When the school year gets started in Rochester, it is time for motorists to keep an eye out for school buses. A Rochester parent's biggest fear is getting a call that their child's bus was involved in an accident.
If you have been involved in an accident with a school bus, then you need a Rochester accident attorney on your side. Some motorists try to treat a school bus accident like it was a standard vehicle accident and then they find out that school bus accidents are very different situations. Instead of learning the hard way, you should be prepared to hire an experienced Rochester school bus accident attorney the moment your accident happens.
What Makes School Bus Accidents So Different?
When you get involved in a standard motor vehicle accident, the two parties exchange insurance information and then log claims with their insurance companies.
An accident with a Rochester school bus is an accident with a commercial vehicle where several parties may have to be involved, including the school district, bus driver, and bus company.
The Fall-Out From An Accident
It does not take much speed for a Rochester bus accident to cause considerable injuries and property damage. Your vehicle might need thousands of dollars in repairs, and you might get an injury that will require physical therapy and other outpatient treatment options. In a school bus crash, injuries to the back, neck, and shoulders are very common. It is also common for these injuries to have painful repercussions for years to come.
The school bus that hit you could cause you to lose considerable time at work, which affects your family's income. It can be difficult to get disability to pay for your long-term absence, which means you will have to rely on your own insurance coverage. If your own insurance coverage runs out, then you may need to sue the other party to get your income covered. You could go weeks without an income, which makes filing a successful claim with the other party's insurance company very important.
Why Do Rochester School Bus Accidents Happen?
If you look at the street where you live in your Rochester neighborhood, you probably don't even notice how narrow it is. When the snow starts to fall and piles up on the side of the road, it can be difficult to drive through your street when there are cars parked on it. Now try to imagine how difficult it can be for a school bus to get through your street as it picks up children.
Throughout Rochester, there are school bus routes created to avoid the narrow streets and all of the other obstacles that can cause accidents. Despite the school district's best efforts, there are times when the conditions come together to make a school bus accident likely.
When the school year starts in early fall, that is also the time when many Rochester road construction projects get started. It is difficult enough for school bus drivers to navigate the narrow streets of Rochester neighborhoods, but the risk of accidents can increase when this happens.
In Rochester, school buses have monitors who are there to make sure the children behave and prevent trouble. But even with monitors, kids have a way of becoming a major distraction to someone driving a school bus.
During the fall in Rochester, the rain and leaves in the roads create extremely hazardous driving conditions. When fall transitions into winter, the ice moves in. Throughout the entire school year, weather is one of the causes of Rochester school bus accidents.
Bus drivers are human beings and sometimes trying to keep up with the school hours during the week is not easy. A dedicated driver who reports to work after not sleeping all night due to illness can become a liability on the road. In some cases, Rochester school bus accidents are caused by bad decisions made by the drivers.
Protect Yourself
The impact of a school bus on your car can be extremely violent and cause a great deal of physical damage. What seems like a simple bus accident could cause damage to your spine. The complicated nature of school bus accidents means that you should be hiring an experienced Rochester school bus accident attorney after your accident.
An experienced attorney will know which organization is negligent in your accident, and that attorney will also know how to file a claim on your behalf. Your attorney is the one with experience negotiating with insurance companies and getting you maximum compensation.
You should never try to take on a school district or school bus company on your own. Your time to file a claim is very limited, and you could be delayed long enough that filing a claim is no longer an option. An attorney will not allow you to miss filing deadlines. An experienced lawyer will make sure that your claims are in on time and your side of the story is heard.
Our legal team has experience handling Rochester accidents and we want to be your truck accident lawyer. When you contact us, our team goes to work for you to make sure that all filing deadlines are met and your information is submitted on time. We are committed to fighting for your rights and making sure that you get maximum compensation.