Whether a resident or a tourist, large groups of individuals travel on tour buses throughout Seattle each year. While this is considered a safe and effective way to transport large numbers of people to tourist destinations, they do not come without risks or dangers. Much like any motor vehicle, bus accidents occur. And when they do, they present additional concerns and issues compared to other motor vehicle crashes. Various parties could be deemed at fault, making it important to understand where liability could be placed following a tour bus accident.
Tour bus accident
A tour bus, like other forms of public transportation, are considered common carriers. This means that they have the obligation to exercises a very high level of care and diligence when it come to the passengers and their safety. Thus, when an accident occurs with a tour bus, the term reasonableness is used. Was the bus driver driving reasonably given the current conditions? This could determine if negligence or recklessness was involved and the cause for an accident.
Liability
When a tour bus accident happens, one might be quick to assume that the bus driver should be held accountable for the accident. However, there are a host of different parties that could be liable for the bus accident. When a victim of a bus accident seeks to apply liability to those responsible, there are three different parties that are often considered.
The first is the tour bus company, as they has the responsibility and duty to hire a bus company with a clean safety record. If it is found that the bus company has been cited for multiple safety violations, the tour company could share liability with the owner of the bus.
Next, the bus company that owns the bus involved in the accident could face liability. If the vehicle itself was not safe or the bus company did not hire a driver that doesn’t meet basic requirements, this could be deemed negligent and place liability on them. Finally, the destinations where the bus traveled could be held liable. The conditions at these locations could cause a bus accident or a passenger to suffer injuries.
The aftermath of a bus accident can be tragic. Victims could be in abundance, making it important that those harmed in such a collision take the time to understand their rights and options when it comes to a civil action. A personal injury claim could help those harmed hold a liable party or parties accountable and seek compensation for their losses and damages.
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