Miami-Dade Transit provides bus transportation to the public, and many families in Miami rely on school buses to transport their children to and from school every day. Many people in the area also use private charter buses. While bus accidents are statistically rare compared to passenger vehicle accidents in Florida, they can cause devastating injuries and raise difficult legal questions for injured victims. A Miami bus accident lawyer is a valuable resource after such an accident.
The Law Office of Alexander Alvarez, PA can provide compassionate legal counsel when you need it most after a bus accident. Whether you were injured in a Miami-Dade Transit bus accident or your child was injured in a school bus accident, proving liability and recovering compensation for the resulting damages is likely to be far more difficult than you expect.
Florida follows a no-fault rule for vehicle accidents, meaning drivers involved in a collision are expected to file claims against their own no-fault insurance policies to recover compensation after an accident, regardless of who caused it. This may feel restrictive when you know that the other driver was clearly to blame, and the typical no-fault rules for most vehicle accidents may not exactly apply to a bus accident.
If you were riding a bus as a passenger and have no-fault auto insurance, this insurance can still apply to your damages, but if you do not, then you would need to file a civil claim against whoever caused the accident to recover your losses. This may mean filing a claim against a public entity such as a local school district or Miami-Dade Transit, and these cases are far more challenging than civil claims filed against other private parties.
When you choose the Law Office of Alexander Alvarez, PA to represent you, we will carefully review the details of how your accident happened, identify the party or parties responsible, and then determine your most efficient path to recovering your losses. You can trust us to negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf or help you pursue a personal injury claim if necessary to recover compensation for your losses.
Between 2013 and 2022, there were 976 fatal school bus accidents nationwide, and during that ten-year period, 74 of those accidents happened in Florida, placing the state second in the country for the highest numbers of school bus accident deaths. If your child was seriously injured in a school bus accident, it is crucial to speak with an experienced Miami bus accident attorney as soon as possible to determine your legal options.
Determining fault for the accident will be essential. Under Florida’s no-fault rule for vehicle accidents, you may need to file a claim against your own no-fault insurance policy if you were injured in a bus accident while driving your own vehicle. However, if your child was injured in a school bus accident, you will need to prove that the bus driver’s or a school district employee’s negligence directly caused their injuries to have grounds to file a civil claim.
When an employee of Miami-Dade Transit or another public entity is responsible for your bus accident, there are limitations when it comes to filing claims for damages against public entities. Most are protected from civil claims by sovereign immunity, but there is an exception when a government employee’s negligence has directly caused actual harm.
Filing this type of case not only requires gathering clear proof that the government employee is liable for the accident, but also meeting strict procedural deadlines. There is a much shorter time limit for filing your claim, and you must send advance notice of your intent to file suit. Additionally, there are also restrictions when it comes to the amount of compensation you can claim in a case against a public entity.
When a private party is responsible for causing your bus accident, your recovery process is likely to mirror what you could expect after most other vehicle accidents in Miami. Under Florida’s no-fault rule, you would file a claim against your own no-fault insurance policy’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage to seek compensation for medical bills and lost income, and you could claim against the at-fault driver’s Property Damage Liability (PDL) coverage for vehicle repairs.
However, if the accident caused catastrophic injuries, then you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim and seek compensation for the damages not covered by available insurance coverage. For example, if a private bus company was negligent, or if your accident was the result of a third party’s negligence, you may have grounds to file a personal injury case if your injuries meet the state’s definition of “serious” injuries.
Generally, the victim of a vehicle accident in Florida can only sue if they have suffered a permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or the loss of a bodily function due to the defendant’s actions. Your Miami bus accident attorney can determine whether your case meets these criteria and, if so, guide you through the process of filing your case. Some personal injury cases in Miami can be settled privately while others must be resolved through litigation.
Time is a crucial factor for any personal injury case in Florida, especially when the case involves a public bus service or other government entity. You have a time limit for pursuing compensation for your damages, and some of the evidence you need to prove fault may not be obtainable for very long. The sooner you reach out to an experienced attorney, the better your chances are of reaching a favorable conclusion to your case.
The Law Office of Alexander Alvarez, PA has proven experience helping clients in Miami navigate some of the most challenging vehicle accident cases. We will explain how Florida’s no-fault insurance laws and a public bus service or school district’s sovereign immunity apply to your case. Our goal is to help you recover as fully as state law allows, so reach out to our team right away and learn more about our legal services.
The amount of compensation you can claim for a bus accident in Miami, Florida largely depends on the severity of the injuries you suffered. If you can prove that another party is responsible for causing the accident, it’s possible for you to claim compensation for medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering. Your recovery may require filing one or more insurance claims and/or a personal injury suit.
To prove that a bus driver is at fault for an accident, you must gather evidence that shows the bus driver’s negligence or misconduct directly caused the collision in question. Your Miami bus accident attorney can gather evidence like witness statements, police reports, vehicle computer data, bus company records, and more to prove exactly what caused your accident.
If you are found to share fault for a bus accident in Miami, this will result in a diminished recovery under Florida’s modified comparative negligence law. As long as a plaintiff is less than 50% at fault, they can still claim damages from the defendant, but the fault percentage assigned to them is deducted from their total case award. If the plaintiff is found more at fault than the defendant, the plaintiff is barred from claiming damages.
You should hire a bus accident lawyer in Miami because these are inherently challenging cases that typically unfold very differently from most other vehicle accident cases. You may contend with a public bus service’s sovereign immunity and face various restrictions in seeking compensation, or you may face liability disputes that you cannot resolve alone. You are more likely to reach a favorable outcome in your case with an attorney representing you.
The cost to hire a bus accident lawyer in Miami entirely depends on the outcome of your case if you choose the Law Office of Alexander Alvarez, PA to represent you. Our firm accepts personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning it costs nothing upfront to hire our firm. We will only charge a percentage of the total recovery as our fee once we succeed with your case, but if there is no recovery for any reason, there is no fee.
Attorney Alexander Alvarez has more than 30 years of experience representing injured clients in Miami and surrounding communities of Florida in a wide range of accident cases. Our team knows how challenging bus accident cases can be to resolve, but we are confident we can guide you to a favorable conclusion to your case. Contact us today and schedule your free consultation with a Miami bus accident lawyer you can trust.
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Contact our firm in Miami online or by telephone at 866-270-0589 and arrange a free initial consultation. Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so there is no financial obligation to simply speaking with our firm and learning about your options.
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