Bus Accident Lawyer in Glendale, CA

A bus crash in Glendale is rarely a simple two-car claim. If you were on a Beeline bus, the City of Glendale is the defendant. If it was an LA Metro coach, you claim against a different agency. If it was a Greyhound coach at the Larry Zarian Transportation Center, or a private charter, you deal with a private company and its insurer. Each one has its own claim rules, and the shortest clock runs out in six months. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles motor-vehicle injury firm, and Moe handles bus accident cases for passengers, for people in other vehicles, and for pedestrians struck by a bus in Glendale. Below you will find who runs the buses here, how fast bus video disappears, how to get the Glendale Police report, where hurt riders get treated, and what California law says a bus carrier owes you. The call is free, you pay nothing unless Moe wins, and he answers 24/7.

Which bus hit you decides who you have to claim against

Glendale has more than one kind of bus on its streets, and a bus accident lawyer first pins down who owns the bus. The city runs Glendale Beeline, its fixed-route bus system, and Glendale Dial-A-Ride, a curb-to-curb service for residents 65 and older and for disabled residents. The Larry Zarian Transportation Center at 400 W. Cerritos Avenue ties together Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink, Greyhound, LA Metro and Beeline, so Greyhound coaches, Metro buses and Beeline buses all pull into the same hub. A Beeline or Dial-A-Ride crash points at the City of Glendale. A Metro crash means a claim against LA Metro, which takes claims separately from the city. With a Greyhound or a charter, you face a private company and its commercial insurer. Write down the route number, the bus number painted on the side, the plate, the time, and the stop. Take photos of the bus before it pulls away. If you rode, keep your fare record or pass. A blurry phone photo of the bus number can save you days of guessing.

The six-month government claim for a Beeline or Metro crash

When a public agency runs the bus, you cannot just file a lawsuit. You first present a written claim to the agency within six months of the crash for an injury, a death, or damaged personal property (Gov. Code 911.2). For a Beeline or Dial-A-Ride crash, that claim goes to the Glendale City Clerk on the city's Claim for Damages form. City Hall is at 613 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206. The claim must give your name and address, the date and place, what happened, your injuries, and the employees involved if you know them. If you claim more than $10,000, you do not state a dollar amount (Gov. Code 910). The agency has 45 days to act, and silence counts as a rejection (Gov. Code 912.4). After a written rejection you usually have six months to sue (Gov. Code 945.6). Miss the first deadline and you can ask to file a late claim, but no more than one year after the crash (Gov. Code 911.4), and the agency can say no. Against a private bus company the rule is different: two years to sue for injury or death (Code Civ. Proc. 335.1). Moe prepares and files the claim for you.

Where Glendale's crash data points for bus riders and pedestrians

The public Glendale crash numbers we cite here do not single out buses, so we will not name a worst stop. What they do show matters to anyone who rides. Glendale's Vision Zero analysis of 2012 to 2021 counted 5,125 crashes, 37 of them fatal and 192 with serious injuries. About 13% of city streets account for 71% of crashes and 78% of killed-or-seriously-injured crashes, and the city's team named Brand Boulevard, Colorado Street and Central Avenue, plus spots near freeway entrances and exits. Pedestrians were in 17% of crashes but 45% of the killed-or-seriously-injured crashes. Every bus trip starts and ends on foot. In 2022 OTS data, Glendale ranked 13th of 61 similar cities for pedestrian victims and 4th for victims aged 65 and older, with 77 pedestrians hurt or killed. The city's nine safety-improvement sites include Brand Boulevard from Harvard Street to Elk Avenue, stretches of San Fernando Road, Glendale Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard. If a bus hit you in a crosswalk or at a stop, the agency's route and driver schedule become part of your case, and Moe looks at both.

The extra duty a bus carrier owes its passengers

California holds a bus operator to a higher standard than an ordinary driver. A carrier that takes fares must use the highest care and diligence for safe carriage, provide everything necessary for that purpose, and use a reasonable degree of skill (Civ. Code 2100). It must also supply vehicles that are safe and fit for the job, and no amount of care excuses a defective bus (Civ. Code 2101). Anyone who offers to carry the public is a common carrier (Civ. Code 2168). The California Supreme Court applied that standard to a public bus operator in Lopez v. Southern California Rapid Transit Dist. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 780, including protection from foreseeable assaults by other passengers. A public agency is also liable for what its driver does on the job (Gov. Code 815.2). In plain terms, when a passenger is thrown to the floor by a hard stop, caught in a closing door, or hurt by bad brakes, the operator is judged by that higher standard of care, not the looser rule for ordinary drivers. If you were in a car hit by a bus, or on foot, the ordinary negligence rules apply instead, and California's pure comparative negligence still lets you recover when you share some fault (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804).

Bus video, driver records and the Glendale police report

Evidence in a bus case sits with the operator, and operators do not keep everything. Many transit buses carry onboard cameras, and recordings can be overwritten on a schedule. Moe sends a preservation letter right away that asks the operator to keep any video, the driver's schedule and training file, dispatch and GPS data, maintenance and brake records, and incident reports. The police report is the other piece. Glendale Police Department collision reports come through the Records Bureau at 131 N. Isabel Street, phone 818-548-3135, open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A 2014 city release said you could buy reports online through LexisNexis eCrash at least 7 days after the crash, or get them by mail or in person. It also said reports needing a Traffic Bureau criminal investigation, such as hit-and-run or fatal crashes, may be delayed. Those fees are old, so confirm them with the Records Bureau. If you were driving another vehicle and the crash caused injury, death or more than $1,000 in damage to any one person's property, you also owe the DMV an SR-1 report within 10 days (Veh. Code 16000). Ask other riders for names and numbers before they leave.

Treatment close to home and how Moe handles a Glendale bus case

Bus injuries tend to come from sudden stops, falls in the aisle, collisions with cars, and being struck at a crosswalk. That means neck and back injuries, broken wrists and hips, and head injuries. Two Glendale hospitals with emergency care are Adventist Health Glendale Medical Center at 1509 Wilson Terrace and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center at 1420 S. Central Ave. The LA County EMS Agency lists both as 9-1-1 umbrella facilities under Los Angeles General Medical Center, not as designated trauma centers, so the worst injuries may be sent elsewhere. Get seen the same day if you can, and tell the doctor exactly how the bus crash happened. Moe takes bus cases on contingency, so you pay no fee unless he wins. He handles your claim himself, keeps you updated by call and text, and deals with the agency or the carrier's insurer so you never hand over a statement they can use against you. When many passengers are hurt in one crash, their claims can compete for the same coverage, so speed matters. Se habla Espanol.

Talk to a Glendale 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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