Syracuse, New York, School Bus Accident

Jed Dietrich, Esq., a Recognized Super Lawyer, is Committed to Providing Unparalleled Representation and Peerless Personal Injury Service. If Your Child Has Been Injured in a School Bus Accident, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Investigate the Collision and Assert Your Family’s Right to a Fair Recovery.

Syracuse recently expanded its school bus service, offering transportation to every K-8 student who lives a mile or more from school. In total, the Syracuse City School District’s buses move an estimated 16,000 children every day. This figure does not account for kids in neighboring Onondaga County communities, like Clay and Cicero, which fall under the North Syracuse Central School District.

According to some reports, Syracuse has one of the most extensive school bus safety programs in the state. Accidents involving school buses are not common, but that does not mean that they are unheard of. In one recent incident, a student and another person were injured after a Syracuse School District bus collided with another vehicle. Several months earlier, a school bus carrying four students was struck by gunfire on Highland Street, with bullets striking the radiator, leaving it disabled on the roadside.

School bus accidents have more causes than can be counted, but they can leave children physically injured and psychologically traumatized. Long-term, the consequences of a collision can be life-altering, keeping kids out of school and forcing parents to dip into savings to pay for their child’s way through recovery.

Your family should not have to pay the price for an accident that was not your fault.

For more than 20 years, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has fought for the rights of families in and around Syracuse. We understand that no amount of money is ever enough to undo what damage has already been done, but a personal injury lawsuit could help you obtain the compensation your child needs to reclaim their independence. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, we know what it takes to build a compelling case for recovery, and we have the results to prove it. Please send us a message online, or call us at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a school bus accident lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your 100%, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

School buses have low crash rates, but that does not mean collisions never happen.

According to some estimates, school bus-related accidents and injuries are a near-everyday occurrence. Nationwide, anywhere between 5,500 and 17,000 students are injured in these accidents annually, but this data does not provide the full story. Some states do not share crash statistics, while others lump them into more general categories that do not make any distinction between injured children, injured motorcyclists, and injured drivers.

In an annual report to Congress, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) acknowledged that there is not as much information on school bus-related crashes as there should be. However, the GAO’s review of what limited data is available indicates that:

1. In about 27% of school bus collisions, the bus driver was found at fault;
2. In instances where the bus driver is found at-fault, factors like leaving the vehicle unattended or failing to stay in the proper lane were the most likely to lead to accidents; and
3. In 12% of cases, collisions occurred due to driver negligence or a reaction to either illegal drugs or prescription medications.

So, while a significant percentage of all school bus-related accidents can be attributed to the driver, a majority have other causes. These causes vary substantially, but often involve another motorist making a mistake, either striking a bus or hitting a child attempting to cross the street.

Furthermore, most studies do not make any attempt to address what is likely a leading cause of injury on school buses, both in Syracuse and throughout the country: bullying and other acts of targeted violence.

If your child was injured by another person’s mistake, your family should not have to foot the bill. Contact the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. today to schedule your free consultation and find out how much your case could be worth.

Every personal injury lawsuit differs in its details, but school bus-related claims are often very different from other types of cases. This is because:

The type of evidence your claim needs to succeed depends on several different factors. These factors can vary depending on who is found at fault for the accident. However, regardless of cause, many school bus-related lawsuits suffer from a similar weakness: a lack of evidence that is readily available, and more importantly, reliable.

In Syracuse, most school buses now have “stop arm cameras” that automatically detect if a driver illegally passes the bus while the red “Stop” sign is extended. This sort of evidence could be very useful in establishing liability, provided that liability lies with another motorist.

But it is not all the evidence you will need. If the bus driver was at fault, their actions may not have been recorded, and the only eyewitnesses could be other children, who do not always have the best recall.

School bus accident claims can be complex due to numerous factors and circumstances. Establishing liability is necessary to winning a claim; it is one of the first steps in the personal injury lawsuit process and, at times, among the most difficult. This is because, when children and large vehicles are involved, the buck does not always stop with the driver.

Some of the other potential defendants in a school bus accident lawsuit could include:

1. The driver of the school bus;
2. An inattentive chaperone or supervisor;
3. The school district;
4. The city, or a municipal agency;
5. Another driver;
6. A road construction contractor;
7. The manufacturer of the school bus;
8. The manufacturer of school bus parts;
9. An automotive mechanic; and
10. Somebody else.

Not all personal injury lawsuits are alike, especially if the defendant is a government entity, like a public school district. In New York, most claims filed against government defendants are subject to requirements you would not come across in a standard personal injury lawsuit. You may, for instance, be required to file a notice of claim within a set period of time; only after you file your notice of claim can you proceed to litigation. But if you miss this requirement, you may not be able to recover anything, even if you have all the evidence needed to make a strong case.

School bus accident lawsuits almost always involve high stakes for everyone involved.

Even if you have an open-and-close case, you can and should expect the district, its insurer, and any other party named as defendant to mount a vigorous defense. Adjusters and defense attorneys are often obliged, by law or contract, to do everything in their power to reduce their client’s out-of-pocket liability. This almost always requires pushing back against your claims and challenging the relative severity of your child’s injuries.

You do not have to accept excuses in place of fair compensation.

The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades filing, fighting, and winning personal injury claims just like yours. Depending on the circumstances of your child’s accident, we could help you:

1. Review the facts of your claim;
2. Collect the evidence needed to initiate a lawsuit;
3. Identify the right defendants;
4. Assess your damages;
5. Draft and serve copies of your complaint;
6. Protect you, your family, and your child’s privacy from insurance adjusters;
7. Negotiate an out-of-court settlement; and
8. Take your case to trial.

Since our founding in 2005, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has helped our clients recover more than $250 million in damages. We could help you, too. Please contact us today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a school bus accident lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-866-529-5334 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Syracuse, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!