Significant Factors to Consider while Hiring a School Bus Attorney
School buses are considered one of the safest modes of transportation in the United States. However, school buses also tend to get involved in road accidents at times. According to some studies, an average of 26000 school bus crashes occurs in the country every year. Of course, it will be terrifying to get a call informing that your child met with an accident. In such cases, rather than getting panic, provide necessary medical attention to your kid. Secondly, consult a credible bus accident lawyer and file a bus accident lawsuit. Make sure that your bus accident attorney is specialized in the field. Note that there are specific rules and regulations for buses. Hence, a specialized advocate will be able to handle it more efficiently than a personal injury lawyer. Some other significant factors that you must consider while hiring a bus accident lawyer are listed below.
Do background check
Even if you hire a specialized bus accident attorney, make sure that your lawyer has dealt with similar cases in the past. Check their success rate as well. On a related note, no two cases will be alike. However, there can be certain similarities between different cases and the way one deals with them. Furthermore, with new cases and implementation in procedures, school bus accident laws and regulations tend to change periodically. Hence, it will be better to consult a bus accident lawyer who constantly represents school bus accident victims since they will be more updated on the latest laws.
Statute of limitations
There is a specific time period to file your personal injury claim in the court. In California, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the incident. If you failed to present your case in court within this time limit, your case will be barred forever from bringing to the court. Obviously, you will never get the compensation that you are entitled to in such cases. Besides, when it comes to some situations that involve a large public entity like the unified school district of Los Angeles, you will have to act fast. Usually, the statute of limitations in such cases ranges from 6 months to 1 year depending on the complexity of your case. Hence, there will be no point in hiring a bus accident lawyer after the expiration of the statutory period.
Determining the fault
Usually, the driver of the school bus, as well as the school, will be held liable for the accident. In case the school authorities contracted their transportation services to an outside company, the bus company owner as well will be held guilty. In these cases, you are likely to get maximum compensation. Sometimes, the mishap may, however, occur as a result of another vehicle or pedestrians. In such cases, you are unlikely to get decent compensation. Hence, it will be better to identify the liable parties before consulting a bus accident attorney and filing a case.
