Texas Bus Accident Lawyers

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01The first question

Before your injury, Texas asks who was running the bus.

A bus isn’t just a bigger car, and the person driving it is considered a “common carrier”, which means the law holds them to a higher standard of care than an ordinary driver. The first question you should ask is, was the bus run by the government, or by a private company? The answer determines your deadline, your cap, and who actually pays.

  • Public / government

    City & transit buses

    If you were in an accident involving any of the following government agencies: DART, Houston METRO, VIA in San Antonio, Capital Metro in Austin. The Texas Tort Claims Act controls your case, meaning a short deadline and a hard cap on what you can recover.

  • School district

    School buses

    A school district is a government agency too. If you were in an accident with a school bus, the claim targets the district, not the driver, but still falls under the Tort Claims Act.

  • Private company

    Charter, tour & Greyhound

    If you were in an accident involving private company buses, then your case can be worth far more. Charter companies are required to carry roughly $5 million in coverage.

If another driver was involved in your accident, be it car or truck, then that adds the driver and its insurer as a target, which matters more if the bus belongs to a government agency.

02The hidden deadline

Once you’re hit, you have two years to file, in some cases only six months.

This is the rule that quietly ends more good claims than any other. Everyone assumes the two-year deadline applies, but it doesn’t when you’re against DART, METRO, VIA, or a school district.

Under the Texas Tort Claims Act you must give the government entity written notice within six months of the crash, and some Texas cities cut that to as little as 45 to 90 days under their charters. Miss it and the case can be barred, no matter how badly you were hurt.

6 moTo put a government entity on written notice, and sooner under some city charters
2 yrsThe separate deadline to actually file suit, but the notice has to come first
$100kCap on what one person can recover from a local government entity
Notice per Texas CPRC Section 101.101; caps per Section 101.023

Three things people get wrong about the deadline.

Each one is a trap that has a cost to your claim.

  • 01 / The clock

    Started the day you were hit

    The day of your accident is when the six-month clock starts, not after you realized your injuries. Texas courts don’t care to extend that deadline because of how bad your injury is.

  • 02 / The report

    Your incident report is not a “notice”

    If you tell the driver or fill out a form at the scene, it won’t satisfy the law. Proper written notice has to describe your injury, the time and place, who you are, and it has to go to the right agency.

  • 03 / Separate deadlines

    The six-month notice is not the same as the lawsuit

    Think of the six-month notice as a condition you set before you can sue. The two-year filing deadline still applies on top of it, but you need that notice to get started.

Josh Alexander
Josh’s take

Oftentimes I get difficult calls that are seven or eight months down the line, when the client’s injury is severe and the liability is clear, but the window for notice against the city was missed. If you were in an accident and a public bus was involved, the most important thing you can do is get that notice out first.

Josh Alexander | Founder & Managing Attorney

03Who’s responsible for your bus accident?

A crash involving a bus usually has more than one defendant.

The driver is rarely at fault for your accident. Each party shares the blame, and each has a separate source of coverage, especially when the government’s pockets are capped.

  • The driver

    The person at the wheel

    If you were in an accident because the bus driver was speeding, tired from a long shift, and made unsafe decisions, then the operator’s own negligence is where your case would start.

  • Transit agency

    The city or transit authority

    DART, METRO, or VIA answers for its driver if you’re in an accident due to failures in hiring or training that falls under the Tort Claims Act.

  • School district

    The school district

    If your accident involves a school bus, then the district itself is the real defendant, subject to government immunity rules and caps.

  • Private operator

    The bus or tour company

    Charter and tour companies are responsible for their drivers and for skipping safety steps. They carry big coverage with no government cap.

  • Maintenance

    Maintenance contractors

    A shop that missed worn brakes or a steering problem can share the blame if a mechanical failure causes the crash.

  • Manufacturer

    The bus or parts maker

    Your accident could have been caused by a defective brake pad, and the company that built the bus or part would be held responsible.

  • Other driver

    Another motorist

    If your bus was hit by another driver that triggered the crash, then we add that driver and their insurance into the case.

  • Roadway

    The road design

    When a road is poorly designed or there’s a missing sign that contributes to your accident, then the government shares blame.

If your accident involves more defendants, then it leads to more recovery. Government buses cap near $100,000, so finding a private company or driver that’s sharing the blame can be the difference between a partial payout and a full one.

04You were in a bus accident. How much can you get?

Here’s the breakdown of what your claim can recover and what we fight for.

If you can prove negligence on the carrier’s side, Texas lets you recover the costs and losses the crash brought you for your past and future.

We could not give you an overall estimate based on averages. How much you get paid depends on how badly you were hurt and who owned the bus.

  • We factor your medical bills

    Your accident comes with piles of hospital bills, surgeries, follow-up treatment, and specialist visits, so they all get added into your recovery pot.

  • We add all your missed income

    Being forced out of work due to your accident puts you at a loss of income. We take that into account for whatever is already missed and what will be missed.

  • We think about your life

    The impact your accident leaves on your life costs more than anything. We translate that pain into compensation.

  • The government cap

    If you’re against a government entity, then your recovery is capped around $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash. Private carriers don’t have a cap, so finding every party that’s responsible matters. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Why us

The government agencies are already working against you. Let us match that energy.

As soon as you’re in a crash, the transit agency or bus companies are sending their own people to the scene to take footage, document, and limit your payment. We’ve been on both sides for many years, so we know how they work. Let us push them back harder so you can focus on getting better.

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05What you should do now.

The first hours decide the case.

Speed is crucial after your accident. The agency’s people will be at the scene before you leave it, but you’re the first one there, so you have the advantage.

Bus and station video is often overwritten in days, and agencies will say no footage exists unless someone formally demands it be kept. That’s where we step in.

  • Go get medical care.

    You might not feel any pain at first, but some injuries can delay by a day or two, and besides, having documentation early is going to help your case.

  • Call your local police.

    Getting an official crash report from the scene is strong evidence, and having that makes it hard on the agency to dispute later.

  • Get the bus details.

    Write down the bus number, the route you may have been on, the driver’s name or their badge. Identification of the bus is good to have.

  • Record everything.

    Take videos and photos of the buses, the collision, any witnesses, street signs, and injuries. The sooner you can record, the better.

  • Ask for video.

    In this case, we would send written preservation notices for the footage on the bus and street cameras to be kept before they’re looped over and deleted.

  • Talk to who saw.

    Talk to any passengers or bystanders, get their information, take pictures of their IDs, and get their phone numbers. They’re much harder to find later.

  • Don’t say anything on file.

    Giving the agency or insurer a recorded statement would not be a smart move. If a public bus was involved, then get written notice out before the six-month deadline.

06Free guides and tools

Learn the law before you call.

Everything below is free, written by our attorneys, and built for Texans dealing with a crash right now. No sign-ups, no gates.

Let’s understand your case together.

Hit by a bus or in a bus on your way to work? We can help.

Tell us what happened. We’ll explain your deadline, who’s on the hook, and what your case could be worth, with no fee unless we win. The call is free, and the clock against a government bus may already be running.

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