Maryland: 301-854-9000/410-995-1515 | Northern Virginia: 703-916-1227 | Richmond, Virginia: 804-643-3783 | Washington, D.C.: 202-554-1449

Maryland Bus Accident Lawyers/Virginia Bus Accident Attorneys

The Maryland bus accident attorneys and Virginia bus accident lawyers at Portner & Shure have handled numerous cases involving bus accident victims. To the surprise of some, often these cases involve passengers in the large bus sustaining severe injuries.

The reason for so many bus related injuries is actually quite simple. First, a bus, or what the industry calls a motorcoach, is not required to have safety belts or crash-resistant roofs. Last year alone this lack of a standard feature led to the injuries of thirty nine people when a motorcoach was driven off an overpass on U.S. 75 near Sherman, Texas.

Each year the nations buses provide transportation to more than 600 million passengers. However, Congress has failed to act on the National Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommendations to improve industry safety standards.

The fact buses lack seat belts is actually surprising. Rollover crashes are a major cause of passenger fatalities. According to the NHTSA, seventy (70%) percent of occupant deaths in bus crashes were the result of ejection from the bus.

In investigating these cases, the personal injury attorneys at Portner & Shure will look into the bus driver's history. Often these drivers have been found to have medical conditions that impair their ability to drive safely.

School buses also present countless safety problems. As many as 2,000 school buses with potentially serious safety problems are transporting students even though bus manufacturers and government safety regulators have known about some of the recalled parts for as many as eight years. A recent newspaper article in The Tribune Paper details this oversight.

For example, seat backs on some buses do not meet strength requirements, which could lead to more serious injuries in a crash. Additionally, seat belt anchors are often not strong enough and become detached from the floor or wall.

Some of the problems have been traced to the U.S. Bus Company of New York. Recalls have been ongoing since 2001. In fact, in 2007, U.S. Bus was fined for repeatedly selling buses with recalled parts, but never paid the fines.

Further, the Maryland bus accident lawyers and Virginia bus accident attorneys at Portner & Shure will review the safety record of the bus company involved in your bus accident. A thorough review in the past has revealed that some motorcoach companies with a history of safety violations, simply reincarnated themselves by re-registering under a new name. In fact, the company that owned the bus involved in the Sherman, Texas bus crash had been ordered out-of-service two months earlier.

We serve the following counties:
Virginia - Loudoun County, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Fauquier County, Fredericksburg County, Clark County and Warren County
Maryland - Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Baltimore County, Harford County, Baltimore City, Prince George's County, Frederick County, and Montgomery County

Library for Bus Accidents:

• Hand-Held Cell Phone Use by Drivers of Buses Banned   
  Have you been injured because of a bus accident? Contact our bus accident law firm's Maryland bus crash lawyers and Virginia bus accident attorneys.
• NSTB Study Finds Low-fare Buses Crash More Often   
  Our Maryland bus crash lawyers and Virginia bus accident attorneys represent passengers and other drivers who have been injured in bus accidents.

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Frequent Questions for Bus Accidents:

• Frequently asked Questions on Bus Accidents
• Bus and Truck Accidents

Case Results for Bus Accidents:

• Silver Spring woman falls backwards off WMATA bus injuring her neck and back

Awarded: $10,000.00

• Montgomery County man rear ended by Ride-On Bus in Rockville, Maryland

Awarded: $45,000.00

• WMATA bus accident

Awarded: $9,650.99

Web Resources for Bus Accidents:

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

  Description:

  The FMCSA was established as a separate administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. FMCSA is headquartered in Washington, DC and employs more than 1,000 people in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, all dedicated to improving the safety of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and saving lives.

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