Bus Accidents in Denver Colorado
Bus drivers have to deal with the dangerous of the road for several hours each day. There are external hazards related to the weather and poor road conditions. There are also potential problems inside the bus such as arguments with passengers, or a driver who may be tired, sick, or impaired. The combination of these factors can sometimes result in serious accidents with injuries to passengers and bystanders. A recent incident in the Denver area shows how these problems can manifest in injuries, and how increasing traffic in Colorado is becoming a serious concern.
Deadly School Bus Crash Takes a Life
An SUV that collided with a school bus in the Castle Rock area in the early morning resulted in the death of the woman driving the SUV. The school bus was transporting a small group of teenagers at the time of the collision. There were no reported injuries to anyone on the bus and emergency services had cleared all of the passengers and the driver of the bus to leave the scene. The crew who responded was also able to extract the woman from her SUV and take her to the local hospital, where she later died due to the injuries sustained during the accident. The cause of the accident was not immediately known and the entire incident is still being investigated.
How can this Woman’s Family get help?
The most obvious course of legal action in this situation is to file a lawsuit against the bus driver and the transportation company or school district who employed the driver. There will need to be an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident and determine who is at fault. If the driver is found to have engaged in any improper behavior that caused this incident, it may cause them to be liable for the death associated with the accident.
A common way of handing this situation is to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Colorado has its own particular laws, like every other state, regarding these kinds of claims. A wrongful death claim works by establishing that the defendant party wrongfully caused a person to die. There needs to be some kind of evidence of an intentional act, reckless behavior, or negligence of the defendant. In the case traffic accidents, negligence may be established in a number of ways such as speeding, failing to obey traffic signs, or operating a motor vehicle while impaired in some way. Usually a deceased person’s spouse or children are the ones who have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Colorado, and there are specific time limits covered by the statute of limitations.
In a case such as this, the lawyer may also file a corresponding personal injury lawsuit, which is essentially another type of negligence case. The damages, or amounts paid to surviving family members, tend to be higher in cases involving death because there is a total loss of the person’s ability to ever work or provide help and services to anyone. This can be calculated by figuring out the amount of wages the person would have earned until retirement, the value of the services and companionship they provided to their family, and other less tangible factors to compensate a family for pain and suffering. There is also the possibility that a transportation company may want to settle out of court to avoid the negative publicity associated with a trial.
Contact a Lawyer in Denver Today
If you have been the recent victim of a bus accident, there are ways to get help. A lawyer who is experienced in dealing with local traffic accidents can be contacted to discuss the specifics of your case. Andrew T. Brake, P.C. specializes in these kinds of accidents, with over 30 years of success in the Denver metro area. Careless bus drivers can be made to pay for their actions with the proper legal strategy.
