Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman changed its name to Wisner Baum in January 2023.

Bus Crashes

Nationwide Bus Accident Attorneys

Dedicated Advocates for Bus Crash Victims in California and Nationwide

Wisner Baum has a long history of handling bus accident cases. The firm has handled 100 bus crash cases over the past 30 years for bus passengers, their families and pedestrians hit by buses, across the United States and in foreign tourist spots. In one case, the firm represented 27 passengers from a single bus accident.

Charter Bus

We handle a wide variety of bus accidents:

  • Casino bus
  • Charter bus
  • City bus
  • Greyhound bus
  • Party bus
  • School bus
  • Tour bus

Our firm has also handled bus accident cases against defendants such as Greyhound, Ford Motor Company, American Tour and Leasing Co., Bluebird, Sky Express, Inc., American Stage Lines, San Diego Metropolitan Transit, Mexico Transportacion Turista Peninsular, Windsor Inc., and Travellers Coach Company Limited.

If you’ve been the victim of a serious bus accident, contact our bus accident lawyers at Wisner Baum today to schedule a free initial consultation: (855) 948-5098.

Bus Crash Facts and Statistics

In 2018, there were roughly 65,000 bus accidents in the U.S., according to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). While most of these crashes resulted only in property damage, 234 caused deaths and 15,000 others caused injuriesNHTSA Data

Source: https://cdan.nhtsa.gov/tsftables/tsfar.htm

The lion’s share of bus accidents in the U.S. involve school buses. An estimated 25 million public school students ride over 450,000 school buses twice daily to go to and from school. Another 1­2 million students ride school buses to and from school-related activities each day. Between 2008 and 2018, school buses accounted for 40% of all fatal bus crashes in the U.S. During the same period, intercity buses accounted for 12% and transit buses accounted for 35% of all fatal bus crashes.

Some other bus crash statistics:

  • There are more than 990,000 buses on the roads (includes municipally owned transit and commercial, federal, and school buses).
  • Bus accidents injure approximately 25,000 people every year.
  • On average, more than 250 people are killed in bus-related accidents each year.
  • Each day, over 450,000 school buses travel the nation’s roads.
  • An average of 23 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year.
  • Nearly half of school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7 years old.

Bus Accidents by State

In the data below, you can see that California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, and Georgia saw the most fatal bus crashes in the NHTSA’s most recent statistical report.

Bus Data By State

Source: https://cdan.nhtsa.gov/tsftables/tsfar.htm

Your Legal Rights After a Bus Accident

Bus accident victims and their families have a right to seek personal injury and wrongful death damages against errant bus drivers and their companies. Any such lawsuit may well involve more than one state’s law or court system, and numerous complex choices and decisions may have to be made to maximize recovery or streamline procedures.

Those responsible for these accidents should be held accountable and safety improvements made. There are usually a number of weak links in the chain of events which lead up to an injury or death – negligent operators, negligent supervision, poor maintenance, design flaws, failed parts, or faulty reporting.

Each individual or group responsible for one or more factors may be called upon to pay a portion, or even all, of the compensation due the injured person or family members. Each of those entities may be situated in a different state and the harm may have occurred in yet another state.

Call (855) 948-5098 to schedule a free consultation.

Wisner Baum Represents Bus Accident Victims Across the Country

Over the years, Wisner Baum has prevailed in many of the most highly-publicized commercial transportation cases in the nation, including more than 300 commercial trucking, train, and bus accident cases. Our firm has litigated wrongful death and serious injury cases for over 40 years and our attorneys have tried well over 200 cases in their careers.

Many of the cases the firm has litigated involve children riding school buses. Some of these accidents have occurred while transporting children to and from school or to events, while some have involved the bus driver running over the child after the child left the bus.

Among the many bus accident lawsuits handled by our firm is the Girl Scout bus crash near Palm Springs, California in 1991. Seven people were killed and 47 were injured in that crash. Wisner Baum represented 27 people, mostly children, from that accident in which a school-type bus, loaded with Girl Scouts, nose-dived into a gully, and ultimately resulted in the death of four girls when they were thrown through windows onto the rocky ground.

In that bus accident, the firm’s attorneys argued successfully in court that on side impact, unsecured students and passengers can be severely injured when hurled against unpadded walls or through weak windows.

In an effort to improve bus safety, after the resolution of a Kentucky bus crash, Wisner Baum created information packets, including a crash test video that reenacted the actual crash, and organized and funded a national campaign in all fifty states and Canada. The package urged school bus owners, operators and purchasers to relocate gas tanks positioned next to the front doors to an unexposed position inside the frame behind the rear axle, thus reducing the chance of a fire and permitting exiting the front doors if a fire erupts.

The Right Choice for Your Bus Accident Case

Many bus accident victims or their families hire our firm because of our many years of experience handling bus accident litigation and other forms of commercial transportation liability. Wisner Baum concentrates its practice on wrongful death and serious personal injury cases throughout the United States. The firm is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and maintains the highest AV® peer review rating, obtained through a rigorous process conducted by the leading international lawyer directory, Martindale-Hubbell.

Some reasons to consider our firm for your case:

  • 100 bus crash cases handled by our firm since 1988
  • 27 passengers represented in a single bus accident
  • $6,200,000 million settlement obtained for a single bus passenger
  • Succeeded in getting U.S. jurisdiction in two foreign crashes (England and Mexico)
  • Extensive experience with complex choice of law and difficult insurance coverage issues
  • The firm’s successful bus litigation is featured in the book, Reckless Disregard
  • Conducted an international grass-roots bus safety campaign to move the fuel tank to a safer location on school buses

Ready to get started? Contact Wisner Baum today at (855) 948-5098. From our offices in Los Angeles, we serve clients nationwide.

Contact Us Today

No Fees Unless We Win
  • Please enter your first name.
  • Please enter your last name.
  • +1
    Please enter your phone number.
    This isn't a valid phone number.
  • Please enter your email address.
    This isn't a valid email address.
  • Please enter your city.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please enter a message.
  • Duck Boat & Bus Crash $20 Million Verdict

    Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman attorney Timothy A. Loranger served on the trial team in the case of Dinh et al. v. Ride the Ducks International et al., which stemmed from the 2015 crash in Seattle, Washington between an amphibious duck boat vehicle and a charter bus filled with college students.

  • School Bus Accident $10 Million Settlement

    In 2017, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman reached a settlement of nearly $10 million with Orange Unified School District (OUSD) in California on behalf of families of children who sustained serious injuries when an OUSD school bus left the roadway and crashed.

  • Fatal Bus Crash $6.2 Million Settlement

    Wisner Baum negotiated a $6.2 million settlement on behalf of a family whose child was killed in a bus crash.

  • Foreign Bus Crash $1.9 Million Settlement

    Wisner Baum obtained a $1.9 million settlement for a tourist who was killed in a foreign bus crash.

  • Tour Bus Crash $1.8 Million Settlement

    Wisner Baum secured a $1.8 million wrongful death settlement for a tour bus passenger.

  • Fatal School Bus Crash $1.7 Million

    Wisner Baum obtained $1.7 million on behalf of a child who was killed in a school bus crash.

  • Best Law Firms 2023
    Best Law Firms 2023

    A ranking in The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” is widely regarded by both client and legal professionals as a significant honor. It is considered the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.

  • The Truck Safety Coalition
    The Truck Safety Coalition

    Wisner Baum is proud to be a sponsor of The Truck Safety Coalition, a a group of caring individuals dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes. Our support enables them to help families and save lives.

  • California Powerhouse
    California Powerhouse

    Law360 recognizes law firms that have a strong regional presence, working on important matters within their home state. “[Wisner Baum] possesses a David v. Goliath-sized slingshot while seeking justice for everyday citizens it believes were harmed or killed through corporate wrongdoing.”

  • Elite Trial Lawyers
    Elite Trial Lawyers

    NLJ and American Lawyer Media honor law firms and attorneys as Elite Trial Lawyers for their cutting-edge legal work on behalf of plaintiffs in practice areas ranging from mass torts to securities litigation.

  • Listed in Best Lawyers
    Listed in Best Lawyers

    Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

  • AV Top Ranked Law Firm
    AV Top Ranked Law Firm

    Less than one-half of one percent of firms across the nation have achieved this ranking. A firm must have a high percentage of lawyers who have achieved the prestigious AV® Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell®.

  • Verdicts Hall of Fame
    Verdicts Hall of Fame

    The National Law Journal inducted Wisner Baum into the Verdicts Hall of Fame for obtaining the $2 billion landmark verdict in the Roundup cancer case of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto. The verdict was #1 in California and #2 in the U.S. in 2019 and is #9 in American history.

  • Super Lawyers
    Super Lawyers

    Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

  • National Trial Lawyers Top 100
    National Trial Lawyers Top 100

    The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 recognized the law firms of Wisner Baum, the Miller Firm and Audet & Partners with the 2019 Trial Team of the Year award (in the Mass Torts category) for their work in the groundbreaking case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Company.

  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
    AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated

    An AV® rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. The rating signifies the highest legal ability, and very high adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence.

  • Avvo 10.0 Rating
    Avvo 10.0 Rating

    Wisner Baum is proud to have all of its lawyers listed in Avvo, a legal directory connecting people in need of legal services with lawyers and connecting lawyers to lawyers. Eight of our attorneys have earned a 10.0 perfect rating with Avvo.

  • Top Jury Verdict in <br> CA and USA
    Top Jury Verdict in
    CA and USA

    TopVerdict.com ranks our $2 billion verdict in Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto as the biggest verdict in California and the second largest verdict in the U.S. in 2019. It is the ninth largest verdict in U.S. history.

  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
    Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers

    Published annually, the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list recognizes the “best of the best” in this area of the law through nominations, research, and review by a board of their peers.

  • Product Liability Practice Group of the Year
    Product Liability Practice Group of the Year

    In 2020, Law360 honored the law firms ”behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry.” It recognized our success in several landmark cases.

  • Top Personal Injury Jury Verdict in California
    Top Personal Injury Jury Verdict in California

    In 2018, our $289 million Johnson v. Monsanto verdict was the largest personal injury verdict in California. TopVerdict.com also ranked it #2 among all verdicts in California and #10 in the nation.

  • Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
    Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

    The Bar Register is the definitive guide to the most distinguished law firms in America. It includes only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field.

/

Firm Reviews

What Our Clients Are Saying
  • I Can’t Imagine a Better Law Firm

    “Multiple lawyers recommended Wisner Baum to me and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their work.”

    - Best Law Firms Survey
  • They Are About Changing the Systems...

    “Wisner Baum are not only amazing attorneys but more importantly, they are activists. They are about changing the systems which got us into trouble in the first place. They understand their role in the process of making change.”

    - Kim Witczak
  • Top Legal Minds in the Country

    “The Wisner Baum firm has some of the top legal minds in the country; they are driven, determined, trustworthy, ethical and passionate.”

    - From Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms
  • Diligent & Professional Representation

    “Thanks to your efforts I was able to recover from a tragic experience and turn my life around for the best.”

    - W.T.
  • Our Best Interest Was Always Number One on Your List

    “A special thank you to your Spanish-speaking staff for the extra effort put into this case. The language barrier was never a problem, and we are so very thankful to them. Your name holds much respect in our family.”

    - G.C. & C.C
/