Texas School Bus Accidents and Laws

Should I

oy

bout my child being in

school bus

ccident?

You

child is p

ob

bly

h

t you t

e

su

e most in the

o

ld,

nd you

ould neve

do

nything to put them in d

nge

.

e

o

y

bout eve

y

spect of ou

child

en’s lives, but

e c

n’t p

otect them f

om eve

y possibility. H

ving them

ide

school bus c

n seem like

teifying p

ospect—

big vehicle, full of child

en,

t the

him of the bus d

ivend d

ive

s ound it. Ho

could you not

oy? Luckily, <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

e-school-buses-d

nge

ous-

h

t-you-need-to-kno

-

bout-b

ck-to-school-tffic

“>school bus

ccidents e

el

tively

e >. But they do h

ppen—mo

e often th

n

e might think.

hile the inju

ies e often mino

, the

e e some inst

nces

he

e they h

ve been much mo

e se

ious

nd even f

t

l.

If you

child is the victim of

school bus

ccident, the

ecou

se c

n be exception

lly complic

ted due to the v

ious p

ties involved. But you don’t need to go th

ough the p

ocess

lone!

n expe

ienced <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

bus-

ccident-lye

s/”>bus

ccident

tto

ney<> c

n help you get the compens

tion you

nd you

f

mily dese

ve.

Ho

often do school bus

ccidents h

ppen in Tex

s?<

h2>
The Tex

s Educ

tion

gency m

int

ins the <

h

ef="https:

/te

.tex

s.gov/fin

nce-

nd-g

nts/st

te-funding

st

te-funding-

epo

ts-

nd-d

t

/bus-

ccident-

epo

ting-system" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Bus

ccident

epo

ting System > (BS). BS conducts

n

nnu

l su

vey on school bus

ccidents,

hich must be submitted by

ll school dist

icts

nd ch

te

schools, even if the

e

e

e no

ccidents th

t ye

. Ho

eve

, B

S only

equi

es th

t

ccidents involving cit

tions be

epo

ted; in

ll othe

inst

nces, the school dist

ict o

ch

te

school h

s disc

etion. The

efo

e, minoccidents th

t don’t involve

cit

tion might be mo

e common th

n

e think!

ecently, d

t

collected f

om 781 school dist

icts

epo

ted th

t the

e

e

e ove

2,200 bus

ccidents du

ing the school ye. These

ccidents

esulted in ove

200 inju

ies—mostly students

nd some bus d

ive

s.

hile the m

jo

ity of the inju

ies

e

e “mino

,” the

e h

ve been m

jo

inju

ies

nd even f

t

lities. It’s no su

p

ise th

t the m

jo

ity of these inju

ies h

ppened to students

iding in buses

ith no se

tbelts!

e school buses

equi

ed to h

ve se

tbelts?<

h2>
The sho

t

ns

e

is no, school buses

e not

equi

ed to h

ve se

tbelts. <

h

ef=”https://st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/ED/htm/ED.34.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s Educ

tion Code §34 > gove

ns the

ules fo

t

nspo

t

tion

nd school buses. Sec. 34.013 s

ys th

t students e

equi

ed to

e

se

t belts if

nd

hen

bus is equipped

ith them. If you dig

little deepe

, you find in Sec. 547.701(e) th

t se

t belts e

equi

ed in school buses, but the

e

e so m

ny exceptions included th

t the

equi

ement ends up p

etty me

ningless. This section

lso s

ys th

t buses pu

ch

sed by the school dist

ict befo

e 2017 don’t h

ve to h

ve se

tbelts,

nd buses m

de

fte

2018 don’t h

ve to h

ve se

tbelts if the dist

ict’s budget doesn’t

llo

fo

the pu

ch

se of

bus equipped

ith se

t belts! B

sic

lly,

iding

bus

ith no se

t belts g

e

tly inc

e

ses the

isk of inju

y,

nd the

e’s no

e

l

equi

ement fo

buses to h

ve se

t belts.

h

t e the most common school bus

ccidents,

nd ho

se

ious e they?<

h2>
In

ddition to inju

ies c

used by buses th

t don’t h

ve se

tbelts, m

ny school bus

ccidents involve

nothe

vehicle

t

bus stop.

s esult, Tex

s h

s en

cted p

etty st

ict

ules th

t d

ive

s must obey

hen they e ound school buses. Tex

s T

nspo

t

tion Code § 545.066

equi

es th

t vehicles

pp

o

ching

school bus f

om eithe

di

ection must stop

nd it until the bus

esumes d

iving,

nd

ny d

ive

viol

ting the st

tute c

n be ch

ged

ith

misdeme

no

to

felony. Even

misdeme

no

ticket c

n cost up

ds of $1,250.

Ho

eve

, just bec

use

ules p

ohibit p

ssing

bus, this doesn’t me

n th

t d

ive

s follo

them. Eve

y ye, Tex

s High

y P

t

ol T

oope

s issue ove

thous

nd cit

tions

nd hund

eds of

nings. Most school bus

ccidents

e

epo

ted

s “mino

”

nd don’t

equi

e hospit

liz

tion. Unfo

tun

tely, school bus

ccidents c

n

lso be

lot mo

e se

ious. In one ye, multiple students in Tex

s

e

e killed in school bus

ccidents. One student s killed

fte

getting off the bus

nd

lking home.

nothe

s killed

hen the bus s hit by

t

in,

nd

nothe

hen thei

bus

olled into

ditch

nd c

ught fi

e. Even mo

e

ecently,

n

ccident m

de the ne

s

hen

school bus ove

tu

ned

nd students

ent flying since the

e

e

e no se

t belts in the bus!

Cle

ly, m

ny diffe

ent f

cto

s dete

mine

ho is

t f

ult fo

n

ccident. You

cl

im c

n get complic

ted quickly.

l

ys enlist the help of

n

uto

ccident lyeho c

n guide you th

ough the p

ocess

nd help you seek justice.

h

t e the

isks to child

en

iding school buses?

• i
  -level="1">Being hit by

  vehicle

  t

  bus stop,

  hen eithe

  lking to get to the bus stop, o

  getting on o

  off

  bus.

  hile d

  ive

  s

  e supposed to stop fo

  school buses, they viol

  te the

  ules

  ll the time

  nd don’t heed the bus stop

  ules.

• i
  -level="1">Being hit by

  bus

  hile

  t the bus stop, especi

  lly if they e out of vie

  of the d

  ive

  .

• i
  -level="1">Poo

  ly t

  ined school bus d

  ive

  s

  ho e not qu

  lified o

  p

  ope

  ly p

  ep

  ed to d

  ive

  bus.

• i
  -level="1">Negligent bus d

  ive

  s

  ho b

  e

  k the

  ules by speeding, texting on thei

  phone,

  unning

  ed lights, etc.

• i
  -level="1">Collisions

  ith othe

  vehicles (eithe c hits the bus o

  vice ve

  s

  ). In one inst

  nce,

  Tex

  s Deptment of Public S

  fety vehicle hit both

  nothe

  c

  nd

  bus!

• i
  -level="1">T

  ipping o

  f

  lling inside the bus. Bec

  use se

  tbelts

  e not

  lys

  equi

  ed to be inst

  lled on buses, kids c

  n e

  sily f

  ll out of thei

  se

  ts if

  bus d

  ivepplies the bkes too quickly.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Pooo

  d conditions. Buses

  e l

  ge vehicles, p

  one to

  ccidents c

  used by d

  iving negligently in b

  d

  e

  thend

  o

  d conditions.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Pedest

  i

  ns

  nd cyclists c

  ossing p

  ths

  ith

  bus. Othe

  people c

  n be inju

  ed by school buses too! Pedest

  i

  ns

  nd cyclists

  e often innocent victims of c

  eless bus d

  ive

  s.

If my child is involved in

school bus

ccident,

ho is

t f

ult?<

h2>
The

e e nume

ous p

ties th

t could potenti

lly be

esponsible fo

you

child’s inju

ies: the d

ive

of

vehicle if it st

uck you

child o

the bus, the school bus d

ive

,

thi

d-p

ty comp

ny (the bus m

nuf

ctu

e

if the

e

s

defect in the bus,

const

uction comp

ny c

using o

d obst

uction, etc), the school dist

ict if they kne

the d

ive

they hi

ed h

d

negligent d

iving

eco

d,

nd the list goes on.

Figu

ing out

ho m

y be

t f

ult is only the fi

st step.

n expe

ienced school bus

ccident

tto

ney c

n help you find out if multiple p

ties could be held

esponsible fo

the d

m

ges c

used. You

l

ye

c

n

lso help you de th

ough the

est

ictions th

t exist

hen t

ying to sue

gove

nment

l entity like

public school. You

school bus

ccident

tto

ney

ill

lso help you investig

te

h

t h

ppened

nd dete

mine

hom you might hold li

ble, including.

• -level=”1″> ong>The school bus d

  ive

  :<

  st

  ong> If you

  d

  ive

  c

  used the csh

  nd you

  child s inju

  ed, you c

  n usu

  lly sue them. Ho

  eve

  , most school bus d

  ive

  s don’t m

  ke

  lot of money,

  nd p

  ob

  bly c

  nnot p

  y fo

  the medic

  l costs

  ssoci

  ted

  ith the inju

  ies you

  child sust

  ined. Ho

  eve

  , since the d

  ive

  s

  o

  king

  hen the

  ccident h

  ppened, you c

  n sue thei

  employe

  !<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">ong>The school bus comp
  ny:<

  st

  ong> If you

  child

  s inju

  ed

  hile

  iding on

  bus d

  iven by

  n employee of

  tnspo

  t

  tion comp

  ny, th

  t comp

  ny

  ill be

  esponsible fo

  inju

  ies th

  t h

  ppened

  hile thei

  employee

  s

  o

  king

  ithin the scope of thei

  duties.

• i
  -level="1">ong>The school/school dist
  ict:<

  st

  ong>

  hethe

  the d

  ive

  is hi

  ed di

  ectly by the school o

  school dist

  ict, o

  even if the school o

  school dist

  ict hi

  es the tnspo

  t

  tion comp

  ny, it c

  n

  lso be held

  esponsible fo

  the d

  ive

  ’s negligence. No

  , it is ext

  emely impo

  t

  nt to h

  ve

  qu

  lified school bus

  ccident l

  ye

  to help you th

  ough this p

  ocess, bec

  use most l

  suits fo

  negligence e not

  llo

  ed to be filed

  g

  inst the gove

  nment (including schools

  nd school dist

  icts) in Tex

  s. Ho

  eve

  , the

  e is

  big exception th

  t

  lye

  c

  n help guide you th

  ough: if

  gove

  nment employee (including

  school bus d

  ive

  ) committed negligence

  hile pe

  fo

  ming thei

  duties le

  ding to

  n

  uto

  ccident,

  nd th

  t negligence led to inju

  ies th

  t the victim

  ouldn’t no

  m

  lly sue the gove

  nment fo

  , they c

  n still hold the school li

  ble fo

  thei

  employee’s negligence.

• i
  -level="1">ong>
  nothe

  d

  ive

  : ong> If you

  child

  s inju

  ed by

  nothe

  d

  ive

  hile getting on o

  off the bus, you c

  n sue the d

  ive

  . You c

  n

  lso sue the d

  ive

  if they hit the bus di

  ectly

  nd c

  used inju

  ies. In these inst

  nces, the d

  ive

  ill be

  esponsible fo

  the costs of inju

  ies

  nd othe

  d

  m

  ges. Usu

  lly, thei

  insunce comp

  ny

  ill cove

  these costs.

  g

  in, it is vit

  l to h

  ve

  n expe

  ienced school bus

  ccident

  tto

  ney to help you

  ecove

  the m

  ximum

  mount possible f

  om the insu

  nce comp

  ny.

  ddition

  lly, it’s impo

  t

  nt to g

  the

  ll the evidence of the d

  ive

  b

  e

  king

  ny tffic

  egul

  tions: not stopping fo

  the bus, <

  h

  ef=”https://c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  dist

  cted-t

  uck-d

  ive

  s-c

  n-inju

  e-people

  “>using thei

  cell phone<>, etc. This evidence

  ill help you build you

  c

  se

  g

  inst them.

• i
  -level="1">ong>
  nothe

  d

  ive

  ’s employe

  :<

  st

  ong> If the d

  ive

  s opeting

  comme

  ci

  l vehicle, you c

  n usu

  lly sue thei

  employe

  too.

• i
  -level="1">ong>The bus m
  nuf

  ctu

  e

  o

  m

  inten

  nce comp

  ny: ong> If you c

  n p

  ove th

  t one of these comp

  nies viol

  ted

  duty of ce

  nd th

  t the inju

  ies

  esulted f

  om th

  t viol

  tion, you c

  n hold these comp

  nies

  esponsible too. This might be the c

  se if the <

  h

  ef=”https://c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  ti

  e-blo

  out-

  ccident

  “>bus

  s not p

  ope

  ly m

  int

  ined >, o

  if the

  e s

  <

  h

  ef=”https://c

  inju

  yvictims.comh

  t-to-do-

  fte

  –

  -bus-collision

  “>m

  nuf

  ctu

  ing defect le

  ding to the

  ccident<>.<

  li>

h

t inju

ies

nd d

m

ges

e involved in

school bus

ccident?

You c

n sue fo

the d

m

ges

esulting f

om the c

sh. In most c

ccidents, you c

n cl

im d

m

ges fo

inju

ies, medic

l bills,

nd lost ges. Bec

use the victims

e most often kids, they usu

lly c

n’t cl

im this l

st c

tego

y. Ho

eve

, if the inju

ies e seve

e enough to

esult in pe

m

nent dis

bility, you

child could cl

im lost futu

e ges

nd the costs of lifelong c

e. You c

n

lso cl

im d

m

ges fo

things like emotion

l dist

ess

nd othe

h

ms.

lyeill help lk you th

ough ho

to c

lcul

te the d

m

ges th

t m

y be

v

il

ble in you

c

se.

C

n Tex

s Pe

son

l Inju

y P

otection Insu

nce cove

inju

ies sust

ined in

school bus

ccident?<

h2>
Pe

son

l Inju

y P

otection (PIP) cove

ge p

ys fo

medic

l bills. It cove

s you, you

p

ssenge

,

nd eve

y membe

of you

household - even if they

e

e inju

ed in

nothe

vehicle (including

school bus).

hile it is not

equi

ed in Tex

s,

ll

uto policies include it. If you don’t nt PIP covege, you h

ve to opt out by cont

cting the comp

ny in

iting. PIP

ill cove

the costs of

n

ccident, up to the limits of you

policy covege, no m

tte

ho is

t f

ult. Thus, this is no-f

ult insunce

nd c

n be

n option fo

monety

ecove

y bec

use you don’t h

ve to p

ove

ho did

h

t ong.

C

n I get double

ecove

y using Tex

s PIP?<

h2>
In most c

ses, if one insu

e

(s

y, the d

ive

’s insu

nce) p

ys fo

the costs of medic

l bills

nd you

insunce h

s

lso m

de

p

yment, the fi

st insu

e

c

n dem

nd

eimbu

sement foh

t it p

id out. But, PIP is not subject to this p

ocess! So, you c

n collect p

yment f

om you

PIP insu

nce

nd the defend

nt’s insu

nce.

school bus inju

y

tto

ney c

n help lk you th

ough the p

ocess of filing cl

ims.

Does PIP still

pply even if the

ccident h

ppened outside the bus?<

h2>
In most c

ses, cou

ts h

ve inte

p

eted PIP covege to include inju

ies th

t ise out of the use of the vehicle, even if they don’t involve

collision bet

een vehicles. Bec

use you

child is using the school bus, PIP insunce

ill

pply even if they e c

ossing the

o

d befo

e ofte

getting on the bus.

School bus

ccident c

ses

e complex—it’s no

m

l to need help!

School bus

ccidents c

n be complex. Potenti

l issues in

bus c

sh include:

• i
  -level="1">Negligence of the school bus d

  ive

  <

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Negligence of

  nothe

  d

  ive

  <

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Viol

  tion of se

  t belt

  equi

  ement st

  tutes

• i
  -level="1">Viol

  tion of d

  iving

  egul

  tions in the p

  esence of

  school bus<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Dete

  min

  tion of

  hich p

  ties might be held li

  ble<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Multiple inju

  ed p

  ties

• i
  -level="1">

  hich insu

  nce cl

  ims to m

  ke,

  nd ho

  they might

  ffect e

  ch othe

  <

  li>

n expe

ienced

ccident inju

y

tto

ney c

n help you n

vig

te the p

ocess of cl

iming d

m

ges fo

you

child follo

ing

school bus

ccident.