Burbank Bus Accident Lawyer

You were on a BurbankBus or an LA Metro bus when it braked hard, hit a car, or pulled away before you sat down. Or you were in a car, on a bike, or on foot when a bus struck you. Now you have injuries, bills, and a phone number for an agency that does not seem in a hurry. A Burbank bus accident lawyer has two jobs right away. First, find out who actually owns and operates that bus. Second, meet the deadline, because a claim against a city or transit agency has a six-month window that private crashes do not have. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles motor-vehicle injury cases only, including bus crashes. Attorney Moe Abdallah takes your call himself, any time. The first review is free, and the firm charges no fee unless he wins.

Start by finding out who runs the bus that hurt you

In Burbank the answer is rarely obvious. The city runs BurbankBus, so a crash with one points to the City of Burbank. LA Metro buses and Metro riders in the area point to Metro, which is a separate public agency with its own claim process. A tour or charter coach, or a company shuttle, points to a private business and its insurer. Each path means different paperwork, different deadlines, and a different adjuster. A public entity answers for injuries its employees cause on the job, such as a transit driver (Government Code 815.2). Private carriers face the same standard of care, but you sue them on the regular two-year clock. Do not guess. Write down the bus number, route sign, plate, and time, or photograph them if you can. If you do not have those details, Moe can usually work them out from the stop location, time, and the agency's route records. Getting the owner right in the first week saves months of wrong letters.

The six-month claim against the City of Burbank or a transit agency

If a public bus caused your injury, you generally must present a written claim to the agency within six months of the crash (Government Code 911.2). A lawsuit cannot start until the agency acts on that claim or the 45-day response time passes. If the agency sends a written rejection, you then have six months to file suit. For the City of Burbank, claims go to the City Clerk's Office on the city's Claim for Damages form. You can email cityclerks@burbankca.gov or mail it to Burbank City Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 6459, Burbank, CA 91510. The clerk logs it and forwards it to the Liability Office for a decision. The claim needs your name and address, the date and place, what happened, your injuries, and the employees involved if you know them. Miss six months and you may ask permission to file a late claim, but only within one year of the crash. Courts do not always grant it. Moe files these claims for you, so the date never sneaks up on you.

Olive Avenue, Buena Vista, and the places riders get hurt

Buses stop where traffic is thickest. City of Burbank data, reported by myBurbank, counted 45 accidents at Olive Avenue and Buena Vista Street from 2015 to 2020, and 41 at Buena Vista Street and Victory Boulevard. Victory Place and Burbank Boulevard had the most of any intersection, at 50. Those counts are older and cover all vehicles, not just buses, but they show where a bus mixes with left-turning cars. The city restriped East Olive Avenue in March 2025 to reduce lanes and speeds. Pedestrians face even more risk. California's Office of Traffic Safety ranked Burbank 4th among 61 comparable cities in pedestrian victims for 2022, and 11th of 62 in 2023, where rank 1 is the worst. Seniors fared worse, ranking 2nd in 2022. A bus rider is a pedestrian at both ends of the trip. If you were hit boarding, getting off, or crossing to the stop, the crash may involve the bus, a car passing it, or both. Moe untangles who is at fault.

The higher duty a bus carrier owes its passengers

A bus that carries people for a fare is a carrier of persons for reward, and California law holds it to a stricter standard than an ordinary driver. It must use the highest level of care and diligence for their safe carriage and a reasonable degree of skill (Civil Code 2100). It must also provide vehicles that are safe and fit for their use, and no amount of care excuses a failure to do so (Civil Code 2101). That second rule supports claims over bad brakes, faulty doors, and broken equipment. The California Supreme Court applied the duty to a public bus operator in Lopez v. Southern California Rapid Transit District (1985) 40 Cal.3d 780, including protection from foreseeable assaults by other passengers. Passengers have an edge here, but drivers and pedestrians do not get the same carrier standard. If you were in a car or on foot, your claim rests on ordinary negligence. Either way, the agency will argue that you were standing, not holding on, or crossing outside a crosswalk. California follows pure comparative negligence, so partial fault reduces your award but does not erase it.

Bus video, driver records, and the Burbank Police report

If the bus had cameras, that footage may not be kept for long, so nobody should wait to ask for it. Moe sends a preservation letter right away for video, maintenance records, driver schedule and training files, and any incident report the driver filed. Ask the driver for an incident report number at the scene if you can, and take names of other passengers before they leave. If the crash happened on a Burbank street, the Burbank Police Department may take a collision report, which it does when someone is hurt, a driver asks, or a government vehicle is involved. Reports can be bought online through LexisNexis at least four days after the crash or at the Records Bureau at 200 N. Third St. Call (818) 238-3140 to confirm the fee. The Traffic Bureau line is (818) 238-3100. A freeway crash may be a CHP report instead. Photograph your injuries, your seat or stop, and the bus itself. Then keep every receipt, bill, and note from work.

Providence Saint Joseph, other bus passengers, and how Moe runs your case

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center at 501 S. Buena Vista St. has a 24/7 emergency department at (818) 843-5111. Bus injuries often mean falls inside the bus, sudden-stop whiplash, and broken wrists and hips from bracing. Get seen the same day, even if you feel okay, and tell the doctors the injury came from a bus. When many passengers are hurt in one crash, their claims may compete for the same limited insurance, so speed matters. When you call Moe Abdallah Law, P.C., you speak to Moe. He explains who the right defendant is, files the claim on time, protects the video, and handles the agency and its adjusters. He updates you by call and text. He recovered a $100,000 policy-limit UM settlement for a client other firms had turned down, though past results do not promise a similar outcome. The fee comes only from a recovery, so you owe no fee unless he wins. The firm answers 24/7 and offers Se Habla Español, and it holds 5.0 stars on Google.

Talk to a Burbank bus accident lawyer

Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our bus accidents representation →

Frequently Asked Questions

Other cases we handle in Burbank

See everything we handle in Burbank →

Bus Accident lawyers in other cities we serve