Can You Sue For A Public Transit Accident?

Public Transportation supposedly has the ability to lessen the occurrence of an accident, as opposed to driving in a car. But, public transit accidents do still happen. Just turn on the news and you may hear about injuries due to accidents on trolley cars, subway doors closing on them, or even trains derailing. In fact, train accidents are one of the most notable and common types of injuries in the news these days, but many types of transportation accidents happen.

If you’ve been injured in a public transit accident you might be wondering if you can sue and who you are supposed to make a claim against.

COMMON CARRIER CONSIDERATIONS

When it comes to a cab, bus, subway, train or any other “vehicle” besides the car you drive ie; public transportation, the law considers these entities to be a common carrier. Because a common carrier is responsible for the safety of others, they are in turn held at a much higher standard of care.

In a public transit accident, you would need to prove that the operator of that vehicle acted in a negligent way which caused the public transit accident. However, this is a difficult thing to prove, if other people were involved in the public transit accident and also got hurt, it would be easier to prove the operator was at fault.

TRANSIT AUTHORITY TORT LIABILITY

In the same way that most other legal claims have a binding statute of limitations, so does a public transit accident. Most states in the United States have a Tort Claims Act which means you have a certain period of time to file a claim. If you do not, then you are essentially forfeiting your right to recover compensation for injuries in a public transit accident.

You can also hire or find a lawyer who has a free consultation process. This would allow you to meet with the lawyer, tell them what happened, when it happened, how the accident happened, etc. They would then be able to better fill you in as to if you have a valid claim, how much money you might be able to get for your claim and other steps you will need to take in processing your claim.

For a Free Consultation contact Sloat & Nicholson at 1-800-873-3202.