While bus accidents involving companies like Greyhound represent a small percentage of the overall highway accident statistics, especially compared to automobile accidents, they do happen and when they do, quite large numbers of passengers or occupants of other vehicles can be involved.
Greyhound buses and their drivers are expected to have a much greater degree of responsibility for the safety and welfare of the passengers which are entrusted to them than the average driver of a personally owned automobile. Unfortunately, accidents can happen precisely because a driver or some element in the bus company administration team has failed to reach that standard of care
If you have been involved in an accident with a Greyhound bus as a pedestrian or in or on another vehicle or as a passenger in a Greyhound bus, you should make contact with an experienced bus accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident to see if a claim can be made for damages against either the driver or the Greyhound bus company or even another party who can be proved to have played a part in the accident.
Good accident attorneys thoroughly investigate the accident circumstances
A good accident attorney will be able to thoroughly investigate the accident and determine who or what was responsible. Many bus accidents are often caused by a combination of factors and wherever liability can be demonstrated then a separate damages claim can be made against each party involved.
Driver error has been shown time and time again to be the most likely main factor in a bus accident. Drivers are blamed for about three quarters of all bus accidents, whatever the bus company involved.
Drivers routinely fail to reach standards which are expected of them such as the following.
- Use of alcohol or drugs while driving.
- Effect of too many hours behind the wheel.
- Distraction by emotional or psychological problems.
- Distraction through using mobile devices such as a cell phone while driving.
- Inexperienced drivers.
- Drivers speeding or driving carelessly or recklessly.
Drivers are not the only ones to blame for bus accident
Drivers are not the sole cause of a Greyhound bus crash. Sometimes, specific buses fail in some part of their operating mechanism. This may be something which has been missed by the maintenance team or the bus may have been driven for too long before being checked by a routine maintenance session. Sometimes another factor – a spare part that was defective, for instance – might have played a part in the accident and in this case, the manufacturer or distributor of the part may be at least partly to blame.
Other factors may also be involved and they can combine together to lead to a deadly accident. Road conditions may be partly to blame and it will have to be investigated whether there was anything that could or should have been done to prevent them from occurring. Other vehicles may have been driven erratically leading to avoidance behaviour on part of the bus driver.
In all these accidents, it takes a skilful and competent bus accident attorney to piece together the full picture. Your injuries are going to be a huge burden on you and your family unless their full cost is compensated by an effective and successful claim won on your behalf.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, learn how to protect your rights with a free consultation. Contact an experienced Car Wreck Attorney.
