A few years ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident. During the aftermath, I became really familiar with a lot of different types of lawyers. I worked with personal injury lawyers, insurance lawyers, and many others. Perhaps the most important, though, was the estate planning lawyer. I was really young, and neither my wife or I had thought about starting a will. But the accident kind of scared us into it. What would happen if one of us were to die? Even when still in the hospital, I was working with the lawyer to draw up a will. Now, I have some peace and security about what the future will be like if something should happen to me. And I have a lot of experience working with various types of lawyers! The accident was kind of a blessing in disguise in that way.
When you put your child on the school bus, you trust the bus to get your child safely off to school. Luckily, that is what happens the majority of the time. However, sometimes accidents happen, even to school buses. If your child was involved in and injured in a school bus accident, there are specific steps you should take following the accident.
Make Sure Your Child Gets Medical Care
First, make sure your child has received medical care. If, for some reason, they were not taken to the hospital after the accident, it is your job to take your child to the emergency room or to your pediatrician.
As with all accidents, injuries may not show up right away. Your child could easily have a hidden injury, such as a concussion, internal damage, or whiplash that may not be visual obvious, which is why you need to take your child to the doctor.
If your child complains of pain after the initial doctor visit, take your child back to the doctor. It is normal for your child to notice pain at a later time, as their adrenaline wears off, and the trauma sets in.
Paying for Medical Care
You should not wait to get your child medical care. If you have insurance, use your own insurance to get your child medical care. You can worry about getting reimbursed for the medical care costs down the road. The most important thing is to make sure your child gets medical care right now. The sooner you get your child medical care, the better off they will be.
Considering a Lawsuit
Once you have taken care of your child's medical needs, it is time to decide if you want to pursue a lawsuit. With a school bus accident, there are actually a few different parties that you can pursue a lawsuit against, or you can name multiple parties in a single lawsuit.
To start with, you can sue the individual who was driving the bus. In many states, the driver of the bus can be held individually responsible for their actions.
Next, you can sue the employer of the bus driver. In some instances, their employer may be the school district. In other instances, the school district may employ a third-party to provide bus services, in which case you can sue the third party that employs the driver and runs the school bus routes for your school district. Even if the school district employs a third party for their bus services, you can still hold the school district responsible for choosing that contractor.
Furthermore, if another driver was at fault, you can sue that driver. If the other driver was a commercial driver, once again, you can sue the individual driver and the company they work for.
If your child was hurt in an accident involving their school bus, get your child medical attention and assistance, then reach out to a personal injury lawyer to discuss your lawsuit options.
Share11 February 2020
