A bus accident is rarely as simple as an ordinary car accident. Depending on who owns and operates the bus, the rules for pursuing compensation, and even the deadline for doing so, can look completely different. Our bus accident lawyers can help you figure out where you stand and pursue the compensation you need.
LeFante Law Offices, P.C. is a personal injury law firm founded in 2009 that represents individuals and families throughout Illinois injured in bus accidents, whether on public transit, a school bus, or a private charter or tour bus. From offices in Peoria and Bloomington, the firm’s attorneys handle bus and commercial vehicle accident claims across the state, guided by an approach that centers on full recovery, not just a settlement check: physical healing, financial stability, and the support to move forward.
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A bus accident may involve more parties than a typical two-vehicle collision. Depending on what caused the crash, potential defendants may include the driver, the driver’s employer, the bus owner or operator, a public transit agency, a school district, a private school-bus contractor, a maintenance company, a parts manufacturer, or another motorist.
The applicable law depends on each potential defendant’s identity and the role that party played. CTA, Pace, a municipal transit system, a school district, a nonprofit private school, and a private charter company don’t necessarily follow the same filing deadlines or procedures. A bus operator may also qualify as a common carrier in relation to its passengers, while interstate commercial carriers may be subject to federal safety rules. Identifying the owner, operator, employer, and contracting parties is an early part of the investigation.
Bus accidents can affect more than just the passengers on board. LeFante Law Offices represents:
The first questions are who owned and operated the bus, who employed the driver, whether another company or public body arranged the transportation, and what caused the crash. Those facts help determine the possible defendants, the duty of care, and the applicable deadlines.
Claims involving public transit and school transportation don’t follow one uniform procedure. The applicable statute depends on the entity that owned or operated the bus and the party against which the claim is brought.
The Chicago Transit Authority is governed by the Chicago Transit Authority Act (CTA), not the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Section 41 generally requires a personal injury action against CTA to be commenced within one year after the claim accrues. Illinois removed CTA’s former six-month written-notice requirement for claims accruing on or after June 1, 2009.
Pace operates as a service board within the Regional Transportation Authority system. Section 5.03 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act generally requires personal injury and wrongful death actions against the Authority or a service board to be commenced within one year after the claim accrues.
Claims against another local public entity or its employee generally must be commenced within one year under section 8-101 of the Tort Immunity Act. Section 8-102, which once imposed a separate general notice requirement, has been repealed. An agency-specific statute may still impose a different rule, so the defendant must be identified before relying on any deadline.
A school bus may be owned or operated by a public school district, a nonprofit private school, or a private transportation contractor. A claim against a school district or qualifying nonprofit private school can fall under the Tort Liability of Schools Act. That Act generally requires written notice within six months and commencement of the action within one year. The formal notice has specific content and delivery requirements, so an ordinary incident report may not satisfy it.
A separate claim against a private bus contractor, the contractor’s driver, or another motorist may follow a different deadline, including the general two-year personal injury period. A private contractor’s involvement doesn’t necessarily eliminate a possible claim against the school or district, and the school’s involvement doesn’t automatically make the contractor a public entity.
CTA and other qualifying transit operators may owe their passengers the highest degree of care consistent with the practical operation of their vehicles. This heightened duty applies within the common carrier-passenger relationship and doesn’t make the carrier an insurer of passenger safety. The facts must still establish a breach of duty, causation, and damages.
If a State of Illinois entity owned or operated the vehicle, a separate Court of Claims process may apply.
A claim against a private charter, tour, or commercial bus operator generally follows Illinois’s two-year personal injury filing period, although exceptions may apply. These claims can still involve several defendants and legal duties, including the driver’s employer, the bus owner, a maintenance contractor, a broker or tour operator, another motorist, or a manufacturer.
Depending on the type of service and where the carrier operates, federal passenger-carrier regulations may govern driver qualifications, hours of service, inspection and maintenance, operating authority, recordkeeping, and insurance. The investigation should determine which rules apply to the operator, rather than assuming every private bus falls under the same federal requirements.
If your accident involved a commercial truck rather than a bus, our Illinois truck accident attorneys handle those claims as well.
Don’t ignore correspondence from a transit agency, school, bus operator, or insurer that mentions a deadline, requests a recorded statement or medical authorization, or includes a release. A statement or signature can affect the claim, while responding to correspondence doesn’t extend a filing deadline. Early review is also useful when several entities disagree about responsibility or when it isn’t clear who owned, operated, or maintained the bus.
A bus accident investigation should identify the bus, the responsible legal entities, the applicable deadlines, and the evidence showing how the injury occurred. Relevant evidence may include:
Ownership and operating records. Registration records, service contracts, school transportation agreements, and employment records can establish who owned the bus, employed the driver, and controlled the service.
Onboard and external video. Onboard cameras, traffic cameras, school or business surveillance, and nearby vehicle recordings may show the collision or the passenger’s movement inside the bus. Retention periods vary, so you may need to request preservation promptly.
Driver and operating records. Depending on the carrier type, relevant records may include the driver’s qualifications, driving history, training, schedule, hours-of-service records, dispatch communications, and post-crash testing.
Inspection and maintenance records. Inspection reports, repair histories, defect reports, recall information, and post-crash examinations may help establish whether a mechanical problem contributed to the crash.
Crash and witness evidence. Police records, photographs, physical evidence, event data, and witness accounts may help reconstruct what happened. A police report can provide useful information, but it doesn’t conclusively determine civil liability.
Passenger and injury evidence. A ticket, fare-card record, school transport record, or witness may help establish that the injured person was on the bus. Medical records, employment documents, and evidence of the injury’s effect on daily life help prove damages.
Insurance adjusters and government agencies handling bus accident claims sometimes still dispute fault or the extent of your injuries. James P. LeFante’s background as a former insurance defense attorney means he recognizes these tactics, having seen them used from the other side.
The firm prepares every bus accident case as though it may go to trial, an approach that can encourage insurance companies and other responsible parties to negotiate more seriously from the start.
Passengers can be injured in a collision, a sudden stop or turn, or a fall while boarding or leaving the bus. Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists outside the bus may also suffer serious injuries in a collision. The nature and severity of the injuries depend on the circumstances. Common bus accident injuries include:
If your injury involves a brain or spinal cord injury, our Illinois brain injury attorneys can walk you through what that means specifically for your claim. If a bus accident took the life of someone you love, our Illinois wrongful death attorneys can talk with you about a wrongful death claim.
Seek medical attention and call 911 when the circumstances require it. If possible, record the bus number, operator’s name or logo, route, direction of travel, stop, date, and time. Preserve your ticket, fare-card record, school transportation information, photographs, and witness details. More general guidance is available on our Illinois car accident page.
Report the incident factually to the appropriate transit agency, school, or bus company and request a copy of any incident report. Don’t assume that reporting the accident to the driver or completing an internal incident form satisfies a formal legal notice requirement or extends the time to file a lawsuit. Consider obtaining legal advice before giving a detailed recorded statement, signing a medical authorization, or accepting a settlement or release.
The relevant time limit may be one year for CTA, Pace, another local public entity, or a school-related defendant. A claim against a school district or qualifying nonprofit private school can also require written notice within six months. A private contractor or another motorist may have a different deadline.
If you were injured in a bus accident, you may be able to recover compensation for:
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and the value of any claim depends on the specific facts of your case, including whether the bus was publicly or privately owned and which deadline applied.
Several factors typically determine the value of a bus accident claim.
The identity of the defendants. Whether the claim involves CTA, Pace, another public entity, a school, or a private company can affect the filing period, formal notice requirements, available defenses, and applicable duty of care. Public or private ownership doesn’t determine the value of the claim by itself.
The severity of your injuries. More serious injuries that require extended treatment, surgery, or long-term care generally increase a claim’s value.
Whether multiple parties share liability. Cases involving a maintenance contractor, a parts manufacturer, or another driver, in addition to the bus operator, can involve additional sources of recovery.
The insurance coverage actually available. Policy limits generally restrict what a particular insurer must pay under its policy. They don’t necessarily limit the defendant’s underlying legal liability. Practical recovery may depend on all applicable policies, legally responsible parties, and collectible assets.
Bus accidents involve their own rules and deadlines, but they are one part of a much broader car accident practice at LeFante Law Offices. If your accident did not involve a bus, the firm’s Illinois car accident attorneys can still help. The same approach applies across all types of Illinois car accident claims: identify every source of compensation and prepare every case as though it may go to trial.
Former Insurance Defense Experience. Founding attorney James P. LeFante spent years representing insurance companies before switching sides to represent injured people. That experience shapes how the firm approaches every bus accident claim, whether the other side is a private insurer or a government entity.
Experience With Public and Private Bus Claims. The firm identifies early whether a bus is publicly or privately owned, since that determines the deadline and rules that apply to your case.
No Fee Unless We Win. You pay nothing upfront, and legal fees only come out of money the firm recovers on your behalf.
Post-Settlement Advocacy. The firm’s work does not stop once a settlement or verdict is reached. LeFante Law Offices also negotiates with medical providers to help reduce outstanding bills and liens, so clients keep more of what they recover.
LeFante Law Offices has recovered tens of millions of dollars for injured clients throughout Illinois, including a $450,000 bus accident settlement, with 135+ five-star Google reviews from past clients. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
Like buses, commercial trucks are subject to special regulations, and a crash may involve the driver, the trucking company, and other parties.
A bus, like any vehicle, can strike someone walking or crossing the street.
Both bus and rideshare claims can involve a for-hire vehicle and the associated insurance complexity.
If a public entity may be involved in your bus accident, time is likely more limited than you think. The sooner our bus accident attorneys can begin investigating whether your case involves a public transit agency, a school district, or a private bus company, the sooner you will know where you stand.
You don’t need every document before contacting the firm. If available, have photographs, the bus or route information, your ticket or fare record, medical information, the police or incident report, witness details, and correspondence from the transit agency, school, operator, or insurer.
Call LeFante Law Offices, P.C. today at (309) 999-1111, or request your free case review online, to talk with an attorney about what happened. There is no fee unless we win.
LeFante Law Offices, P.C. – Peoria 456 Fulton Street, Suite 410, Peoria, IL 61602 (309) 999-1111
LeFante Law Offices, P.C. – Bloomington 121 N Main St, Suite 210, Bloomington, IL 61701 (309) 869-8309
Potentially. You must still establish that the agency or another legally responsible party breached an applicable duty and caused your injuries. A personal injury action against CTA generally must be commenced within one year under the Chicago Transit Authority Act. An action against Pace generally has a one-year deadline under the Regional Transportation Authority Act.
Often. CTA, Pace, and many other local public entities generally have a one-year filing period. The general notice provision formerly found in 745 ILCS 10/8-102 is repealed, and CTA’s former six-month notice rule was removed in 2009. A separate six-month written-notice requirement can still apply to claims against a school district or qualifying nonprofit private school.
Potential defendants may include the driver, the school district, the private school, the transportation contractor, the bus owner, or another motorist. A claim against a school district or qualifying nonprofit private school can require written notice within six months and commencement of the action within one year. A private contractor may have a different deadline. Don’t assume the child’s age extends every applicable period.
You may still have a claim if the driver or another responsible party caused the collision. The heightened common-carrier duty generally concerns the carrier’s relationship with its passengers, but bus drivers still owe other road users an applicable duty of care. Defendant-specific deadlines can apply even when the injured person wasn’t a passenger.
An admission may address only part of the dispute and may be informal or qualified. Fault doesn’t determine medical causation, the extent of the injuries, damages, available coverage, or whether another party shares responsibility. Review the exact wording before relying on it or signing a release.
A claim against a private operator generally has a two-year filing period. Personal injury claims against CTA, Pace, many local public entities, school districts, and nonprofit private schools can have a one-year deadline. A school-related claim may also require written notice within six months. Other defendants and exceptions may change the analysis.
You pay nothing upfront. LeFante Law Offices uses a contingency-fee arrangement, so the firm charges no attorney fee unless it recovers compensation for you. The written agreement states the fee percentage and explains responsibility for case costs and expenses.
