regardless of who was at fault, you deserve financial compensation. Visit our website or contact us today to let us begin working on your case immediately.