California bus crash results in injury victims, death

compensation,medical expenses,Our Blog,personal injury | April 17, 2014

Young people one moment may be enjoying a bus ride in anticipation of viewing potential colleges. However, in a split second, their dreams of going to school could become a nightmarish situation involving both death and serious injury victims. An accident resulting from another driver’s failure to pay attention can lead to this type of event, which may have recently occurred in California.

In this situation, a charter bus was involved in an accident with a FedEx truck. The truck reportedly went over the Interstate 5 divider and struck the side of a car before crashing into the charter bus head-on. Ten people were killed as a result of the accident, including the drivers of both vehicles. The others killed included five students and three chaperones.

The victims in the accident suffered broken bones as well as cuts to the head and burns, according to authorities. Some also suffered from smoke inhalation. More than 30 people on the bus were transported to the hospital, with two being in critical condition.

In this case, if police find that the truck driver caused the accident, this dead driver’s estate may be sued in civil court, and his or her employer also may be sued. This is because the accident injury victims have the right to file personal injury claims, and the surviving family members of the dead victims may file wrongful death lawsuits. Failure to maintain one’s lane may be considered negligent driving. Compensation from a successfully litigated suit in California may help to cover medical expenses and other costs associated with the crash.

Source: NBC News, “Bus Crash Victim Fears He Will Relive Nightmare in His Sleep“, Tracy Connor and Miguel Almaguer, April 11, 2014