Bus Accident

Maryland School Bus Accident Highlights Legal Challenges

September 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

School buses are common on Maryland’s roads, ensuring children get to and from school safely. Unfortunately, school bus accidents can and do happen, just like any other vehicle. While the recent school bus crash in Chillum, Maryland, involved no injuries or children, it highlights the potential dangers posed by school buses and the importance of understanding your legal rights if you’re involved in such an accident.

Due to the size and weight of the vehicles involved, school bus accidents in Maryland are similar to truck accidents. Both can cause severe damage, especially when smaller passenger cars are involved. Maryland personal injury law allows school bus or truck accident victims to seek compensation for their injuries, medical bills, and other losses. However, these cases can be more complicated when they involve public entities like school districts, which specific legal doctrines, such as governmental immunity, may protect.

Understanding how Maryland law applies to your case is crucial if you’ve been injured in a school bus accident. Here’s what you need to know.

Ambulance Crashes into Box Truck and Erupts into Fire

February 21, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When an emergency vehicle blares signals or flashes its emergency lights, it’s a cue for other vehicles to get out of the way. Accidents involving emergency vehicles happen at a substantial rate for various reasons. Emergency vehicles include ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars. Emergency vehicles may be traveling at higher speeds in order to respond to emergency situations and also may have to maneuver through traffic to reach their destination.

As such, this can lead to accidents involving other cars, trucks, and pedestrians. Some studies have shown that there’s an increased risk of crashes when emergency vehicles put on their lights and sirens. It may be an instinct to start to panic when emergency lights are blaring, and it may lead some to make sudden maneuvers in order to get out of the way of emergency vehicles. It is always important to pay close attention to surroundings, including checking mirrors if driving a vehicle and listening for any emergency sirens. Additionally, it is important to check your surroundings and to safely pull to the side or move out of the emergency vehicle’s way in a safe manner.

According to the National Safety Council, in 2020, 180 people died in crashes involving emergency vehicles. According to the National Safety Council, the majority of these deaths were occupants of non-emergency vehicles. In recent news, an ambulance was transporting a patient in Malta, New York when there was a collision with a box truck. The box truck attempted to make a U-turn when the ambulance slammed into it. In addition, snowy conditions on the road prevented the ambulance from stopping. The ambulance slid into a ditch and caught fire after the patient was removed from the vehicle. The patient and ambulance crew were taken to a local hospital by another ambulance for treatment of injuries. Fire crews put out the fire.

Understanding School Bus Accidents in Maryland

February 28, 2022 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When we drop our kids off from the bus stop most mornings, we expect that they will be safe and well taken care of. Although school buses remain one of the best and safest options for transporting our children to and from school when compared to walking, riding a bike, or taking a car, sometimes accidents out of our control take place. When this happens, those who are responsible must be held accountable for any resulting injuries to our children.

According to a recent news report, a school bus was involved in an accident while transporting students during their morning commute. Local authorities reported that the bus was rear-ended, but that there were no serious injuries reported. Emergency medical services transported two students and a bus monitor to the hospital, who were checked out for neck and back pain. Parents were notified following the accident and the circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.

An estimated 471,461 school buses provide transportation services daily in the United States. Approximately 25 million elementary and secondary school children ride school buses to and from school each day. Many communities heavily rely on school buses to safely transport their children to and from school. Because of this, it is crucial that parents and loved ones understand some of the risks that come with school buses and how we can keep our children safe when they are on their own.

The Basics of Maryland Personal Injury Claims Related to Truck and Bus Accidents

December 10, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When unexpected accidents occur as a result of another party’s negligence or recklessness and result in injury, you may feel overwhelmed or unsure of where to start. Understanding the basics of how to move forward on a personal injury claim can prepare you for any situation that results in an injury or death—no matter what life unexpectedly throws at you.

According to a recent news report, a man stole an unoccupied school bus and struck more than a dozen parked cars before he was apprehended. After stealing the bus, authorities subsequently tracked it moving through multiple precincts before taking the man into custody. Before he was stopped, the man struck 15 to 20 parked vehicles along the way, as well as a building. One witness stated that the man crashed into every single car on a block he passed through. The man also repeatedly rammed into a car repeatedly while trying to get away. After the man was apprehended, local authorities reported that he had at least 12 prior arrests, including robbery.

Following an unexpected incident such as the one described above, you may not know exactly how to proceed if you suffer an injury from a similar accident or event. One of the options you should consider is filing a personal injury lawsuit, which could potentially get you monetary compensation for your injuries and any resulting property damage from the accident.

Vicarious Liability in Maryland Truck and Bus Accidents

July 1, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As we often detail on this blog, Maryland truck and bus accidents can have disastrous impacts, resulting in serious bodily injuries or even death. There is no shortage of examples of this, but take a recent crash, occurring one Monday morning when a bus preparing to let passengers get off was hit by a utility truck. The utility truck burst into flames, and the driver was killed. Additionally, 14 of the 15 passengers on the bus were taken to area hospitals with injuries. This accident is just one of the many truck and bus accidents that occur every day.

Because these accidents can be so serious, they are often followed by Maryland personal injury lawsuits—lawsuits seeking to recover financially from the party who caused the accident, to cover medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and more. But what happens when the driver who caused the accident cannot cover the full amount owed to plaintiffs, due to lack of finances? Well, for some plaintiffs, they may be able to also sue the negligent driver’s employer, especially since trucks and buses are often driven by drivers in the scope of their employment for someone else, such as a food company or tourism business. The employers may be liable for the damage caused through a doctrine called vicarious liability.

When Does the Doctrine of Vicarious Liability Apply?

For the doctrine of vicarious liability to apply, the plaintiff must prove all the typical elements of a tort with respect to the driver’s conduct—duty, breach, causation, and harm—and then also prove that the driver was acting in the scope of their employment. A driver who is driving for work is driving within the scope of their employment unless they were engaged in some major detour. For example, if a pizza delivery driver is on their way to deliver a pizza when they get into an accident, then there is likely vicarious liability and the pizza restaurant may be liable. But if the delivery driver delivers the pizza and then decides to not return to work but instead drives their girlfriend around town, then an accident occurring during this detour may not give rise to vicarious liability.

Chain Reaction Crash Involving School Bus Leaves Several People Injured

June 24, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Semi-trucks and tractor-trailers are not the only types of large vehicles that can be involved in dangerous or tragic accidents. Passenger busses are similar in size and weight to some commercial vehicles, and accidents involving busses can be especially dangerous when considering their human cargo. A recently occurring accident involving a school bus with children onboard is a reminder of the risks of being on the road alongside large vehicles, and the importance of safe driving in general.

According to a local news report discussing the accident, a school bus was traveling on the roadway taking children home from a summer program when traffic in front of the bus abruptly stopped. A child on the bus told reporters that the bus driver was unable to stop in time to avoid colliding with the cars in front of it, and the accident occurred. After the initial collision, several cars that were behind the school bus crashed into the school bus. Emergency crews responded to the scene of the crash and at least two people were hospitalized with injuries from the crash. Fortunately, no children were injured in the crash, and nobody was seriously injured or killed.

Maryland drivers are responsible to follow other vehicles at a safe distance. To prevent a rear-end collision, it is generally the responsibility of drivers to leave enough distance in between them and the car in front of them to prevent a crash if any car abruptly stops. Drivers operating large or heavily loaded vehicles that may not stop as quickly as other vehicles have a responsibility to allow enough distance between themselves and other vehicles to account for their own increased stopping distance. In the event that a rear-end accident occurs after a following vehicle fails to stop in time, the driver of the vehicle that didn’t stop can be cited for following too closely.

Maryland Bus and Truck Accident Lawsuits

April 20, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The inherent nature of driving on public roadways involves some element of risk, as motorists, despite their best efforts, cannot always avoid accidents. This is especially true when the accident is the result of another’s negligence. Although accidents range in severity, Maryland truck accidents tend to result in the most catastrophic injuries to drivers, passengers, and bystanders. Amongst the most dangerous vehicles, 18-wheelers, large semi-trucks, and tourist buses pose the biggest threat to those on the road. The likelihood of serious and potentially fatal injuries significantly increases when two of these vehicles collide.

For example, a prominent news source reported a devastating bus and truck crash that took the lives of 21 individuals. Although the accident took place in another country, it illustrates a situation that can happen on any major roadway in Maryland. According to sources, while a bus overturned while trying to pass a truck. The bus slammed into the truck while negotiating a pass. The collision resulted in an explosive fire, and nearly 20 people suffered complete and fatal burns. Among the deceased were the drivers of both vehicles. State officials explained that the road did not have working traffic lights or signs because it was under construction.

What Are the Most Dangerous Trucks on the Road?

In addition to 18-wheelers and large buses, many other vehicles pose a serious danger to other motorists. Many truck accidents involve dump trucks, tanker trucks, livestock carriers, moving vehicles, and garbage trucks. Moreover, with the overwhelming increase in online ordering and demand for prompt delivery, accidents involving mail delivery trucks have been on the rise. Similarly, emergency responder vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances pose a risk to drivers, as they are generally rushing to their destination.

Recent School Bus Accident Highlights the Dangers These Vehicles Pose to Maryland Students and Motorists

April 13, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

April is distracted driving awareness month—meaning more than ever, drivers should keep their eyes on the road, focus on driving, and put their phones and devices away while on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving claimed 3,142 lives in 2019. Unfortunately, no matter how proactive and alert we are on the road, sometimes others aren’t—and when accidents take place as a result of careless distracted driving and cause injuries, those who are responsible must be held accountable.

According to a recent news report, a local bus crash caused by distracted driving left six students and a bus driver injured. There were 24 students on board when the bus stopped at a railroad track, as required by law, and a utility van rear-ended the bus. The students and driver were transferred to a local hospital following the accident, while the remaining passengers were transported by a separate bus back to school. According to the local sheriff’s office, the driver of the van was cited for failure to use care while driving.

What Are a Driver's Duties While on the Road?

As a Maryland driver, the law requires you to exercise reasonable care while driving your vehicle, but also for you to consider every vehicle within a foreseeable “zone of danger” and to other drivers, pedestrians, and passengers. Drivers are expected to drive at a reasonable speed considering how much traffic is on the road and to adjust their driving based on weather conditions. For example, a driver could potentially be liable for an accident for failing to use due care while driving the speed limit during poor weather conditions.

When Buses or Trains Get Into Maryland Truck Accidents

February 10, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

One of the best things about traveling via train or bus is having someone else drive and operate the vehicle while the passengers relax, read, sleep, or even get some work done. For this reason, many Maryland residents may rely on these modes of transportation weekly or even daily, to travel within and outside of the state or to get to work. But while the flexibility and ease of these forms of transportation are nice, passengers should remember that there is still the risk of a Maryland traffic accident. And when a bus or a train hits a truck, the accident can be catastrophic and maybe even fatal.

For example, take a recent truck accident involving an Amtrak train. According to a news report covering the crash, the accident happened around 4:30 PM one afternoon when a truck stopped inexplicably on the train tracks. Amtrak crew members aboard the train told investigators that as the train approached the truck, they blew the horn several times. The train was traveling at high speed, and unable to stop, so it hit the truck, causing a significant crash. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and at this point, it is not clear why the truck driver did not move off of the tracks to avoid getting hit by the train.

It’s not clear from the news report how many others were injured, but in such a serious crash, there is clear potential to cause harm to the train passengers as well as the truck driver. Injured passengers in situations such as this one—in which the train or bus they are riding crashes into a truck—may not think that they have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit and may believe that the train or bus company is the one to handle that. But Maryland state law makes clear that anyone injured in Maryland truck accidents can file a personal injury lawsuit to try and recover for their accidents.

Why Maryland Plaintiffs May Consider Suing a Defendant’s Employer in Maryland Bus Accident Cases

January 27, 2021 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When most people think of filing a lawsuit after a Maryland bus accident, they usually picture that they will just be suing one person—whoever caused the accident. While this is true in some cases, there may be some other cases where it actually makes sense to sue more than just that person. For example, the agency, organization, or company that employed the negligent driver. For instance, negligent bus and truck drivers are often not driving their own vehicle on their own time, but instead are driving an employer’s vehicle as part of their job. In Maryland truck and bus accident cases, it is important to remember this option for suing a negligent party’s employer because often they may be able to pay more in damages than the negligent driver, meaning that Maryland plaintiffs may have more of an opportunity to fully recover for their injuries.

For a recent, high-profile example of when a plaintiff may consider bringing a lawsuit against both an employee and their employer, take a recent crash that made national headlines. According to NBC News, the crash occurred around 12:20 PM one afternoon when a tour bus carrying 48 people was driving to the Grand Canyon rolled and landed on its side. It is not clear what caused the accident, and it remains under investigation. However, what is clear is that one person was tragically killed as a result. Additionally, immediately after the accident, two others were in critical condition, and seven others were injured, such that they had to be taken to the hospital. An additional thirty-three people on the bus had minor injuries not requiring hospitalization.

While it’s not known at this time whether or not there will be litigation resulting from this injury, the accident sheds light onto an important aspect in Maryland truck and bus cases—holding employers liable for their employees’ actions.