Bus Accidents in Las Vegas

As a city that draws in millions of tourists, Las Vegas has a particularly high amount of tour buses on its streets and highways. While offering visitors a convenient and cost-effective way to explore local attractions, buses also present an accident risk for other vehicles and pedestrians.

It is important to understand that a tour bus accident is not just a regular car accident that happens to involve a bigger car. Several factors may combine to make bus accident cases particularly complex.

Buses may present additional danger

Tour buses tend to be large, have big blind spots and make wide turns. These factors may increase both the likelihood of an accident and the seriousness of any resulting damage. Bus passengers, pedestrians and other drivers may all suffer in the course of a crash.

Finding the proper defendants

In a regular crash involving two passenger vehicles, claims may involve the driver and his or her insurance company. Figuring out responsible parties in a bus crash can prove more difficult. Potential defendants may include the driver, the bus company, the municipality, the bus company’s managers, the company that made the bus and the bus company’s maintenance and repair contractor.

Fending off pushy representatives

When a tour bus causes a crash, the bus company typically launches its own investigation. Its insurer may also act aggressively in trying to push you into a settlement. Do not give statements or discuss offers before consulting your attorney. Evaluating the worth of a case can involve many complicated considerations; any early offer will likely fall very short of a fair amount.

Standard of care may be stricter

A plaintiff pursuing a claim based on a car accident will need to prove the defendant acted negligently in causing the crash. Generally, the baseline for a driver’s standard of care starts with following traffic laws. Sometimes, a driver may act negligently even when in technical compliance with the law if he or she did not act reasonably to avoid injury. Besides regular safety precautions every driver must take, bus drivers may have to adhere to additional, stricter regulations.