Who Will Be Responsible if your Child is Injured in a School Bus Accident?

School bus accidents often happen in California, which sometimes results in severe injuries to children traveling in it. In such cases, you have to know who is liable for the accident to sue them for the injuries of your child. Hence, through this article, we help you to determine the liability of a school bus accident for filing a lawsuit in the court to claim money for the damages your child sustained.

Determining Liability

A school bus accident lawyer can help you to determine who is responsible for the accident, as he will have good knowledge in such cases. Identifying the party who is liable for the accident is a complicated process as you will have to consider a large number of factors including the circumstances of the accident.

Usually when determining who is at fault for an accident, police, lawyer, or insurance companies will examine the following factors:

• When and where did the accident occur? If the bus driver was traveling on the same route, then it may indicate that someone other than the bus driver is at fault. On the contrary, if the bus was going through a new path or unfamiliar roads, then the driver’s poor decision may have been a reason for the accident.
• Were any other vehicles involved? When a bus accident involves only the bus it usually is the fault of the driver or the condition of the bus. A bus accident that involves other vehicles may point towards the mistake of other drivers or the condition of their vehicles.
• Was alcohol or drugs involved? In some rare cases, it may be possible that the driver was intoxicated by alcohol or drugs while he was driving. Hence, it points to the fault of the bus driver or his employer. However, this happens quite rarely, as bus drivers deeply care for the safety of the children they transport. In addition to alcohol or drugs, some medical conditions suffered by the driver can also result in the accident, especially if they are old.
• Were safety measures followed? The schools or agencies that operate school buses are required to enforce some safety measures on buses. If they fail to ensure them, then the schools or companies that run school buses will be responsible for the accident.
• Did anything go wrong with the bus? If the accident was caused by the malfunctioning of any of the bus parts, then the preventable mechanical failure will become the culprit of the accident. In this case, the company that manufactured the bus or its parts will be liable for the accident.

Therefore, when finding the responsibility of a school bus accident, you have to consider all these factors. It is better to consult a school bus accident attorney for this purpose. A school bus accident lawyer will help you to analyze the situation associated with the accident, thereby identifying the liable parties.