We help Bakersfield and Kern County victims hurt in collisions involving a Kern Transit Bus. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield fights to make sure victims can pay for the medical care they need to fully recover physically and mentally.
If you have been hurt in a collision, contact a Bakersfield Bus Accident Lawyer for a free consultation.
Figuring Out If You Need a Lawyer
If a bus accident only results in minor injuries, you may get by just fine without a lawyer. But when a serious injury is involved, the cost of recovery skyrockets and the stakes are raised. Insurers and government lawyers for Kern County begin chipping away at your case. They can try to change who was to blame and cast doubt on how bad an injury is.
Victims can quickly need protection against attacks on their cases, and some help making sure they win what’s needed to fully rebuild their lives.
A lawyer can often increase the settlement amount in cases that involve these and other injuries:
- Bone fractures
- Neck and back injuries (including serious whiplash injuries)
- Spinal injuries
- Permanent disability injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), including serious concussions
- Cases that leave your spouse or child hurt
A skilled lawyer fully investigates what happened and backs your case with evidence so bus operators can’t deny responsibility. Medical evidence is presented so Kern County can’t offer you a check to pay your ER bill and ignore the coming medical care you could require for months or years.
You always have the right to handle your case yourself, but with a serious injury, a lawyer can often win you much more to help now and in the years ahead.
A Free Consultation with a Real Bakersfield Bus Accident Attorney
Any bus accident victim in Kern County, or the family member of a victim, can take advantage of a free case consultation with Maison Law. There’s no obligation for this meeting, and it’s strictly confidential.
It’s the perfect, no-risk option when you aren’t sure if you have a case or not. Let’s go over your questions and find your best path to receiving help in getting your life back to normal
What You Can Seek from Kern County Public Works After a Bus Accident
Bus accident victims might be hurt inside the bus when they are tossed around to smash into seats, windows, other passengers, or even the floor or roof.
They may be in their own vehicles on a busy road like Highway 58 when a Kern County Transit driver, going too fast, or looking at a cell phone, rams into them. The accidents can happen at any point along the bus routes through places like Bakersfield, Shafter, Wasco, Lancaster, Ridgecrest, and Delano.
Victims can end up at Mercy Hospital with painful and long-lasting injuries. All patients would need to hold Kern County fully responsible for every loss they endured.
A skilled Maison Law attorney would demand support for these and other factors:
- The tally on current medical costs, current and future
- Surgeon’s fees
- Physical therapy costs
- Travel costs getting to appointments with specialists
- Medical equipment
- Home care expense
- Replacement of all paychecks and benefits lost while the victims are unable to work
- Lifelong support if victims left with disabilities can’t go back to work
- Help with education and training if disabled victims must find a new career
- Help with supporting the victim’s family as they try to keep up with normal monthly bills like rent and car payments
- Compensation for the cost of car repairs or replacement
- Money to pay for a special vehicle adapted for use by a disabled person
- Support for a patient’s physical pain endured
- Support for chronic pain
- Support for pain medication and therapies
- Support for arthritis that develops
- Support for Emotional Trauma
- Support for Anxiety
- Support for Depression
- Support for PTSD symptoms from the bus crash
- Support for a loss of enjoyment of life due to injury
- Support for the loss of consortium (intimacy with a partner)
Finding Out Who Is Responsible for a Kern County Bus Accident
Kern Transit is considered a common carrier, which means they are a form of public transportation and are subject to stricter rules than an ordinary business. Its buses carry people from one place to another and are held to a higher standard for the safety of their passengers. Operators must see to passengers’ safety at the bus station, as they get on and off, and while they ride.
Legally, this means it doesn’t take much in the way of negligence to prove a bus driver or bus network operator was liable for an injury to a guest.
In the case of Kern Transit, an accident falls back on Kern County Public Works Department, which is a division of Kern County Government. Victims in a bus accident or those struck by a careless bus driver can file claims against the local government entity and ask for help with their damages.
Unfortunately, Kern County will have government lawyers at the ready to downplay an accident or injuries so the county can get away with rejecting cases or paying out far less to hurting victims than they should.
Complex Bus Accident Cases Involving Kern County
The other difficult part for victims will be having to deal with a government agency when asking for help. Kern County will hide behind special protections against litigation. It’s a complicated process simply to seek permission to file a claim.
First of all, the deadline for a case involving county government will be much shorter than in an accident involving two normal motorists. Victims must file a notice of claim with the county, alerting them to the victim’s accident and intention to demand support.
The county often has many more months to decide if they’ll compensate the claim or toss it out. This is where a lawyer’s help with collecting and presenting the strongest evidence can help.
There’s also complicated paperwork to fill out at every stage. Get anything wrong, and government liability insurers may use it as an excuse to toss your claim out.
Your case is also likely to be challenged by government lawyers at every turn. It’s a great advantage to have an attorney on your case with experience taking on giant businesses and government entities.
Contact a Bakersfield Bus Accident Lawyer
If you suffered a serious injury on a ride on Kern Transit, or were struck by a bus driver anywhere in Kern County, it’s a good idea to take a meeting with a skilled, local attorney to discuss what you may earn in a claim. Contact us to set up a meeting with a real lawyer.
You may not have the money to hire a lawyer. But don’t worry. If you need us, we’re there. We only get paid if we win your case for you. Then our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company writes for you.