Bus Accidents

The August 25, 2015 Thomasville, NC Greyhound bus crash was a truly unfortunate accident that, based on our initial investigation, could and should have been prevented. Our prayers go out to the crash victims and their families, as we wish them a full and fast recovery.

Having represented hundreds of injured bus passengers in similarly tragic crashes, we have not only seen the physical, emotional and financial impact an accident like this can have on both the passengers and their loved ones, but the efforts to which bus companies, like Greyhound, will go to avoid taking responsibility for the injuries that they caused.

Our firm was recently retained by several of the passengers who were injured in the crash and is working with our own team of accident reconstruction and federal motor carrier safety experts to determine (1) whether any mechanical defects existed on the bus, (2) why the bus driver failed to comply with Greyhound and Federal safety rules by pulling over and inspecting the bus before continuing with the trip, and (3) whether the relief bus driver (who resumed the trip in Charlotte) conducted the “pre trip” inspection required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

We will be regularly updating our website and blog with information about the crash as it becomes available to us.

http://www.zehllaw.com/greyhound-bus-accident-in-north-carolina-injures-10/

http://www.buscrashattorney.net

Based on our experience with Greyhound, the company and its claim representatives have likely started contacting injured passengers in an attempt to convince them to accept nominal settlements in exchange for a signed release/waiver.

Greyhound does this because they know that most passengers won’t realize or appreciate the extent of their injuries for days, weeks and sometimes even longer. By convincing passengers to accept trivial payments (often between $1,000 and $2,000) before they incur significant medical bills and realize the full extent of their injuries, Greyhound is able to permanently avoid any further responsibility for the passengers’ medical expenses and other damages.

We therefore urge all passengers involved in the crash to do the following before accepting any compensation or signing any documents from Greyhound or their claims representatives:

1. Read the entire release:

If you have any questions at all, please have it reviewed by an attorney with experience representing injured bus passengers. Most law firms will do this for free, so you won’t have to worry about any out of pocket costs.

2. Get examined by your family doctor or a specialist who has experience diagnosing and treating similar injuries:

Even if you have already been to the ER, it’s essential that you have your injuries examined by your family doctor, orthopedic or other appropriate specialist, before you sign a release, because once the document is signed, you are permanently barred from recovering your medical expenses or any additional damages from Greyhound.

Contact Us With Any Questions at 1-888-603-3636 or by email at [email protected]

If you have any questions about our investigation, your rights, or what you should or shouldn’t do moving forward, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of lawyers at our firm.

We will gladly update you on our investigation and answer any questions you may have (for free).

A school bus based in Rowan County, Kentucky was involved in an accident on the evening of Thursday, September 3, 2015, leaving one student injured. The bus was traveling southbound along Cranston Road, around 10 miles north of Interstate 64, on the way home from a Lewis County middle-school basketball competition when foggy weather interfered with the driver’s ability to control the vehicle and the bus collided with a guard rail near North Fork Bridge before crashing into a ditch on the roadside. Twenty people were reportedly on board at the time of the accident, including two adults and 18 students.

The investigation is still ongoing, but officials from the Rowan County Board of Education have released a statement mentioning that poor visibility due to weather conditions are considered a contributing factor in the accident. The driver underwent drug testing as part of standard post-accident protocol but is not suspected of having been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time the incident took place. Three students are said to have sustained injuries in the accident, but none of the injuries were life-threatening and all injured parties were back home within 24 hours of the accident. Two students were released after evaluation by first responders at the scene, and the remaining student was transported to Saint Claire Medical Center and released later that night.

Nearby roads were closed for a short time following the accident, but were quickly re-opened. In a report released by the Kentucky State Police, 672 people were said to have died on Kentucky public roads in the year 2014. Between 750 and 850 school buses are involved in traffic accidents on Kentucky roadways, with 90 to 100 of those resulting in injury, according to data released by the Kentucky Transportation Center in partnership with the University of Kentucky’s College of Engineering.

Call the Thomasville, NC Bus Crash Hotline Today for a Free Case Evaluation at 1-888-854-8989!

On Tuesday evening, August 25, 2015, Greyhound bus #1082 was running its usual overnight route from Atlanta, GA to New York City on Interstate 85 when dozing passengers suddenly awoke to a terrifying ordeal. The bus had just left Charlotte, NC a few hours earlier and was headed north to Greensboro when at approximately 8:30 p.m. the driver struck a large piece of metal that was lying on the roadway about 12 miles outside of High Point in Davidson County.

The impact caused the right front tire to blow out and the bus to spin wildly out of control. After sliding down an embankment and smashing out its right-side windows along the tree line, the bus finally came to rest against a pair of large trees—ultimately preventing it from toppling over.

Of the 48 passengers on board at the time of this Greyhound bus accident, 29 passengers were taken to area hospitals like High Point Regional for treatment. Once the road reopened, the remaining 19 passengers were provided another bus in order to take them on to Greensboro so they could continue their journey.

Why You Should Hire the Experienced Bus Crash Lawyers at Z&A:

• OVER $1 Billion RECOVERED FOR OUR CLIENTS
  Our bus crash lawyers have recovered over $1 Billion in Settlements and Verdicts on behalf of clients from across the United States.
• #1 LARGEST ACCIDENT VERDICT IN TEXAS

  Our bus crash attorneys recovered the #1 Largest Accident Verdict in the State of Texas, as well as the Largest Verdict ever awarded against Greyhound Bus Company.
• OUR TRIAL LAWYERS GO TO COURT AND WIN

  Our attorneys remain undefeated in the courtroom.
• WE DON’T GET PAID UNLESS YOU WIN

  We help our clients get justice by taking all cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you do not pay us anything unless we win your case and recover money for you.

In just the past 5 years, our bus crash lawyers have recovered more than $1 Billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients, received record-breaking verdicts against some of the biggest companies on the planet, recovered the #1 largest accident verdict in the State of Texas and negotiated unprecedented settlements in cases that other law firms refused to take.

For example, in late 2013 Ryan Zehl and Kevin Haynes recovered over $18 million against Greyhound bus company for a client who suffered a herniated disk in her lower back when the bus she was riding on rolled over in icy conditions. Just one week prior to the beginning of that trial, Greyhound offered our client a mere $150,000 to settle her case.

No one plans on being in a bus accident—or worse being hurt in one. That’s why you need to contact a firm with the experience necessary to guide you in the right direction.

Having represented hundreds of bus crash victims from across the country, our firm understands the devastating physical and financial effects an accident can have on you and your family. We realize that winning your case will help you on your way to physical and financial recovery so that you can live your life without worrying about how you are going to afford it.

This realization means that our bus accident lawyers will do whatever it takes to make sure you and your family get the best medical treatment available and are fully compensated for all of the harm done. Before you do, say or sign anything, contact the experienced bus accident lawyers at Zehl & Associates today for a free consultation by dialing 1-888-854-8989 or by filling out the form on the right side of this screen.

Dozens of people have been injured and at least six are dead following a tour bus accident in Turkey on Thursday, August 6, 2015. The accident took place on a roadway just outside the city of Denizli in the southwestern region of the nation. The bus reportedly had around 40 passengers on board at the time of the accident, 27 of whom were hurt in the crash. Almost all people on board were tourists from Russia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine, and four of the six fatalities were Russian nationals.

Twenty passengers are reported to have been hospitalized following the accident and are now receiving treatment in area medical centers in Denizli and Antalya. The extent of their injuries is not known, nor is it known whether any of these individuals is expected to survive. The bus was owned and operated by Kilit Global, a subsidiary of Russian touring and travel company Tez Tours. Turkey is a popular vacation destination for many people in eastern Europe, including Russia and the former Soviet nations.

The accident occurred when the bus overturned while traveling on a hillside road, causing the bus to plummet. One tourist who survived the crash described people both living and dead being ejected from bus windows as the vehicle crashed, narrowly missing a nearby ravine on its way down. It is not known whether driver fatigue may have played a role in this crash, nor has any word been released on whether the driver may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.

Officials from the Russian Federation’s embassy in Turkey have been sent to the region where the crash took place to launch an investigation and offer support following the incident. According to data published by the World Health Organization, Turkey averages 10,000 fatalities due to traffic accidents each year.

A double-decker bus crash in London caused shock and awe on the evening of Saturday, July 18, 2015, when the bus driver attempted to clear a bridge near the corner of Clifford Road and Portland Road in Norwood, in the south of London. The collision with the bridge caused the entire roof of the bus to be torn off by the bottom portion of the bridge. First responders arrived on scene shortly after the accident to treat seven injured parties. Of these, at least three people were transported to an area hospital for further evaluation and treatment. One woman was placed in a neck brace following complaints of spinal pain after the freakish accident.

Officials from Transport for London, the governmental agency that handles matters pertaining to London’s roadways, have stated that an investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing at this time. The bus was en route to Peckham at the time of the crash, and transport authorities have reported that crossing under the bridgeway was not a normal part of this particular bus’s route, stating that the bus may have been detoured for some reason at the time the accident took place.

Onlookers who witnessed the accident expressed amazement and bewilderment at the scene before them, wondering what the driver could have been thinking to drive under a bridge so obviously impassable to such a high-clearance vehicle. It is not yet known whether driver intoxication may have played a role in this crash. Although more than half a dozen people were injured in the accident, all of them are expected to recover following medical treatment.

The roads affected by the accident were closed for a time following the incident, with detours set up to get drivers safely to their destination as the clean-up effort ensued. Hazmat teams and police were on scene to safely clear away debris and initiate an investigation. It is not yet known whether charges may be filed as a result of the crash.

A tour bus carrying dozens of teenaged passengers was involved in a rollover crash when it left the highway and overturned off the roadside on the morning of Sunday, July 12, 2015. The crash took place on the A22 Autostrada highway, near Trento, a city in northwestern Italy. The bus was carrying dozens of students of Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium, all between the ages of 17 and 19, home to Bremerhaven, Germany following a school trip to southern Italy when the incident took place. Seventeen students were injured as a result of the accident, although all injured parties have now been released and are expected to make a full recovery.

A total of 45 people were on the bus at the time of the accident, and the exact cause of the crash is not yet known. Since the bus did not collide with any other vehicles and left the roadway for unknown reasons, preliminary reports have suggested that the driver may have been fatigued from long hours of driving and could possibly have fallen asleep at the wheel. Officials continue to investigate the crash at this time.

The bus veered into a thicket of vegetation to the side of the road and turned over onto its side, trapping all those inside of it until first responders arrived on the scene to free both injured and non-injured people from the overturned vehicle. All injured parties, including the bus driver, were transported to area hospitals and later released following treatment and evaluation for minor injuries. Unhurt parties were transported to a local auditorium while their injured peers were receiving treatment.

According to reports released by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, nearly 185,000 auto crashes resulted in either injury or fatality in 2012, with 3,650 deaths resulting from these incidents. These numbers represent a decrease of nearly 50 percent in injuries and fatalities since 1990.

A bus crash that resulted in the deaths of nearly a dozen people on Thursday, July 2, 2015 in China has been declared as being caused by driving at unsafe speeds, according to officials investigating the crash. The bus was traveling over a bridge road in northeast China when it attempted to turn a corner and skidded off the roadway and fell into the waters of the river below. Footage recorded of the bus revealed that the driver was traveling at speeds more than twice the posted speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour when he lost control of the bus and crashed.

At the time of the accident, the bus was carrying visitors from South Korea on a tour of the region. The total number of people on board at the time of the crash was 28, 11 of whom lost their lives. Upon investigation, it was discovered that 10 of the fatalities were Korean nationals and the remaining fatality was the bus driver, a Chinese national serving as a tour guide. Toxicology reports showed that the driver was not under the influence of mind-altering substances at the time of the crash. The passengers were part of a group of South Korean government officials touring regions in China with historical significance for both nations.

An official sent out to investigate the bus crash and offer aid in its aftermath, Choo Doo-Yeong, has been reported as having fallen to his own death three days after the deadly bus crash, around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. His body was found on the ground below the four-floor hotel where he had been staying in Ji’an city. The cause of the fall has had no official ruling made as of yet, but current reports state that the death is a possible suicide. Choo Doo-Yeong was said to have expressed feeling responsible for the lives lost in the bus crash. As the investigation into the bus crash continues, the investigation into Choo Doo-Yeong’s death begins.

Twenty-one people were hospitalized following a crash involving a Coast Regional Transit Authority bus in Myrtle Beach on the morning of Tuesday, June 15, 2015. The bus was traveling near the corner of U.S. Highway 501 and Robert Grissom Parkway when it collided with an automobile, causing extensive property damage and resulting in many injuries. No one was killed in the crash, and all inured parties were transported to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment following the incident.

At least one person on board the bus became trapped as a result of the crash, which occurred when the person driving the automobile—a late-model Lexus—was moving northward on U.S. Highway 501 and attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Robert Grissom Parkway. The bus, which was traveling southward on U.S. Highway 501, was unable to evade collision, as the Lexus driver had failed to properly yield right-of-way. This resulted in a T-bone collision and numerous injured parties. Witnesses to the crash reported that a baby was in the back seat of the automobile at the time of the crash, but there is no word as to whether the infant was among the injured.

Myrtle Beach City Police continue to investigate the collision, and the Coast Regional Transit Authority has stated that the agency will do everything possible to aid in the police investigation. The roadway at Robert Grissom Parkway and U.S. Highway 501 remained partially closed for two hours following the accident as rescue crews came to transport victims to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, and road crews worked to clear accident debris from the roadway.

Police have acknowledged that the summer months bring an increase in tourism and thus, traffic to the Myrtle Beach area, which is a popular vacation hot spot. According to a report published by the National Traffic Safety Administration, 215 buses were involved in roadway collisions in the state of South Carolina in 2009, the last year for which data was made available. Of these, 58 crashes resulted in injury and one resulted in fatality.

A school bus went down an embankment on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, 2015 in Lee County, located southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. The bus is reported to have skidded down a grassy hill before coming to a halt some 20 to 25 yards below where it left the roadway. The bus had nearly two dozen students on board at the time of the crash, which took place while the bus was driving on Kentucky State Highway 52, close to Blaines Branch Road. One child was hurt in the incident, but that student’s injuries have been reported as minor by district officials.

The bus was carrying students whose ages ranged from elementary-school aged to high-school aged. The age of the child injured in the crash is not yet known. No one else on the bus at the time of the incident was hurt. One 15-year-old inside the bus when the crash took place, a boy by the name of Triston, described his memory of the accident as the bus having collided with a pick-up truck before sliding off the roadway and down the grassy hill. According to his and his 8-year-old cousin, Dylan’s, eyewitness accounts, the truck may have been driving in a wrong-way lane when the collision took place.

It is not known at this time who was at fault in the crash, or whether any charges will be filed as a result of the accident. Victims of the crash inside the bus at the time of the incident described the entirety of the bus as shrieking and sobbing as the bus left the roadway and slid down to its final resting place. Neither the driver of the bus nor the driver of the truck were hurt in the crash. The bus driver, whose identity has not been released, is said by school officials to be on leave throughout the duration of the investigation into the details surrounding the accident.

Kyrie Henry, aged 4, was traveling aboard a South Carolina school bus when, for unknown reasons, the northbound bus crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a southbound semi truck. The truck driver, James Gillette, aged 44, apparently attempted to swerve away from the bus as it entered his lane, but was unable to safely evade the wrong-way bus. The collision took place on Beech Island Avenue, near the intersection with Scarborough Drive, just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Described by his grieving grandmother as a happy child who was a joy for others to be around, Kyrie Henry was a student at a preschool funded by South Carolina’s Greendale Elementary School.

South Carolina State Representative Bill Taylor issued a statement that the bus had working seat belts, and that Henry was wearing one such seat belt at the time of the crash. However, in spite of these safety measures, the young boy was declared dead at the scene of the accident. Three other people sustained injuries in the crash—two students and the bus driver—all of whom were evaluated by first responders before being transported to area medical centers for treatment. None of the injuries sustained by these three individuals were reported as life-threatening, nor were there any other fatalities. A total of ten people were on the bus at the time of the crash: eight students, one aide, and the driver. The students on board were a mixture of attendees of Greendale Elementary and Chukker Creek schools.

A school aide reported that bus driver Barbara Moore, aged 51, was not using her cell phone to text at the time of the incident, as had been suspected by witnesses to the collision. The reason for Moore’s veering into oncoming traffic has not yet been established, and the investigation remains ongoing at this time. School counselors are reportedly available at both campuses to help confused and grieving students cope with the crash. Parents of students at Chukker Creek and Greendale  whose children were not involved in the collision received pre-recorded phone calls informing them that the incident had taken place. Parents whose children were on board the bus at the time of the accident were informed directly. State education representatives reported that this crash is the first in South Carolina to end in a student fatality in 20 years.