News & opinion Texas School Bus Accidents and Laws

Texas School Bus Accidents and Laws

Texas School Bus Crash Attorneys

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.

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