Bus Accident Lawyers – Connecticut
Connecticut Bus Accidents
When you step onto a city transit bus or put your child onto a school bus, you entrust the bus driver, the bus company and a host of others with your and your loved ones’ safety and security. A bus accident is among the last things you expect. Yet, accidents happen.
When a bus accident occurs the consequences can be significant, both emotionally and financially, not only for the passengers on board but also for their dependents and loved ones. Our legal system has in place a mechanism to ensure that the costs of bus crashes are borne by those at fault, not by the innocent bus passengers and their families. An injury that occurs while an individual is using bus transportation may entitle that person and/or his dependents and family members to compensation. An effective personal injury attorney can help you determine if you have a valid claim for your bus accident injuries and if so to maximize your recovery from the responsible parties.
Connecticut Law Applicable to Bus Accidents
“The duty owed by common carriers was the subject of Green v. H.N.S Management Company, Inc. The plaintiff, while walking in an aisle on the defendant’s bus, slipped on some ice and slush as the bus began to move. The defendant appealed after a plaintiff’s verdict, arguing that there was no evidence to establish that the slippery condition created by snow and ice had existed for a sufficient period of time to give rise to a duty to warn. The Appellate Court reversed the judgment stating that, although a common carrier has a duty to use the utmost care, such duty does not arise unless the dangerous condition existed for a sufficient period of time so that the driver exercising the high degree of care should have discovered it. The Court stated that the evidence of icy and snowy weather conditions, along with evidence that passengers on the bus could have tracked ice onto the aisle, did not permit an inference that the ice had been on the aisle for a particular length of time as it might have been caused by passengers immediately prior to the plaintiff boarding the bus.” Significant Tort Developments in 2005, 80 Conn. B.J. 139, 181-82 (2006).
In Green, The Appellate Court stated: “A common carrier, such as an operator of a motor bus, has a duty to use the utmost care consistent with the nature of its business to guard its passengers against all dangers which might reasonably and naturally be expected to occur, in view of all the circumstances. See also Belledeau v. Connecticut Co., 110 Conn. 625, 627-28, 149 A. 127 (1930) (common carrier has duty to exercise highest degree of care and skill that reasonably may be expected of intelligent, prudent persons engaged in business of carrying passengers for hire in view of instrumentalities employed and dangers reasonably to be apprehended). The high standard of care to which a common carrier is held, however, does not make it an insurer of the plaintiff’s safety. A common carrier is not required to guard a passenger against all hazards.See also Krentzman v. Connecticut Co., 136 Conn. 239, 243-44, 70 A.2d 133 (1949) (common carrier did not breach duty of care where plaintiff passenger lost footing while on running board of trolley due to jostling by rowdy passengers because it had no opportunity or means to restrain other passengers). A common carrier has a duty to warn passengers of a danger when the circumstances are such that a passenger would not, in the exercise of reasonable care, be likely to observe and apprehend it. A common carrier fulfills its duty to passengers when it warns its passengers of dangerous conditions or when it remedies the dangerous conditions.” Green v. H.N.S. Mgmt. Co., Inc., 91 Conn. App. 751, 758-59, 881 A.2d 1072, 1078 (2005).
Contact us now to Address Your Bus Accident Case
The victim of a Connecticut bus accident in may be able to collect financial compensation for his or her losses, including pain and suffering, medical bills, estimated future medical expenses, lost wages and lost income potential. The bus accident attorneys in Hartford at Jackson O’Keefe addresses the needs of people who are injured in Connecticut no matter how severe the injury. The law firm has years of experience, a record of success, and the resources to help you recover fair compensation. After a bus accident, it is essential for you and your family to regain the physical and emotional stability you lost due to an accident. Let the Jackson O’Keefe firm, and its team of lawyers, address your legal concerns while you focus on recovery. For more information, contact us to schedule a free consultation.
Jackson O’Keefe LLP handles Connecticut bus accident cases throughout the State of Connecticut, including clients in West Hartford, Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, Old Lyme, Ellington, Tolland, North Haven, Wallingford, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, Bethlehem, Moodus, East Haddam, Hadlyme, Madison, Middletown, Hartford, Southington, Plantsville, Hartford County, New Haven County, Middlesex County, New London County and Litchfield County.