School bus accidents are devastating, and no parent should ever have to learn that their child sustained serious injuries in a school bus collision. While these kinds of crashes are not nearly as common as motor vehicle accidents more generally, they do occur.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,282 people were killed in school transportation accidents between 2007 and 2016, which average out to approximately 128 deaths each year. Thousands more people, including children on school buses and kids waiting for buses on foot, have suffered injuries in school transportation-related crashes.
If your child is injured in a school bus accident, it is important to know what to do. The following are the steps you should take to help ensure your child recovers and that you can hold the at-fault party accountable by filing a claim.
Document the Scene of the School Bus Accident if You Can
If you are able to arrive at the scene where the school bus accident happened (that is, if your child is not immediately rushed to a nearby emergency department), you should document the scene as fully as you can. You should use your smartphone to take photographs and video at the scene, making clear where the collision happened and which vehicles were involved. Photos and video should also depict physical damage to the physical involved as well as any and all injuries that are visible.
Get Your Child Medical Attention as Quickly as Possible
Your child needs to be seen by a healthcare provider as soon as possible. Whether your child is experiencing pain and other symptoms or has no immediate symptoms, it is critical to seek advice from a doctor who has experience assessing accident victims, and child injuries in particular. Many kinds of injuries do not produce quick symptoms, and those types of injuries can worsen if they are not caught and treated by a doctor.
It is important to understand that kids can also experience certain kinds of injuries in ways that are different from an adult’s experience, so you might not immediately recognize your child’s symptoms as indications of a catastrophic injury. For example, children tend to experience traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, a bit differently than adults do.
Keep the Timeline in Mind
Ohio law requires that most school bus accident claims be filed within two years from the date of the accident, but the sooner you get in touch with me, the quicker we can move forward with your insurance claim or lawsuit.
Call Me for Assistance with a School Bus Accident Claim
School bus accidents can be devastating, whether they result in injuries to children riding the bus or to child pedestrians around the area of the school bus. In most school bus accident injury cases, the accident was caused by a negligent driver. Whether the school bus driver was negligent or another driver’s careless behavior caused the collision, I want to make sure we hold that driver accountable. Get in touch with me as soon as you can at 877.944.4373 to learn more about options for seeking compensation from the at-fault party. I’ll Make Them Pay!®
