Were you recently injured in a bus accident in Nashville, Tennessee? You may have the right to pursue compensation for your lost wages, medical expenses, and other damages. Whether the crash involved a public transit bus, school bus, charter service, or private carrier, these cases often involve complex liability issues and multiple parties.
If you’ve been injured, contact Meyers Personal Injury Law at (615) 258-9000 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Nashville bus accident lawyer.
Why Hire Meyers Personal Injury Law?
At Meyers Personal Injury Law, our personal injury attorneys in Nashville, TN, have years of experience helping injury victims recover the compensation they deserve. Our team has recovered millions of dollars for clients injured due to negligence, and we’re committed to pursuing the best possible outcome for your case.
How Meyers Personal Injury Law Can Help After a Bus Accident in Nashville, TN
Our firm is dedicated to guiding you through every step of your recovery and legal journey.
When you hire us to represent you, we will:
- Conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident and identify all liable parties
- Collect vital evidence, including medical records, police reports, bus maintenance logs, company training policies, dash cam footage, witness statements, and expert analysis
- Consult with our trusted network of medical, accident reconstruction, and industry experts
- Provide clear answers to your questions and help you make confident, informed decisions
- File your personal injury claim with the Davidson County court and handle all legal procedures
- Aggressively negotiate with the bus company and its insurer for the maximum possible settlement
- Refuse inadequate offers and take your case to trial, if necessary, to fight for the compensation you deserve
With our experience, resources, and commitment to your case, you can focus on healing while we focus on securing the justice and compensation you deserve.
Contact Meyers Personal Injury Law today to arrange a free consultation.
How Much Is My Bus Accident Case Worth?
Every bus accident is different, and every victim will experience the consequences of a collision in a unique way. It’s hard to know what your bus injury claim is worth without knowing the specific circumstances of your case.
However, several factors will be relevant when assessing your claim’s value:
- What injuries did you suffer in the bus accident?
- Are your injuries permanent?
- Are you disabled?
- Can you still work?
- Has your earning capacity changed?
- Do you share responsibility for the bus accident?
- How old are you?
- What out-of-pocket expenses have you had because of the bus accident?
- What insurance benefits are available?
- How strong is the evidence supporting your claim?
- How has being in a bus accident changed your quality of life?
The more the bus accident affects your life—financially, emotionally, and physically—the more money you can usually expect to receive through a bus accident settlement or jury award.
Some factors—like a failure to mitigate damages or comparative negligence—can limit your financial recovery. So, it’s important to work closely with an experienced attorney to ensure that you have the best chances of winning your case and maximizing your recovery.
What Causes Bus Accidents in Nashville?
There are hundreds of bus accidents across the state of Tennessee every year. Most of them can be avoided. Negligence—a failure to exercise reasonable care—is the root cause of most of these collisions.
Commonly reported causes include:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Drugged driving
- Unsafe lane changes
- Braking errors
- Stopping/parking improperly
- Blind spot errors
- Failing to yield the right of way
- Unqualified and/or inexperienced bus drivers
- FMCSA safety violations
- Driver fatigue
- Negligent bus maintenance
- Sharp turns
There are other times when intentional acts of violence, road rage, road defects, and auto defects contribute to Nashville’s bus accidents, too.
Who’s Liable for My Nashville Bus Accident?
Under Tennessee law, anyone who plays a part in causing a bus accident can be liable if it causes property damage, injury, or wrongful death.
This can include:
- Bus drivers
- Government bus services, including WeGo and the Metro Nashville Public School system
- Private bus companies, including Greyhound, Amtrak, or Peter Pan
- Tour bus companies
- Charter bus companies
- Transportation services
- Bus manufacturers
- Bus rental companies
- Government agencies responsible for providing safe roads
- Drivers of passenger vehicles
- Pedestrians
- Bicyclists
- Bus passengers
- Employers of negligent parties
Since most buses are operated commercially, liability can be complicated. Several parties—and several insurance companies—can be involved. It’s smart to hire an experienced Nashville bus accident attorney to handle your claim and navigate complex issues like liability on your behalf.
Common Bus Accident Injuries
Whether you’re a pedestrian, an occupant of another vehicle, or a bus passenger, it’s possible to suffer serious physical injuries in a bus accident. After all, buses, which are much larger and heavier than other vehicles, can generate a lot of force in a collision. Upon impact, the force can be catastrophic.
Common bus accident injuries include:
- Broken bones
- Crush injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nerve damage
- Back injuries
- Herniated disc injuries
- Neck injuries
- Whiplash
- Concussions
- Brain injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Burn injuries
- Chest injuries
- Eye injuries
- Leg injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death
If you’ve been injured, be sure to report the accident, seek prompt medical attention at the closest hospital, and then call our personal injury law firm to discuss your bus accident case. The sooner you call us for help, the sooner we can begin to strategize the best way to help you move forward.
What Damages Can Be Awarded to Nashville Bus Accident Victims?
When you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, you can assert a legal claim to recover compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages can include two different types of awards: economic and non-economic. Each serves a unique purpose.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are awarded to help you deal with the unexpected and burdensome monetary costs of your bus accident, such as:
- Current medical expenses
- Future medical bills
- Lost wages and disability
- Diminished earning capacity
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing assistance
- Property damage
- Costs paid out-of-pocket
- Funeral, cremation, and/or burial expenses if a bus accident is fatal
By pursuing economic damages, you can recover the financial losses caused by the accident and relieve the burden of costs that should never have been yours to bear.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are designed to acknowledge harder-to-value life changes you experience as the victim of a bus accident, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- Disfigurement
- Embarrassment
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
A Nashville jury might decide that punitive damages are appropriate, too, if there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that the defendant in your case acted with malice or displayed a conscious disregard for your safety.
Don’t let the bus company or its insurance provider limit your financial recovery. Don’t let them downplay your injuries or minimize the impact the bus accident has had on your life.
Demand that they take responsibility for the full extent of your damages by trusting us to fight for you. We’ll do everything within our power to prove your losses and force the kind of case results you deserve.
Can Shared Fault Affect My Tennessee Bus Accident Claim?
Yes. Tennessee’s modified comparative fault statute applies to civil bus accident claims. Sharing some of the blame will result in a reduced monetary award. Sharing half or more of the blame will mean losing the right to recover damages from another party.
If you share less than 50 percent of the blame for your bus accident, your damages will be reduced proportionately. Let’s say you’re injured when a bus strikes your car at an intersection in Nashville. You suffer damages worth $250,000. However, you’re assigned 10 percent of the blame for the bus accident. As a result, your maximum financial recovery will be limited to $225,000.
Our legal team will anticipate attempts to shift blame and hurt your chances of getting the compensation you deserve. We’ll fight back with evidence and facts to minimize how much—if any—responsibility you share and, in turn, help you maximize your recovery.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Bus Accident Lawsuits in Tennessee?
You’ll have just one year from the date of a bus accident to file a personal injury claim for damages.
The statute of limitations can be tolled in limited situations. Typically, this occurs most often when a child is injured. In these situations, the child has until their 19th birthday to file a bus accident claim unless one is filed on their behalf by a parent or guardian.
You must file your bus accident claim before time runs out. When the filing deadline passes, you lose the right to seek damages from a bus service, a bus driver, or another responsible party.
Schedule a Free Case Review With an Experienced Nashville Bus Accident Lawyer
If you’ve been injured in a bus accident in Nashville, Tennessee, contact an experienced Nashville bus accident lawyer at Meyers Personal Injury Law. We have extensive experience and have helped our clients recover millions in damages. Now, we’re ready to fight for you. Contact our Nashville law office to arrange your complimentary case evaluation today.
