School Bus Crash Injury Claims – Connecticut – A few Things to Know
Claims
Did you know that there is a higher
standard of care for school bus companies?
Often people just do not know
their rights and have no idea about what is to come. I want people to
understand the situation. I am writing this because yesterday I read about a bus crash on
384 in Manchester.
Many people do not know that the public school buses are operated by private
companies not operated by the public school system. Over the years I have
represented victims and their parents against school bus companies and against
their bus drivers. The biggest mistake made is not to hiring someone with expertise immediately
after the incident. Why? Because the video’s from the bus on the day of
the incident needs to be secured and the evidence needs to be saved but the big
student bus companies do everything possible to protect its big government
contract as these companies first concern after a bus accident is the
protection of its government contract and money not the victims and their
families. I say the student bus company’s money because often it is self
insured, which is permitted under the law, but little known.
These are big national student bus companies who often hire under trained
drivers with little experience, who sometimes have bad safety records or bad
driving records (among other things). The passengers are the reason these big
student bus companies are paid so well. Many parents have no idea, until after
the bus crash about how bad it is. My firm has handled claims for injuries
suffered by children while riding school buses; people need to understand, that
these type cases require immediate action to ensure that the bus company is not
out trying to protect itself at the expense of the victim. Often these injuries
manifest themselves differently with children than they do with adults.
Firms with experience like ours help these victims and protect the victim’s rights. At the
same time we work to expose the egregious manner of operation by these big
student busing companies, which helps more than just the victim, it helps the
potential victim
Connecticut Law
The law in Connecticut is on your
side if a school bus crash does occur. But the carriers will first look to
protect its bottom line. Here are some of the laws in Connecticut that are in
place to protect injured students and their families.
operators of school buses:
the owners and operators of any school bus, as defined in section 14-275, or of
any motor vehicle registered as a service bus transporting children to and from
school or school activities, private or public camps or any other activities
concerning the transportation of groups of children shall be the same as the
standard of care applicable to common carriers of passengers for hire.”
transported to school:
for personal injuries received while being transported to or from school in a
vehicle owned, leased or hired by, or operated under contract with, any town,
school district or other municipality, it shall be no defense that such
transportation is in the line of governmental duty or is mandated by the state.
In any such action brought against any town, school district or other
municipality, the defense of sovereign immunity shall not be available and it
shall be no defense that the transportation was being provided by an
independent contractor.”
school buses or student transportation vehicles:
a school bus or a student transportation vehicle as defined in section 14-212,
the police officer who, in the regular course of duty, investigates such
accident, shall immediately report such accident by telephone or otherwise to
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. In the event of any accident in which an
occupant of a school bus or student transportation vehicle is injured resulting
in admission of such occupant to a hospital overnight, the police officer
investigating the accident shall report such accident to the commissioner
within twenty-four hours thereafter. For the purposes of this section, the term
“serious accident” means any accident in which (1) any occupant of
the school bus or student transportation vehicle is killed, or (2) a fire
occurs in, or there is a roll-over of, the school bus or student transportation
vehicle.”
requirements of police investigation, parents of victims need to hire a law
firm that will send out their own investigators, follow up on backgrounds, and
gather witness statements. It is imperative that a letter is sent out putting
the student bus carrier and the school on notice of the claim and demanding
that the student bus carrier and the school preserve evidence such a video recordings and audio recordings and GPS
tracking and operational reports. Otherwise there may be a spoliation of evidence. Also demand that any testing of the operator be
preserved and made available to determine if drugs or alcohol was in play at
the time of the student bus crash.
involving children riding as passengers on school buses. These claims
require immediate action. Injuries involving children manifest themselves
differently than they do with adults. My firms has experience school bus crash
cases and the victims. We work to expose the egregious manner of operation by
these big student busing companies and compensate the victims.