Las Vegas Bus Accident Lawyer – How to Bring a Lawsuit

Q: What is bus driver negligence in Nevada?

Commercial bus drivers are held to higher standards than regular non-commercial drivers. Bus drivers are negligent when they breach their high duty of care to their passengers and others sharing the roadway, leading to someone getting injured or killed.

Q: How much money can I get from suing?

The more serious the injuries, the higher the damages. Plaintiffs in a bus accident case may seek compensation for: medical bills (including physical therapy, rehabilitation, and other medical expenses), lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and/or wrongful death damages (if the bus crash victim passed away).

Q: What if I was partially at fault?

Nevada's comparative negligence law allows bus crash victims to recover damages as long as the driver or bus company was at least 50% at fault. But the court will decrease your damages in proportion to your fault. For instance if the court finds you were 25% at fault because you were not wearing a seat belt, that could reduce your final verdict by 25%. Your Las Vegas bus accident attorneys will negotiate with the bus carrier or its insurer to make sure that they do not use your contributory negligence to deny your claim or to pay you less than you deserve.

Q: What are common causes of bus accidents?

As with any automobile accident, driver error often plays a significant role in causing bus accidents. In a study conducted by UNLV and the Nevada State Health Department, the following driver errors contributed most frequently to automobile accidents in Nevada: Failure to yield right of way; Improper driving; Following too closely; Failure to keep in lane; or Excess speed.

Q: What does a bus accident lawyer do?

When representing bus accident victims and their families, Nevada personal injury lawyers do five things: 1) Investigate the case, gather evidence, and seek expert witness testimony if necessary (such as an accident reconstruction expert); 2) Determine all the potential at-fault defendants with the deepest pockets...and sue them. 3) Manage all the legal work, including correspondences and court filings, so you do not have to think about anything except healing. 4) Keep you and your family up to date on all developments so you know where the case stands. 5) Hold strategic negotiation sessions with the defendants' insurance companies with the aim of recovering the largest settlement possible for you.

Our experienced Las Vegas bus accident lawyers fight to get victims and their families maximum compensation from the negligent bus companies, vehicle manufacturers, and all other at-fault parties.

Nevada bus crash victims rarely walk away unharmed, and many succumb to their injuries. In 2019 alone, Nevada had 34 fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses.¹ That same year Nevada had 112 transit collisions, resulting in 368 injuries.² And in 2020, there was even a fatal school bus accident in broad daylight just north of Reno.³

Our Nevada personal injury attorneys know how hard it can be to deal with an auto insurance company that does not want to pay you. That is where we come in – we deal with insurance companies every day. We know the kind of proof that makes them acknowledge your legal rights and pay up.

Most importantly, our Las Vegas bus accident lawyers will not take a dime for your personal injury case until you get paid. Contact us to find out whether you have a viable bus accident claim.

There are many types of buses such as tour buses, private buses, charter buses, and transit buses/city buses.

1. What is bus driver negligence in Nevada?

Commercial bus drivers are held to higher standards than regular non-commercial drivers. Bus drivers are negligent when they breach their high duty of care to their passengers and others sharing the roadway, leading to someone getting injured or killed.⁴

Bus drivers get into accidents for a variety of reasons, such as:

driver fatigue,
distraction,
inattentiveness,
substance abuse,
failing to maintain the bus, and/or
committing traffic violations

Since bus drivers are usually judgment-proof, bus crash victims can instead sue their employer – the bus company – for damages. And depending on the case, victims may also have a case against the bus manufacturer (if the bus was defective) and the city or county (if the crash was partly caused by poorly maintained roads and signs).

2. How much money can I get from suing?

The more serious the injuries, the higher the damages. Plaintiffs in a bus accident case may seek compensation for:

medical bills (including physical therapy, rehabilitation, and other medical expenses),
lost income,
diminished earning capacity,
pain and suffering, and/or
wrongful death damages (if the bus crash victim passed away).

The majority of cases settle through negotiation alone. But in cases that do reach trial, plaintiffs may also be eligible for punitive damages.⁵

3. What if I was partially at fault?

Nevada’s comparative negligence law allows bus crash victims to recover damages as long as the driver or bus company was at least 50% at fault.⁶

But the court will decrease your damages in proportion to your fault. For instance if the court finds you were 25% at fault because you were not wearing a seat belt, that could reduce your final verdict by 25%.

Your Las Vegas bus accident attorneys will negotiate with the bus carrier or its insurer to make sure that they do not use your contributory negligence to deny your claim or to pay you less than you deserve.

Turned over bus following accident by the side of a road

Bus accidents cause serious injuries needing extensive medical attention, such as broken bones and brain injuries.

4. What are common causes of bus accidents?

As with any automobile accident, driver error often plays a significant role in causing bus accidents. In a study conducted by UNLV and the Nevada State Health Department, the following driver errors contributed most frequently to automobile accidents in Nevada:

Failure to yield right of way;
Improper driving;
Following too closely;
Failure to keep in lane; or
Excess speed.⁷

Whether a motorist involved in a bus accident committed any of the infractions listed above may not be immediately apparent. An experienced attorney will investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident, including:

Weather conditions at the time of the accident,
The condition of the bus and other safety equipment,
The condition of the roadway at the time of the accident,
The bus company’s safety record,
Maintenance records, and
Records of discipline against the driver.

5. What does a bus accident lawyer do?

When representing bus accident victims and their families, Nevada personal injury lawyers do five things:

Investigate the case, gather evidence, and seek expert witness testimony if necessary (such as an accident reconstruction expert);
Determine all the potential at-fault defendants with the deepest pockets…and sue them.
Manage all the legal work, including correspondences and court filings, so you do not have to think about anything except healing.
Keep you and your family up to date on all developments so you know where the case stands.
Hold strategic negotiation sessions with the defendants’ insurance companies with the aim of recovering the largest settlement possible for you.

The statute of limitations in Nevada personal injury claims is usually only two (2) years after the accident, so be sure to contact an attorney right away to start working on your case.

Have you or a loved one been injured in a motor vehicle accident? Contact our Las Vegas bus accident lawyers for legal advice. Our Las Vegas, NV law firm, has years of experience bringing personal injury lawsuits and negotiating large settlements to cover your medical care, emotional distress, and more.

Simply submit the form on this page or call us to discuss bringing a legal action. One of our Las Vegas personal injury lawyers will get back to you promptly to discuss the best way to get compensation for your Nevada bus accident injuries. We serve car accident victims in Clark County (including Henderson) and throughout the state of Nevada.

We can also represent people injured in an accident at a bus stop or in a shuttle bus accident. See our related articles, Does Nevada have a bus accident statute?, pedestrian knockdowns in Nevada, and commercial vehicle accident cases in Nevada.

For cases in California, please see our page on filing a lawsuit for injuries in a California bus accident. For Colorado cases, see our page on bus accident lawsuits in Colorado.

Helpful Links

Legal References

Large Truck and Bus Facts 2019, U.S. Department of Transportation.
Transportation Safety, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
School Bus, National Safety Council.
See, for example, First Transit v. Chernikoff (2019) 445 P.3d 1253 (“Nevada case law imposes a heightened duty of care on a common carrier toward its passengers. In this opinion, we clarify that this heightened duty only applies to transportation-related risks and that, for non-transportation risks, the common carrier owes a duty of reasonable care. When the carrier is aware of a passenger’s disability, this duty of reasonable care includes providing safe transport that the circumstances reasonably require in light of the known disability.“)
NRS 42.005. Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc. v. Bellegarde, (1998) 114 Nev. 602, 958 P.2d 1208.
NRS 41.141.
Michelle Chino et. al, Injury in Nevada, Public Health Faculty Publications (2010).

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