Bus Accident Lawyer in Encino, CA

A bus crash is not a normal car case. The bus may belong to a public agency, a private charter company or an employer, and each one has different rules, insurers and deadlines. In Encino, the bus most people see is an LA Metro bus on Ventura Boulevard, but a charter, tour or shuttle bus can be involved too. If you are looking for an Encino bus accident attorney, start with one fact: if a public agency runs the bus, you may have only six months to file a written claim. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles motor-vehicle injury cases only, and Moe takes your call himself. Your first conversation is free at any hour, and you pay nothing unless we win. Here is how a bus case works in Encino: which buses run through, who you claim against, what the claim must say, and what evidence we save first.

The Metro buses on Ventura Boulevard and where the trips lead

Two LA Metro lines matter most here. Metro's Line 240 timetable shows that route running along Ventura Boulevard and Reseda Boulevard, with a timed stop at Ventura and Balboa in Encino and service east to the Universal/Studio City Station. Line 150 comes in from Chatsworth, Canoga Park and Tarzana and ends at Zelzah Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, which Metro labels Encino. On school days, some Line 150 trips continue as Line 240 to Universal/Studio City. Riders transfer to the Metro G Line busway at stations outside Encino. People get hurt around these buses in several ways. A rider can be thrown down when a driver brakes hard near the Ventura and Balboa stop. Someone can fall while stepping on or off at a curb stop. A pedestrian can be struck in a crosswalk at White Oak Avenue, Hayvenhurst Avenue or Louise Avenue as a bus moves along Ventura. A driver in another car can be hit by a bus changing lanes. We have no published count of bus crashes in Encino, so we will not claim a trend. Each of these situations points to a different witness list and a different claim. Tell us the date, the cross street and the route number on the bus, and we will work out who is responsible.

Public agency bus or private coach: why the owner sets your deadline

Your deadline depends on who owns the bus. A Metro Line 240 or Line 150 bus on Ventura Boulevard belongs to LA Metro, a public agency, and that puts you under the Government Claims Act. You must present a written claim within six months of the crash for an injury or a death, under Government Code section 911.2. The agency then has 45 days to act, and if it stays silent the claim is treated as rejected. After a written rejection, you usually have six months to file suit. If you miss the first deadline, you can ask permission to file a late claim, but only within one year of the crash, and permission is not automatic. If a private charter, tour or shuttle bus hit you on the US-101 or the I-405 near Encino, the rules change. You usually have two years to sue under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Sometimes more than one party is responsible, such as a bus company and a driver who cut it off, or a repair shop that missed a brake defect, and then both deadlines can apply at once. We sort out the owner first because the wrong guess can cost you the case. Do not wait for a letter from anyone before you call.

What a government claim letter has to contain

A government claim is a short, formal document, and a thin one invites a rejection. California's claims statute asks for your name and mailing address, the date, place and circumstances of the crash, a description of your injuries and losses, and the names of the public employees involved if you know them. If your claim is for more than $10,000, you do not state a dollar figure. A claim against LA Metro goes through Metro's own process, which we have not verified on an official page here, so we confirm the correct office before we send anything. If a City of Los Angeles vehicle was involved, claims go only to the City Clerk, online at claims.lacity.org or by mail to 200 North Spring Street, Room 395, City Hall. The City does not accept faxed or emailed claims. Keep proof that the claim was delivered. We file early. A clean filing leaves no room for an argument about the date. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. can prepare and file the claim for you, so the deadline does not depend on guesswork.

Common carrier law, and defective brakes, doors and steps

California law calls a company that carries passengers for a fare a carrier of persons for reward, and anyone who offers to carry the public is a common carrier. Civil Code section 2100 holds a carrier to a very high level of care for the safe carriage of its passengers, and section 2101 requires vehicles that are safe and fit for use. The California Supreme Court applied that duty to a public bus operator in Lopez v. Southern California Rapid Transit District in 1985. In plain terms, if you fell when a Line 240 bus lurched away from a Ventura Boulevard stop, Metro cannot just say the driver had a bad moment. If a brake system failed, a door closed on a rider, a step was slick or a wheelchair lift did not work, the carrier's maintenance records matter. So do the driver's training file and schedule pressure. A public agency is also responsible for the acts of its employees within the scope of their jobs. Insurers still argue that a rider was standing, holding a phone or not holding a rail. California uses pure comparative negligence, so partial blame reduces your award instead of ending the claim. We answer those arguments with the bus's own records, not guesses. Ask us about the bus's maintenance file early, because a worn brake or a loose door seal can change who pays.

Bus video, driver records and the LAPD report from West Valley

Evidence moves fast in a bus case. Many transit buses carry onboard cameras, and an agency or company can overwrite footage on a routine schedule. We send a written preservation demand early for the video, the driver's logs and training file, the maintenance and inspection records, and any data from the bus. We also ask for dispatch and radio logs and for the names of other passengers. LAPD's West Valley Community Police Station covers Encino, and LAPD's Valley Traffic Division handles traffic investigations. You can request a collision report through LAPD's Traffic Collision Report page, and it can take at least 45 days. Reports that involve an arrest or a fatality must be requested by mail with a $19.00 check or money order payable to LAPD. Get passenger names before you leave the scene if you can. Take photos of the bus number, the route sign and your injuries, and save any ticket or TAP record that shows you were on board. Do not give a statement to the agency's claims office until we have talked. Do not post photos of the bus or the crash online until we have reviewed them with you.

Care at Encino Hospital, common bus injuries, and how Moe handles the case

Bus passengers are often hurt in ways that look minor at first. A sudden stop can throw a standing rider into a pole or onto the floor, causing neck and back injuries, broken wrists and hips, and head injuries. A pedestrian struck by a bus faces far worse. Encino Hospital Medical Center, at 16237 Ventura Blvd., is a general acute care hospital with a licensed emergency room, according to California's HCAI. Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana and Northridge Hospital are nearby, but we could not verify their trauma levels, so let paramedics choose for severe injuries. Keep every record. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. works on contingency, so you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Moe takes your call himself, updates you by call and text, and moves quickly on the claim and the evidence. Our results include a $105,000 recovery for an uninsured client with a broken sternum and policy-limit recoveries in other cases. Past results do not promise a similar outcome. Call (323) 716-1992, any hour. Se Habla Español. If a family member was killed in a bus crash, we explain who may bring a wrongful death claim and how the six-month rule applies.

Talk to a Encino 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 →

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