Thursday, October 14, 2010

Antelope Valley Transport Authority Bus Collides with Car; 7 Injured

Under California law, public or mass transportation such as buses can be held liable even if there is no negligence on the part of the bus driver or the bus company.

That is because under the Common Carrier law, individuals or organizations that are in the business of transporting people are required to exercise a higher level of care in ensuring the safety of their passengers.

Take the bus accident that happened in Lancaster this week.

According to reports, an Antelope Valley Transport Authority bus and a sedan collided with each other near the intersection of North Sierra Highway and East Avenue L at about 1:03pm last Wednesday.

The bus accident injured seven people – 4 with minor injuries and 3 with major injuries.

Now the passengers have the option to make an accident injury claim either against the driver of the sedan or the Antelope Valley Transit Authority.

If the liable party is the driver of the sedan, you will need to prove that he committed a negligent act while he was driving and that in turn caused your injuries.
However, if the bus driver is the one at fault, you no longer have to prove negligence to collect compensation.

Even without negligence, as long as you can prove that the driver or the bus company failed to exercise the level of care required from common carriers, you will be able to recover your losses.

The aim of the law is to hold public transportation companies to a higher level of care compared to regular vehicle owners because they make a profit out of transporting people.