Articles Posted in Bus Accidents

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In the spring of 2019, nola.com reported on a New Orleans area documentary filmmaker who released his latest work recounting the events surrounding the deadliest vehicle accident in Louisiana history (and seventh-deadliest nationwide.) The Mother’s Day 1999 bus crash on Interstate 610 in New Orleans serves as a horrible reminder of just how tragic bus accidents can be. People injured in bus crashes may have various legal options against the bus driver, the bus company that employed him, or both, for compensation for the harm they suffered. If you’re injured in a bus crash, get the professional help you need by retaining a skilled Louisiana injury attorney.

On Mother’s Day in 1999, a group, comprised mostly of residents of a LaPlace nursing home, headed east by bus to have a day of fun at a casino in Mississippi. They never made it. As the bus traveled along eastbound I-610 near City Park, it veered off the highway to the right. According to the NTSB, the bus “crossed the shoulder, and went onto a grassy slope along the shoulder. The bus continued on the side slope, struck the terminal end of a guardrail, traveled through a chain-link fence, vaulted over a paved golf cart path, collided with the far side of a dirt embankment, and then bounced and slid forward upright to its final resting position.” The crash killed 21.

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We’ve all heard about putting our “best foot forward” and making a good first impression. That is especially true in your Louisiana injury lawsuit. Many injury cases come down to which side’s evidence appears more persuasive and believable to the jury. When a case is decided based upon the credibility a jury ascribes to each side’s evidence, then it is often very to get that overturned on appeal. That’s why you need to be sure that your trial presentation is as strong as it can be. And that is why you need to be sure you have a skilled and experienced Louisiana injury attorney on your side.

As an example, there is this case from Tangipahoa Parish. The case involved a two-vehicle crash at an intersection in a small town. A school bus was traveling southbound and was seeking to make a left turn. A woman in a passenger vehicle was traveling westbound and seeking to turn right.

crash12A charter bus wrecked on Interstate 10 while traveling from New Orleans to Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi on Friday, March 15th. American Medical Response stated that 24 passengers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

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The Louisiana Court of Appeal recently upheld a jury verdict and nearly $500,000 damages award. The injured plaintiff was able to prevail because he had evidence that established clearly that the defendant driver was negligent. In many Louisiana bus accident cases, it is helpful to have proof that will allow a judge or jury to decide in your favor on multiple bases. In this case, the appeals court made the decision to uphold the lower court because the evidence showed that the defendant driver was either inattentive or following too closely, and, either way, his driving fell below the appropriate standard of care.

The plaintiff was a passenger on a bus that narrowly averted a rear-end collision with a pickup truck in New Orleans. The bus’ sudden braking to avoid hitting the truck threw the plaintiff from his seat in the bus. He landed on his right side on the floor of the bus near the driver’s seat. Shortly after the impact with the floor of the bus, the passenger began experiencing shoulder pain.

A parent’s worst nightmare, “Mom we were in a car accident”. Thirty-four parents received that call Tuesday when the bus carrying T.H. Harris Middle School’s track team plunged into the canal. According to WGNO, three students were taken to a local hospital complaining of minor injuries after a Jefferson Parish School bus driver careened into a canal. After the accident, students were forced to exit the bus through windows and the back door. While no reports have been issued stating the school bus driver was impaired, the school bus driver was cited for careless operation by local authorities.

Unfortunate events like this school bus accident occur all too often. Parents and children are left with the visible and invisible injuries. Some parents are up in arms about the numerous open canals along bus routes, but one of the overarching concerns is whether school bus drivers are receiving effective and adequate driving training.

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