Buses are big, heavy, and often crowded, which means when something goes wrong, the results tend to be serious. Whether you were riding as a passenger, driving another vehicle that got hit by a bus, or walking or biking near one, a bus accident claim comes with its own set of complications — especially when the bus is operated by a public transit agency.
At Injury Attorneys by Amin Law, we represent people seriously injured in bus accidents throughout California, from LA Metro and Metrolink routes in Los Angeles to Muni, AC Transit, and VTA buses in the Bay Area, along with school buses, charter buses, and intercity carriers across the state. We know how to move quickly on claims against government transit agencies, which come with much shorter deadlines than an ordinary injury claim. Call us at 415-851-4300 for a free consultation.
Bus Accidents Happen Statewide, Not Just in Major Cities
Most bus systems are concentrated in metro areas — LA Metro and Metrolink in Los Angeles, Muni, AC Transit, VTA, and SamTrans in the Bay Area, and regional systems throughout the Central Valley, Sacramento, and San Diego. But bus accidents aren’t confined to city limits. Charter buses, tour buses, and intercity carriers travel California’s highways every day, and school buses operate in nearly every community in the state. We handle bus accident claims wherever they happen — in dense urban corridors and on rural highways alike.
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Who We Represent in Bus Accident Cases
Bus accidents rarely involve just one type of victim. We represent:
- Bus passengers injured when a bus is involved in a collision, or injured by a sudden stop, hard turn, or fall while boarding or exiting
- Occupants of other vehicles struck by a bus
- Pedestrians hit by a bus, including at crosswalks, transit stops, and intersections
- Cyclists struck by a bus, particularly in dense urban environments with shared lanes and limited sightlines
- Motorcyclists hit by a bus, often in situations where the size difference alone creates catastrophic injury
Common Causes of Bus Accidents
- Driver fatigue, particularly on long routes or with drivers working extended shifts
- Distracted driving
- Speeding or aggressive driving to stay on schedule
- Failure to yield to pedestrians or cyclists, especially at transit stops and crosswalks
- Mechanical failure, including brake and steering system defects
- Poor driver training or inadequate screening
- Unsafe lane changes and wide turns that a bus’s size makes especially dangerous
- Inclement weather or poor road conditions
- Negligence by another driver who causes the bus to crash or swerve
Common Injuries in Bus Accidents
Because buses are large and often carry standing passengers without seatbelts, even a moderate-impact collision or hard stop can cause serious injuries:
- Traumatic brain injuries and concussions
- Spinal cord injuries and fractures
- Broken bones, especially from falls while standing or boarding
- Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries
- Internal injuries
- Lacerations and road rash, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists struck by a bus
- Wrongful death
How Common Are Bus Accidents in California?
Bus accidents happen more often than most people assume, and California sees a disproportionate share of them:
- Nationally, there were 13,452 bus accidents in 2024, of which 171 were fatal, according to FMCSA data compiled by TruckInfo.net. About 51% of all bus accidents that year resulted in an injury.
- California ranked among the top five states for bus accidents in 2024, behind only Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois, per the same FMCSA-based analysis.
- In Los Angeles specifically, LA Metro reported six public transit bus accidents in 2024, resulting in 18 hospitalizations and one pedestrian fatality in the City of Industry. Separately that year, a Metro rail train collision with a USC shuttle bus near Exposition Park injured 55 people.
- In the Bay Area, transit bus accidents involving agencies like AC Transit and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) are a recurring source of multi-victim injury events — recent examples reported by local news include a VTA-on-VTA bus collision in San Jose that injured 13 people and a head-on collision involving an AC Transit Tempo bus in Oakland that injured 16 passengers.
- Nationally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported 213 fatal bus crashes in 2022, with intercity buses accounting for roughly 10% of those, according to figures cited by LA-based injury attorneys.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a California Bus Accident?
Liability in a bus accident depends heavily on who operates the bus:
- The bus driver, for negligent operation
- A public transit agency — such as LA Metro, San Francisco’s SFMTA (Muni), AC Transit, or VTA — if the driver was negligent, the vehicle was poorly maintained, or the agency was otherwise at fault
- A school district, for school bus accidents
- A private charter or tour bus company, for accidents involving commercial charter operators
- Another driver, if a third-party motorist caused the bus to crash or swerve
- A vehicle or parts manufacturer, if a mechanical defect contributed to the accident
- A government entity responsible for road design or maintenance, if a dangerous road condition contributed to the crash
Claims Against Public Transit Agencies Move on a Much Faster Clock
This is one of the most important things to understand about bus accident claims in California: if the bus involved is operated by a government agency — LA Metro, Muni, AC Transit, VTA, or a public school district, for example — you generally must file a formal government claim within six months of the accident, not the standard two-year statute of limitations that applies to most personal injury claims. Miss that six-month window, and you may permanently lose your right to recover compensation, no matter how strong your case is.
This shortened deadline, combined with the specific procedural requirements for claims against government entities, is one of the biggest reasons to talk to an attorney immediately after a bus accident involving a public transit agency rather than waiting to see how your injuries develop.
Why You Need an Attorney After a Bus Accident
Bus accident cases involving public transit agencies come with government claim procedures, shorter deadlines, and institutional defense teams that handle these claims routinely. Private bus operators and charter companies bring their own insurance adjusters trained to minimize payouts. In either case, an experienced attorney will:
- Identify the correct entity or entities to name in your claim
- Meet strict government claim filing deadlines where applicable
- Obtain maintenance records, driver logs, and any available video or GPS data before it’s lost
- Interview witnesses while memories are still fresh
- Build a full picture of your damages, including future medical care and lost earning capacity
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Victims of California bus accidents may be entitled to recover:
- Medical expenses, past and future
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Wrongful death damages, if a loved one was killed
Frequently Asked Questions About Bus Accident Injury Claims
I was a passenger on a bus that got in an accident. Do I have a claim even if I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt?
Yes. Most transit and school buses don’t have passenger seatbelts, and that doesn’t reduce your right to compensation if the driver or another party was negligent. California’s comparative fault rules generally don’t penalize passengers for the absence of safety equipment the bus itself doesn’t provide.
How long do I have to file a claim if I was hit by an LA Metro or Muni bus?
Generally six months from the date of the accident to file a formal government claim — far shorter than the standard two-year deadline for most injury claims in California. This applies to claims against LA Metro, SFMTA (Muni), AC Transit, VTA, and other public transit agencies, as well as public school districts for school bus accidents.
What if a school bus was involved and my child was hurt?
The same shortened government claim deadlines that apply to public transit agencies generally apply to public school districts. It’s important to act quickly, document your child’s injuries, and consult an attorney as soon as possible.
I was driving my own car and a bus hit me. Is this different from a normal car accident case?
The core negligence analysis is similar, but if the bus is operated by a public agency, you’re likely dealing with a government claim and its shortened deadline rather than a standard car accident claim against a private insurer.
Can I sue a private charter or tour bus company the same way as any other driver?
In most cases, yes — claims against private bus companies generally follow the standard two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims in California, unlike claims against public transit agencies.
What if the bus driver says another vehicle caused the crash?
That’s common, and it doesn’t necessarily change your right to recover. Depending on the facts, you may have claims against the bus operator, the other driver, or both. An investigation into who actually caused the collision is a normal part of building a bus accident case.
I was a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a bus. What should I do?
Seek medical attention immediately, report the accident to the transit agency (LA Metro, for example, operates a 24/7 safety hotline), and get the bus number, route, and, if possible, the driver’s operator ID. Then contact an attorney promptly, since claims against public transit agencies carry the same shortened six-month filing deadline.
Contact Our Bus Accident Injury Team Today
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a bus accident anywhere in California — as a passenger, another driver, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a motorcyclist — don’t wait, especially if a public transit agency is involved. Contact Injury Attorneys by Amin Law today by filling out the online form or calling us at 415-851-4300. We’ll schedule a free consultation to review your case at no cost and no obligation.
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