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Many people do not know that the public school buses are operated by private companies not operated by the public school system. Over the years I have represented victims and their parents against school bus companies and against their bus drivers. The biggest mistake made is not to hiring someone with expertise immediately after the incident. Why? Because the video's from the bus on the day of the incident needs to be secured and the evidence needs to be saved but the big student bus companies do everything possible to protect its big government contract as these companies first concern after a bus accident is the protection of its government contract and money not the victims and their families. I say the student bus company's money because often it is self insured, which is permitted under the law, but little known.
The law in Connecticut is on
your side if a school bus crash does occur. But the carriers will first look to
protect its bottom line. Here are some of the laws in Connecticut that are in
place to protect injured students and their families.
The Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-557c established the
Standard of care applicable to owners and operators of school buses:
"The standard of care
applicable to the owners and operators of any school bus, as defined in section
14-275, or of any motor vehicle registered as a service bus transporting
children to and from school or school activities, private or public camps or
any other activities concerning the transportation of groups of children shall
be the same as the standard of care applicable to common carriers of passengers
for hire."
The Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-557 provides for a
recovery for Injury to children being transported to school:
"In any action brought
by any person for personal injuries received while being transported to or from
school in a vehicle owned, leased or hired by, or operated under contract with,
any town, school district or other municipality, it shall be no defense that such
transportation is in the line of governmental duty or is mandated by the state.
In any such action brought against any town, school district or other
municipality, the defense of sovereign immunity shall not be available and it
shall be no defense that the transportation was being provided by an
independent contractor."
The Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-281c requires that a
Report of serious accidents involving school buses or student transportation
vehicles:
"In each serious
accident involving a school bus or a student transportation vehicle as defined
in section 14-212, the police officer who, in the regular course of duty,
investigates such accident, shall immediately report such accident by telephone
or otherwise to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. In the event of any
accident in which an occupant of a school bus or student transportation vehicle
is injured resulting in admission of such occupant to a hospital overnight, the
police officer investigating the accident shall report such accident to the
commissioner within twenty-four hours thereafter. For the purposes of this
section, the term "serious accident" means any accident in which (1)
any occupant of the school bus or student transportation vehicle is killed, or
(2) a fire occurs in, or there is a roll-over of, the school bus or student
transportation vehicle."
In addition to the legal
requirements of police investigation, parents of victims need to hire a law
firm that will send out their own investigators, follow up on backgrounds, and
gather witness statements. It is imperative that a letter is sent out putting
the student bus carrier and the school on notice of the claim and demanding
that the student bus carrier and the school preserve evidence such a video recordings
and audio recordings and GPS tracking and operational reports. Otherwise
there may be a spoliation of evidence. Also demand
that any testing of the operator be preserved and made available to determine
if drugs or alcohol was in play at the time of the student bus crash.
You may reach us at the Law offices of Jason L.McCoy, LLC (860) 872-7741.
View Mayor Jason L. McCoy's profile
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