Whether we realize it or not, buses provide a valuable service to residents of Danville and Montour County. School buses help our children gain better access to education. Shuttle buses transport patients around Geisinger Medical Center campus. And long-distance transit buses that stop in our local CVS parking lot give us the opportunity to connect with cities across Pennsylvania and the northeast. But when a bus crashes, it can cause severe harm to the many individuals involved. Most bus accidents are preventable. If you were injured in a bus accident in Montour County, a Danville bus accident lawyer from our firm is available to provide expert advice about your legal options.
Personal injury law like bus accident law helps victims of another party’s negligence recover compensation for the damages they suffered. Stapp Law, LLC offers legal representation to individuals injured in a bus accident caused by an error or negligence. If you were the victim of a bus crash and sustained injuries in central Pennsylvania, a Danville bus accident attorney from Stapp Law, LLC can advocate for you, helping you obtain the financial support needed to recover from your financial, physical, and emotional injuries.
How Common Are Bus Accidents in PA?
Research published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) showed there were 321 commercial buses and 156 school buses involved in accidents in 2020 in our state. Over the past five years, there were over 1,600 people injured and 14 people killed in school bus crashes in PA. School and commercial bus accidents comprised the smallest percentage of motor vehicle crashes in Pennsylvania in 2020.
Bus accidents are less frequent than other types of automobile accidents involving cars, trucks, SUVs, or even motorcycles. But when a bus crash happens, the injuries sustained by those involved can be catastrophic. In personal injury law, catastrophic refers to an injury that severely alters the victim’s life. This could include a severe brain injury, an amputation, or paralysis. For many people involved in bus accidents, the consequences can be fatal. With the help of a Danville bus accident lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC, you may be able to obtain compensation if you or a loved one’s life was impacted by a bus accident.
How Can a Lawyer Help After a Danville Bus Accident?
Because of its large size, weight, and number of occupants, a bus is different from other types of motor vehicles. And bus accident lawyers handle these types of cases separately from car or truck accidents, as there are many additional factors and laws involved. Drivers of buses, and the companies that hire drivers, maintain vehicles, and dispatch drivers on routes owe passengers a safe riding experience without fear of danger.
If, for example, a company is negligent in its inspection and upkeep of vehicles, this negligence can lead to an accident that causes injury. In other situations, a bus driver’s cell phone use may lead to distraction and, consequently, a collision. Or a manufacturing company’s negligence may cause a vehicle part to break down on the road and cause a crash.
If negligence like this happens, the injured victim may be entitled to file a bus accident claim against the company or other party whose negligence resulted in harm. The job of a Danville bus accident lawyer is to make sure that at-fault parties are held responsible for their actions, and that injured victims are compensated for their losses. The injuries associated with bus collisions are often acute and lead to substantial medical bills, a long recovery time, and in some cases a loss of the ability to work. Not every person involved in a bus collision will be injured, but those who are hurt often sustain life-changing damages.
Some of the most common injuries sustained in a bus accident include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)
- Internal organ damage
- Broken bones and fractures
- Whiplash
- Bruises, cuts, and lacerations
- Burns
- Sprains, strains, contusions, and other soft tissue damage
- Head injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Back and neck injury
- Permanent disfigurement and scarring
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological injury
When you have suffered an injury like those listed above, your life is transformed in many ways. People who experience bus accident injuries may face permanent disability, scarring and disfigurement, and psychological trauma—in addition to medical bills and a loss of the wages needed to pay them.
If you are facing a situation like this in Montour County or central Pennsylvania, a Danville bus accident lawyer from our law firm will work with you and your family to gain a complete understanding of how you were affected by your injuries. We will learn your story so we can best help you recover damages. These damages could be economic (tangible losses like hospital expenses or property damage) or noneconomic (like pain and suffering or mental anguish). Those injured in a bus accident may be eligible to recover compensation for damages such as:
- Medical bills
- Hospital and ambulance costs
- Costs associated with recovery and rehabilitation
- Personal property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Mental anguish
- Psychological trauma
- Lost wages and benefits
- Loss of the ability to work and future income
- Permanent disability
Stapp Law, LLC Represents Injured Victims in Montour County
At Stapp Law, LLC, we fight hard to defend our Danville community members from the negligent actions of others. Your bus accident attorney will work to prove the negligence of the at-fault party and demonstrate that this negligence led to the accident that caused your injuries. Your legal representative will also partner closely with you and your family to gather proof of your injuries, showing that your losses were a result of the bus accident.
Most people are not prepared to bear the immense financial burden of someone else’s error. Bus accident law helps prevent this kind of injustice from happening. If you were injured in a bus accident in Danville, PA or the surrounding areas, you need to know that the at-fault party will be held accountable, and that action will be taken to prevent a similar situation from happening again in the future. The legal team at Stapp Law, LLC thoroughly understands Pennsylvania traffic laws, insurance policies, bus company regulations, and other information relevant to a Montour County bus accident case. We use our knowledge to your benefit. We invite you to reach out to our office to set up a free initial consultation about how we can help you.
