For some people, buses are part of their daily commute. They may ride on city, county, municipal, or school buses. Other people may ride private buses, such as party buses, church buses, and more. You could still be injured in a bus accident even if you never ride the bus—we all share the roads with buses and bus drivers. Like 18-wheelers and other large commercial vehicles, buses have a greater mass than most passenger vehicles, and collisions with these large vehicles often result in severe injuries, including broken bones, internal injuries, burns, lacerations, traumatic brain injuries, and more.
Frequent Causes of Bus Wrecks
The two leading causes of vehicle accidents are driver negligence and vehicle malfunctions. Some examples of driver negligence are speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, texting and driving, and failing to stop at signs or signals. It is essential to understand that commercial drivers have a higher standard of care than other drivers due to the increased dangers associated with operating large commercial and multi-passenger vehicles on Texas roadways. While vehicle malfunctions can occur because of a defect in the vehicle, they are generally due to a lack of maintenance. External factors—weather or road conditions—can also increase the likelihood of accidents. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001clarifies that Texas is a modified comparative fault state. That means people can recover for injuries, even if their actions are found to have contributed to the accident. Under the Texas proportionate responsibility rules, a party seeking recovery for damages must be found 50% or less responsible for causing the incident. However, the court will reduce any damage award according to the injured person’s percentage of fault. If a jury or Court finds the party was 51% or more responsible, then the party is barred from recovery entirely. That is why a seasoned Garland bus accident attorney considers all parties’ actions when examining a common carrier crash claim.
