Bus-versus-bicyclist and bus-versus-pedestrian accidents can often inflict massive, and sometimes catastrophic, injuries, even at low speeds. The curb weight of a transit bus is 10-16 tons while empty, and can be 15-22 tons when fully loaded. Whether your bus accident occurred at 5 mph or 45 mph, chances are it inflicted serious harm that will affect you negatively for a long time, if not permanently. To ensure that you get the compensation you deserve, you have to be able to demonstrate, with persuasive evidence, all of the damages that you suffered, from medical expenses to lost wages to pain and suffering, among other things. To recover everything the law says you should, reach out to a skilled Chicago injury attorney about your case.
As an example of how serious a bus accident can be, consider the injury incident of D.M., which was reported by WGN. D.M. was a woman who worked as a bartender on Chicago’s northwest side. One recent Friday night, after getting off work, D.M. bicycled home alongside her boyfriend. Before she reached home, however, she was involved in a massive collision with a Chicago Transit Authority bus. According to news reports, the bus turned left and slammed directly into the woman. D.M.’s crash left her with a skull fracture, broken arm, broken rib and a compound fracture of one leg.
Once you’ve decided to sue for the harm you’ve suffered, your case often turns to demonstrating liability and showing the extent of your damages. Anyone seriously injured in a bus crash is going to have substantial medical bills, which can vary in their sum total based upon the severity of the injuries and the injury victim’s insurance status. If you’ve suffered major injuries, like bone fractures, spinal injuries or a brain injury, you may need extensive ongoing medical care in the future, which could greatly increase the total of your medical expense damages.
In addition to proving medical expenses, there’s also the matter of lost earnings. When you work at a job like D.M.’s, for example, missing work can cause a major financial crisis. People like D.M. depend on tips for a significant portion of their incomes. No attendance at work means no tips and a greatly reduced income. D.M.’s co-workers decided to hold a party at the bar as a fundraiser for her, since she was expended to miss at 6-8 more weeks of work (and tips) while she recovered at home, according to the WGN report. The financial crush can be even more extreme if you are someone who does not have health insurance (which D.M. had through her job).
Additionally, you must be prepared to defeat efforts to cast you as partly to blame. Injury victims who fail to use proper safety protection may have their lawsuit opponents use that failure to wear a helmet (or other protective gear) as the basis for a lower award of damages. D.M., however, was very safety conscious. D.M.’s manager stated that she was very committed to safety, owning bicycle safety equipment and yelling at him for not wearing a helmet, according to WGN.
Whether your bus crash injuries included soft tissue damages, broken bones or worse, the law may help you to recover the compensation you urgently need in the days and months that follow your injury. Talk to the knowledgeable Chicago injury attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca to find out more about the options available in your case. Our attorneys have helped out many families harmed by others’ negligence, including those impacted by negligent bus drivers. To set up a free case evaluation and learn how we can put our experience to work for you, contact us at 312-724-5846 or through our website.
More Blog Posts:
Report: Chicago Transit Authority Has Paid Out $60M in Accident Settlements and Judgments, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, July 13, 2018
Pedestrian Injured by Chicago Bus Obtains $6 Million Settlement in Her Personal Injury Case, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, Dec. 5, 2017