Bus Accident Lawyers in Santa Fe, New Mexico
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CALL (800) 863-5312 TODAY TO SPEAK WITH ONE OF OUR EXPERIENCED SANTA FE BUS ACCIDENT LAWYERS
Unfortunately, New Mexico has had its fair share of bus accidents, some of which have resulted in numerous fatalities. If you lost a loved one or were injured in a Santa Fe accident involving a bus or motor coach, you may be entitled to compensation. At Zinda Law Group, our Santa Fe bus accident attorneys have experience obtaining favorable awards for our clients and are ready to fight for you. To take advantage of your 100% free case consultation with one of our Santa Fe bus accident lawyers, call us at (800) 863-5312 today.
A Zinda Law Group Santa Fe bus accident lawyer can determine which party or parties—for there may be several—are responsible for the crash that caused your injuries, and help you seek compensation for them and your other losses and damages.
Eight Common Causes of Bus Accidents in Santa Fe, NM
Bus accidents can be caused by a whole myriad of reasons, but some of the most common causes of Santa Fe accidents involving buses are:
1. Inexperienced or Poorly Trained Drivers
Unsurprisingly, driving a bus is not a skill that most people have. Buses are much larger than average-sized vehicles and have substantially larger blind spots. Because of this, it is imperative that bus companies hire experienced drivers or at the very least train their drivers adequately.
Unfortunately, sometimes bus companies care more about their profit margins than they do their customers. This results in inexperienced drivers or drivers who received little to no training, which can very easily cause accidents.
2. Driving Under the Influence
Just like passenger or commercial vehicle drivers on the road, bus drivers may occasionally negligently drive under the influence as well. If the driver is driving for a long shift or going a far distance, they may be motivated to use some kind of drug or stimulant in order to stay awake. As you can imagine, this can very easily result in accidents.
3. Negligent Driving
Sometimes the bus driver is simply driving negligently. Maybe they felt rushed by their passengers, so they ran a red light, or they were speeding down a road with lots of turns.
4. Distracted Driving
Some bus drivers can easily be distracted, whether it is by the passengers in their bus or the navigation system they’re relying on. With such a large vehicle to navigate, any second of distraction can be problematic.
5. Defective Parts
When an important part is defective, such as the brakes, it can be extremely dangerous and can easily result in accidents.
6. Drowsy Driving
Bus drivers spend their entire shifts driving and focusing on the road, which can reasonably make them drowsy. This might not seem to have potential for catastrophe, but some studies show that drowsy driving is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
7. Inclement Weather
Driving in the rain is hard enough with your average sedan, let alone while driving a large bus. Just like inclement weather can cause car accidents, it can cause bus accidents as well.
8. Other Drivers
When a bus makes multiple stops, such as a city bus, other drivers around it may become impatient and may try to pass the bus when it is unsafe to do so. Even if the bus driver is driving carefully, they can’t necessarily avoid the negligence of other drivers on the road.
Learn More: What to Do After a Bus Accident
SANTA FE ACCIDENT FAQS
Being injured in a bus accident is a terrifying and overwhelming experience that we hope you never have to go through. If you have, it is our goal to help you get back on your feet. For starters, you probably have a lot of questions running through your mind, like “Who would I even sue for this?” or “Do I really need a Santa Fe injury attorney?”
In this article we have answered a few common questions that we know run through our clients’ minds, but if you have any lingering concerns, keep in mind that our Santa Fe bus accident lawyers are just a phone call away.
Who Is Liable for My Bus Accident Injuries?
You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, the bus driver of course,” but sometimes it isn’t that simple. Of course, the bus driver can be liable him or herself, but there may be other liable parties as well.
It is extremely important to identify any and all liable parties before you bring your lawsuit. This is because sometimes some parties may be better situated to pay your compensation than others.
For example, if a bus driver caused the accident you were injured in because he or she had never been a bus driver before, his or her employer could be liable for negligently hiring the driver. In that case, the bus driver’s employer likely has a strong insurance policy that could compensate you well. In all likelihood, the driver individually probably does not.
Another common example of another liable party is where the bus accident was caused by a defective product. The most popular example of this is with brakes. If the brakes were either designed or manufactured defectively and that defect caused the bus to get into the accident, then you would have a lawsuit against the manufacturer under a doctrine called products liability.
Sometimes there may even be third parties who are responsible that you would never expect, such as the maintenance technician or even another passenger on the bus. You won’t always know exactly what caused the accident, and if you are currently in that situation don’t worry. Our Santa Fe bus accident attorneys have the skills and resources necessary to investigate your case and figure out what went wrong and who is to blame.
What Kind of Compensation Might I Receive?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to say exactly how much compensation you may be entitled to because every case is different. If your reaches a settlement agreement with the insurance company, then you can expect a lump sum payment. If your case goes to trial, then you can expect the jury to award you at least two types of damages, economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the costs you experienced that had a fixed monetary value. For example, the medical expenses you paid out of pocket or the lost wages from the days you missed work are considered to be economic damages.
Non-economic damages on the other hand can vary from person to person because they are much more subjective in nature. Some examples of non-economic damages include compensation for:
- your mental anguish,
- loss of enjoyment of life,
- loss of consortium,
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
- or even damage for emotional distress from having to live with a scar.
What Kind of Evidence Should I Save for My Santa Fe Bus Accident Lawyer?
The more evidence you save for your Santa Fe bus accident attorney, the better. Saving documents such as your receipts for medical expenses, your receipt from the mechanic, or letters from your employer about days off of work can be extremely helpful to your attorney down the road.
What is just as helpful as saving the documents that come up is keeping a journal or diary where you can write down the struggles you face day to day. If your case does end up going to trial, it likely won’t be for some time after your accident, and you may not be able to remember the trials and tribulations you went through in your road to recovery. Keeping a journal where you write down the struggles you have—financial, physical, and emotional—can be a make or break it difference in your case.
What Are Common Injuries from Bus Accidents?
Every bus accident is different and can result in different injuries, but some of the most common injuries sustained by New Mexico bus accident victims are:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Neck Sprains
- Broken Bones or Fractures
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Bruises and Lacerations
- Whiplash
- Soft Tissue Injuries
These are just a few examples of common injuries, so if you don’t see your injury on this list, don’t let that stop you from calling our experienced attorneys to talk about your claim.
How Long Do I Have to File My Claim?
Every state has what is called a statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits. In New Mexico, the statute of limitations is three years. That means starting on the date of the accident, you have three years to file your lawsuit in court.
Don’t let this timeline compel you to wait to call one of our Santa Fe bus accident attorneys. Winning these kinds of cases can take some time. It involves evidence gathering, negotiating, and litigating at trial. So, the earlier you call Zinda Law Group the better.
WHY YOU NEED A Zinda law group SANTA FE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
Having a successful and experienced lawyer by your side is the best way to set yourself up for receiving the maximum amount of compensation possible. There are many reasons why you need a Zinda Law Group lawyer in your corner, but here are just a few.
1. Our Santa Fe Bus Accident Lawyers Have the Skills and Resources to Investigate Your Case
As discussed above, figuring out what happened and who is liable is essential for you to get the recovery you deserve. If you sue the wrong defendant or plead the wrong legal claim, you may end up walking away without a dime.
At Zinda Law Group, our lawyers are part of a nationwide team. We have access to experienced investigators who can answer those questions for us and ensure that you are suing everyone responsible and asserting all the relevant claims.
2. Our Attorneys Will Pursue Maximum Compensation
Most personal injury cases are settled outside of court, and yours can be too if you have an experienced negotiator on your team. Before filing a claim in court, your Santa Fe bus accident lawyer will send something called a demand letter to the insurance company for the defendant. This demand letter tells the insurance company what kind of compensation you are asking for and opens the door to negotiations.
Having a strong negotiator advocating for you is incredibly important. At Zinda Law Group, our attorneys have helped countless individuals obtain settlement agreements and avoid having to go to court at all.
3. Our Attorneys Will Fight For You
Of course, there are times when the insurance company refuses to budge. After all, their main priority is their profit margins.
If that happens in your case, that isn’t the end of the road to your recovery. Your Santa Fe injury attorney can then file your case in court and pursue your legal claim.
Pleading and proving a claim in court is not easy. It requires identifying the legal arguments and filing the complaint, then going through a process called discovery. This stage involves the attorneys on both sides turning over evidence to one another, litigating pre-trial motions, and—eventually—proving the case to a judge or jury.
Once a trial starts, your injury attorney will need to convince the jury of each element of the legal claim. For example, for a negligence claim, your lawyer needs to prove four elements:
- 1. The defendant owed you a legal duty to use reasonable care.
- 2. The defendant breached that duty.
- 3. The breach caused your harm, and
- 4. The harm resulted in damages.
As you can see, this is a very complex process that requires quite a bit of effort along the way. Having an experienced litigator by your side, like those at Zinda Law Group, can greatly increase your likelihood of succeeding in the end.
4. Our Santa Fe Personal Injury Lawyers Can Fight For You to be Awarded the Maximum Amount of Compensation Possible
Winning trial is one thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are guaranteed being awarded the amount of compensation that you deserve. If you are suffering from a bus crash or some other kind of an accident in Santa Fe, NM, it is an attorney’s job to prove to the jury the extent of all of the damages you suffered from. For example, if you suffer from emotional distress following your highway bus crash accident, your lawyer needs to show the jury why that distress is so impactful on your life and why you should be compensated for it.
Having a skilled attorney represent you can also make sure that you aren’t missing out on certain types of damages. For example, in wrongful death claims, you should be awarded costs for the funeral and burial services for your loved one.
New Mexico also recognizes a type of damages called punitive damages. These damages are intended to punish the defendant for their poor behavior. They can add up quickly because they aren’t necessarily dependent on some quantifiable harm.
You may not receive these, though, because they are only available when the defendant was malicious, willful, reckless, wanton, fraudulent, or acted in bad faith. An inexperienced lawyer may not have the skills necessary to prove that punitive damages apply to your case. But the lawyers at Zinda Law Group are well versed in this area of the law and can make sure each and every argument is made on your behalf.
DON’TCALL ZINDA LAW GROUP’S SANTA FE BUS ACCIDENT LAWYERS
When it comes to victims of car accidents or bus accidents, most people prioritize the victims’ physical recovery. Zinda Law Group, on the other hand, cares a lot about your physical health and well-being, but we also understand that you need financial recovery, too. Our Santa Fe bus accident lawyers are dedicated to helping bus accident victims with their road to financial recovery.
We believe that the first step of your financial recovery shouldn’t involve paying a lawyer, which is why we offer 100% free case consultations and a No Win, No Fee Guarantee. This guarantee means that you only have to pay us if you win your case; otherwise you don’t owe us a dime. Call us today at (800) 863-5312 and schedule your free case evaluation.
Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.
