I have recently seen a growing number of accidents on buses where people have been injured when their bus stops abruptly. Sometimes the accident is the fault of the bus driver where the bus may have collided with another vehicle due to negligent driving of the bus driver.
In this type of claim your claim is against the bus company. However, there are also situations where the bus driver has had to stop abruptly due to the negligent driving of another driver who may have pulled out carelessly in front of the bus.
The other driver may then drive on unaware that anyone on board the bus has been injured. In these situations the bus driver and the bus company may have no liability. You may still, however, have a good claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau (“MIB”) under the MIB’s Untraced Drivers Scheme for the negligence of the driver who pulled out in front of the bus.
Then there is another unfortunate type of accident often involving the elderly where the bus driver does not allow the elderly passenger to reach their seat and sit down before driving off causing the elderly passenger to fall. The bus driver should be aware of the needs of the elderly and allow them time to reach their seats. If they do not allow them time to safely sit down then the bus company may be liable for the negligence of their driver.