Bus Accident

September 7, 2018

Recovering after an Indiana Truck Accident

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Due to Indiana’s location in the central part of the country, the state sees a constant flow of large commercial vehicles traveling along the state’s highways as trucks travel from the East to West Coast and vice-versa. For the most part, semi-truck drivers are well-trained, responsible motorists who take pride in the work they do. However, each year there are thousands of Indiana truck accidents that are caused by negligent truck drivers.

According to the state’s most recent data, there are approximately 14,000 Indiana truck accidents per year. While some of these accidents are minor, it is reported that there are over 3,500 people injured and 120 killed each year due to Indiana truck accidents. In most cases, the motorist who is injured is not the truck driver, but instead the drivers or passengers of the other vehicle that is involved in the collision.

There are several causes of truck accidents in the state, and in some cases the most common causes overlap with the common causes of Indiana car accidents. However, equipment related accidents accounts for a higher percentage of the total number of truck accidents. These incidents include those that are the result of improperly maintained or inflated tires, brakes, signals, and lights.

December 6, 2016

School Bus Accident Kills Six Students, Police Say Driver Was Likely Speeding

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Earlier this month in Chattanooga, Tennessee, six students were killed in a bus accident that has left many families with unanswered questions. According to a local news report covering the devastating accident, the bus was not on its scheduled route when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree, literally bending the bus in half. In all, six students died in the accident, and dozens of others were injured.

After the accident, the driver called his mother to explain that he had just been involved in an accident and that several children were dead. However, he did not call 911. Police arrested the driver, a 24-year-old man who had obtained his commercial driver’s license just over six months ago, and charged him with several counts of vehicular homicide, recklessly endangering another person, and reckless driving. Police told reporters that the school bus was traveling “well above” the posted speed limit at the time of the accident. Some are suggesting that the driver was potentially driving the bus while drowsy, having worked an overnight shift at another job the day before.

The driver also had a tumultuous relationship with the students aboard the bus. Several students had written to school officials complaining of the driver’s dangerous driving habits, and some students even claimed he intentionally swerved to make students fall out of their seats. The driver had also complained about the students, telling school administrators that the students refused to listen to him while he was operating the bus.

June 3, 2016

Girl Struck by Car While Boarding School Bus Seeks Recovery from Bus Driver’s Insurance Company

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Earlier this month, an appellate court in Delaware issued an opinion in a personal injury case brought by the family of a young girl who was struck by a car while she was about to board her school bus. The case presented the court with an interesting question: whether the school bus’ insurance company could be responsible for the girl’s injuries when the bus driver was not at all involved in the physical collision, but he told the girl to board the bus moments before she was struck.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Buckley

The plaintiff was a young girl who was waiting at the bus stop on her way to school. The bus arrived, and the driver signaled for the girl to board the bus. However, as she was about to board, another car – the driver of which is not named in this lawsuit – struck the girl, causing her serious injuries. This case involves the claim made by the girl against the company that insured the school bus.

The defendant claimed that the insurance policy should not be triggered because there was no accident involving the school bus. On the other hand, the plaintiff argued that the young student was merely following the school bus driver’s instructions when she boarded, and this fits within the definition of an accident under state law.