Bus accidents involving school buses and public transit vehicles are among the most legally complex personal injury cases in Washington State. The vehicles are large, the injuries are often severe, and the entities responsible for operating them frequently include government agencies with significant legal resources and strict procedural rules that can work against injured victims who do not act quickly enough.
We represent victims of school bus and public transit bus accidents throughout Washington State, pursuing maximum compensation from every responsible party. If you or someone you love was injured in a bus accident, the time to act is now.
School buses are designed with safety in mind, but accidents still happen. When they do, the victims are often children whose injuries can have lasting developmental and physical consequences. Liable parties in school bus accidents can include the bus driver, the school district, a private bus contractor, a vehicle maintenance provider, or another driver whose negligence caused the collision.
Common causes of school bus accidents include:
Driver error, fatigue, or distraction
Inadequate driver training or supervision
Poor vehicle maintenance and equipment failure
Negligent drivers in surrounding traffic
Dangerous road or weather conditions
Failure to follow proper loading and unloading procedures
Public transit buses operated by agencies such as King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Pierce Transit serve thousands of passengers every day throughout the Puget Sound region. When a transit bus is involved in an accident, victims may include passengers on the bus, pedestrians, cyclists, and occupants of other vehicles.
Common causes of public transit bus accidents include:
Driver error, inattention, or fatigue
Failure to yield at intersections and crosswalks
Improper merging or lane changes
Sudden stops that injure standing passengers
Inadequate vehicle maintenance
Negligent oversight by the transit agency
The size and mass of buses mean that accidents frequently produce severe and lasting injuries. Victims may face:
Traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord damage and paralysis
Broken bones and fractures
Internal organ damage
Soft tissue injuries and chronic pain
Wrongful death
The financial consequences of these injuries can be equally devastating. Medical treatment, rehabilitation, and lost income accumulate quickly, and many victims are left unable to return to work. We pursue compensation for every dimension of that loss.
This is critical. School districts, public transit agencies, and other government entities are subject to different rules than private defendants in personal injury cases. In Washington State, claims against government entities require that a formal tort claim be filed before you can pursue a lawsuit, and the deadlines for doing so are significantly shorter than the standard three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
Missing these deadlines can permanently bar your right to recover compensation, regardless of how strong your case is. If a government-operated bus was involved in your accident, contact an attorney immediately.
When you hire Le & Kittleson, you're backed by a legal team with deep roots in Washington personal injury law. Our attorneys bring decades of combined courtroom and negotiation experience across traumatic brain injury, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, and insurance bad faith. Fighting hard to get you the results you deserve.
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