Bus Accident Lawyer Long Beach

A bus crash is not a normal car claim. The bus may belong to a city agency, a private charter company, or a school contractor, and each has its own insurer, rules, and deadline. If a public agency runs the bus, you may have only six months to present a written claim. Long Beach has Long Beach Transit buses on its streets every day, plus the LA Metro A Line ending downtown, so riders, drivers, and people on foot share the road with large vehicles all day, from downtown to Bixby Knolls. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles firm that handles motor vehicle crash cases only, including bus accidents. Moe takes the first call himself, at any hour. Your review is free, and you owe nothing unless he wins. Se habla Espanol.

Which bus hit you decides everything that follows

Start with one question. Who owned the bus? In Long Beach the answer could be Long Beach Transit, which says it serves 14 cities across more than 100 square miles, including Lakewood and Signal Hill. It could be a private charter or tour company. It could be a hotel or airport shuttle, an employer's bus, or a school bus run by a district or a contractor. Each owner means a different insurer, a different legal path, and a different clock. Most riders never write down the route number or the bus number painted near the rear window. Photograph both if you can, or ask a witness to. If you cannot, tell us the time, the stop, and the direction of travel. Transit operators keep schedule and dispatch records, which can help pin down the exact vehicle. We send a preservation demand as soon as we take the case. It tells the owner to keep the video, the driver file, the maintenance records, and the dispatch logs. Camera systems can record over old footage, so the request cannot wait. Moe also checks whether a second vehicle played a part, because a bus crash often has more than one at-fault party.

The duty a bus operator owes riders in California

Anyone who offers to carry the public is a common carrier under California Civil Code section 2168. Section 2100 says a carrier of persons for reward must use the highest degree of care and diligence for safe carriage, provide everything necessary for it, and use a reasonable degree of skill. Section 2101 adds a duty to supply vehicles that are safe and fit for their purpose. The California Supreme Court applied that same high duty of care to a public bus operator in Lopez v. Southern California Rapid Transit District. So a bus company owes you more than the ordinary care you expect from a driver in a sedan. That matters when a driver brakes hard with standing passengers, pulls away while someone is boarding, runs a red light on Pacific Coast Highway, or drives a bus with bad brakes or a faulty door. Public agencies are also liable for what their employees do on the job under Government Code section 815.2. Insurers still fight these claims. They say you should have held on, or they call the sudden stop unavoidable. Moe answers with the driver's training file, the maintenance history, and the onboard video.

The six month clock for claims against a transit agency

This part costs people their cases. If the bus belongs to a public entity, California generally requires a written government claim within six months of the crash for injury or death (Government Code section 911.2). The agency then has 45 days to act. If it denies the claim, or stays silent, you can sue, but a written denial starts a second six month period to file the lawsuit (Government Code sections 912.4 and 945.6). The claim must state your name and address, the date and place, what happened, and your injuries. When the claim is over $10,000, you do not state a dollar amount. Whether a given operator counts as a public entity for these rules is something we confirm in the first days, and we treat the six month deadline as running until we do. If you already missed it, a late claim application may still be possible, but it must come within one year of the crash (Government Code section 911.4). Against a private bus or charter company, you generally have two years to sue. For Long Beach city vehicles, the City Clerk takes claims at 411 W. Ocean Blvd., and the City Attorney posts instructions online.

Streets, stops, and the places Long Beach riders get hurt

Most Long Beach bus injuries follow a few patterns. Riders fall inside the bus when it lurches. A passenger gets hit stepping off at a curb stop. A turning bus strikes someone in a crosswalk. A car rear-ends a bus or sideswipes it in traffic. People on foot are a big part of the picture here. The state Office of Traffic Safety ranked Long Beach 2nd of 15 comparable cities for pedestrian victims in 2022, and Long Beach Post reports that 32 of the people killed on city streets in 2025 were walking, biking or riding e-scooters. The same coverage names Orange Avenue between Seventh Street and Hellman Avenue as a spot where residents raised safety concerns. LAist pictured a rollover crash at 10th Street and Elm Avenue and reported that Washington neighborhood residents worry about speeding drivers. Downtown is also where the Metro A Line ends. We do not call a street dangerous unless a source backs it up. What matters for your claim is the exact spot where your crash happened, the light cycle, the lane the bus was in, and who had the right of way. We document the location and look for private cameras on nearby businesses before they overwrite their video.

Police reports, medical care, and the courthouse in Long Beach

The Long Beach Police Department is the city's own police force, separate from LAPD and the Sheriff. For an LBPD collision report, you mail the release application with a copy of photo ID to the Information Management Division at 400 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802. The fee is $30, and the department says processing can take up to about six months, so we start early. Then we check the report for errors in the bus number, the lane, and the witness list. Many bus crash injuries are fractures, back and neck injuries, head trauma, and knee or shoulder damage from falls inside the vehicle. Two Level II trauma centers serve the city, MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center on Linden Avenue. Go to the ER, keep every discharge paper, and follow up with your doctor. An adjuster will point to any gap in care first. The Los Angeles County Superior Court's building in the city is the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, 275 Magnolia Ave., which handles civil, criminal, traffic and family matters. If a lawsuit becomes necessary, Moe confirms the right filing location for your case. Keep your own paperwork too, including bus tickets, transit passes, and photos of your injuries.

What Moe does on a Long Beach bus case, and what it costs you

Moe works three fronts at once. First, he locks down evidence: the bus video, the driver's schedule and training file, the maintenance records, and any dashcam or phone footage from other drivers. Second, he builds the medical story with your records, your bills, and your doctors, so the claim reflects what the crash did to your work and your life. Third, he deals with the insurers and the agency so you do not have to. Many riders were hurt on the way to work or school and have no spare cash, so we take the case on contingency. The consultation is free, and you owe no fee unless Moe wins. He updates clients by call and text and answers calls at all hours. Moe has recovered $105,000 for an uninsured client with a broken sternum, and $75,000 after an insurer first offered $900. Past results do not promise a similar outcome, since every case turns on its own facts. Se habla Espanol. Call (323) 716-1992 any time, day or night, and ask for a free review of your bus crash.

Talk to a Long Beach 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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