In large cities like Los Angeles where traffic and road congestion can get pretty frustrating, many people have opted to take public transportation instead of driving their own cars.
But of course, along with the increasing use of mass transit or common carriers, so does the incidence of public transportation accidents.
When we speak of public transportation, this refers to transportation services offered for use to the general public for a fee. Like common carriers, public transportation is for the sake of public convenience and necessity and often operate under a license or authority with a fixed schedule.
Modes of public transportation may either be buses, trains, trolleys, high speed rails, and airlines and hundreds and thousands of people rely on its services every day. In Los Angeles, Metro Rail transports as many as 289,647 commuters each day. Los Angeles International Airport serves as much as 59,542,151 commuters every year.
While the National Safety Council estimates that riding a bus is estimated to be 170 times safer than private vehicles and that public transportation prevents 200,000 deaths, injuries, and accidents, it is not invulnerable to accidents.
The following are some of the factors that can cause public transportation accidents:
• Fault or negligence of the vehicle operator
• Vehicle defects
• Faulty maintenance of vehicle
• Lack of training or knowledge of the operator
• Acts of third parties
That said, with so many people using public transportation, if it gets involved in an accident, unlike private carriers, more people stand to be injured or even lose their lives. Fortunately, as public transportation are also common carriers, companies who operate it are generally presumed negligent in a accident and are considered absolutely liable in case of injury or loss.
But receiving compensation for injuries or losses suffered in public transportation accidents isn’t going to be as easy as simply filing a claim. There are exceptions to the liability of a common carrier such as acts of nature or fault of the passenger and certainly, the operator of the public transportation would contest such claims for damages.
So it would be best to hire the services of attorneys who specialize in public transportation accidents to help you build a strong claim that would be irrefutable. As some public transportation modes are run by the state, time is of the essence in filing a claim so make sure you get legal representation right away.
