Churches often have events allowing the congregants to travel together for goodwill missions, activities or to transport children to Sunday School. The buses that have been used for this purpose have been involved in a more than the average amount of bus accidents over past years.
Church bus crashes that are caused by bus driver negligence, improper bus maintenance, defective bus parts or bus company oversight can result in major injuries or death.
The church bus accident Law attorneys specialize in these types of accidents and use experience and skill to represent injured victims and family members of victims that have been killed in church bus crashes or any other type of motor vehicle accident.
These attorneys know this is a difficult and emotional time for the injured victim and the family and are dedicated to protecting the victims’ rights and seeking justice.
Church Bus Risk Factors
There are risk factors of church buses that can put the passengers at a higher risk of being injured or killed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that many churches use 15 passenger vans. These 15 passenger vans were cited in a consumer advisory targeting church groups and other non-profit organizations as recently as 2010, after two fatal church bus accidents. These two accidents that occurred in New York and Georgia caused 10 deaths.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned users of these vans of specifics that could reduce bus accident risks:
The 15 passenger van should never be overloaded
Drivers should be licensed, fully trained and experienced in the operation of the 15 passenger van operation.
Bus tires should be the proper size, should show no signs of wear and be inflated to the proper amount, prior to carrying passengers.
Liability of Church Bus Crashes
There are exemptions from the law involving church buses, in which the drivers are required to wear seatbelts, but the exemption does not apply to the passengers wearing seatbelts. There are many older church buses that do not have seat belts for the passengers, which makes it impossible for passengers to use them.
Statistic data proves that passengers in any motor vehicle wearing a seat belt restraining them have a greater rate of survival, especially in vehicle rollover accidents. The large size and weight of buses that are used for church transportation allows for passengers to be thrown around inside of the bus or to be ejected in a rollover crash through the window.
Protecting Your Rights
The church bus crash lawyers must be skilled leaders in personal injury and wrongful death litigation and committed to protecting the rights of the victim. When a church bus owner fails to maintain the bus or employs an unqualified driver behind the wheel or in any other way fails to ensure the safety of passengers while on the bus they can be held accountable for injuries sustained or deaths that occur as a result.
The experienced local bus crash accident attorneys in our bus accident attorney directory, are listed to discuss your legal rights after a bus accident.
