School buses transport hundreds of thousands of North Carolina children to school every day. In most instances, the trip is made safely. However, accidents involving school buses happen almost every day in North Carolina. In some cases, the accident is the result of bus driver’s negligence. In other cases, the accident is the result of another driver’s negligence.
As anyone who has ever ridden a school bus knows, driving a school bus is not an easy job. At the time of day when most school buses are in route, there is a lot of traffic on the roadways. Buses are not particularly easy to maneuver. Because of these challenges, school bus drivers must be extra careful.
On average, there are about 134 fatal accidents each year involving school buses. Most of these accidents do not involve fatalities of the student occupants of the school bus. However, there are about 10,000 injuries per year due to school bus accidents and about 5,000 of these injuries involve the bus occupant.
The most frequent way a child is injured due to the negligence of a bus driver are accidents involving getting on and off the school bus. Unfortunately, this can be a dangerous time for children and the school bus driver must be extra attentive when children are anywhere near the outside of the school bus.
A very significant danger to children riding a school bus is the location of the school bus stop. Any instance where a child must cross a highway to access the school bus stop can be dangerous for the child. Any design of a school bus stop location should account for traffic hazards for the children involved.
A claim for an injury due to a school bus accident can be brought several ways. If the accident is due to the negligence of another vehicle, the claim would be brought like any other car accident injury claim. If the claim is due to the negligence of the school bus driver, the claim is different. North Carolina law brings school bus claims against a local school board for negligent operation of a school bus under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the North Carolina State Tort Claims Act is applicable [N.C.Gen.Stat. 143-300.1]. This means you cannot file a lawsuit in a regular courthouse against the school board for injuries arising from a school bus accident. This does not mean you will not recover for your claim but your recovery is capped at $1 million under the State Tort Claims Act.
The lawyers at Hendren Redwine & Malone have significant experience successfully representing victims of North Carolina school bus accidents. Our lawyers have successfully represented students injured in bus accidents as well as other drivers injured due to the negligence of the bus driver.
In one recent case, we represented the family of a man killed when a school bus turned in front of him as he rode to work on his scooter. After the claim was denied, we litigated the case through trial and obtained a verdict and recovery that significantly helped his children move on with their lives. More importantly, the verdict allowed the family to understand that the wreck was not the fault of our client.
If you have a question about a North Carolina school bus wreck, call our lawyers at 919-420-7867 for a free consultation.