Bus crash

Every day, you can read and hear in the news about traffic accidents involving personal injury, which – unfortunately – more and more often end in serious personal injury or death. We hear about many public transport accidents on TV and radio, whether domestic or foreign. Many questions always arise in connection with such accidents, apart from the medical aspects. Do passengers get the compensation they are entitled to? Who should be liable? How much does the fault of the driver affect the settlement of damages? How much compensation can be awarded?

Above all, passengers should be aware that they are entitled to compensation even if they have been covered by an accident insurance policy taken out by the company or person providing the transport. The concept of bus and coach accidents is particularly different from other types of accident in that in this case a significantly larger number of people are injured at the same time.

It is also a fact that in more and more cases the bus driver is at fault for the accident, so many people believe that the driver should pay for all the damage caused. But this is wrong. Of course, buses and coaches, like other means of transport, should have compulsory liability insurance, which is where compensation for damage caused by an accident can be claimed.

Our firm has successfully represented clients in a number of bus accident claims, making our experience unique in this field. It is important to note that passenger insurance only pays an insurance service fee, i.e. it does not cover the damages caused by the accident.

Professional experience, efficiency and effective representation are the hallmarks of our office. If you need legal advice or legal representation, our office welcomes you.

Public transport accident

Above all, we think it is important to say that compensation in public transport accidents is different because the passenger is more vulnerable than in a car accident. Unfortunately, it is a very common form of transport accident, both abroad and at home.

In the vast majority of cases, the accident is caused by the driver braking suddenly, either because of another driver’s error or because of the behaviour of another driver, or possibly a pedestrian. If the driver of the bus or coach makes a mistake which causes him/her to brake suddenly and continuously, thereby endangering the safety of passengers, he/she is liable.

Under the current traffic rules, the driver of a public transport vehicle is obliged to drive the vehicle according to its characteristics, but as mentioned above, it is often the case that an accident or a sudden braking is caused by the behaviour of another vehicle or pedestrian. However, whatever the cause of the driver’s fault or whatever circumstances outside the control of the passenger may have caused the accident, you may have a legitimate claim for compensation, i.e. as an injured person on public transport you are entitled to compensation, which is not the same as passenger insurance.

The passenger insurance included in the ticket only pays a minimum service charge, not compensation. Compensation can be claimed from the public transport operator, and in full. If you are involved in an accident on public transport, we recommend that you inform the driver or the public transport operator immediately and insist that a record is kept. It is strongly recommended that you also record the details of any additional witnesses and inform the police to avoid any difficulties in providing evidence later. It is also recommended to notify the ambulance service, as this may also help to avoid difficulties of proof at a later stage.