Passengers on a bus put their trust and often their lives in the hands of their bus driver. Unfortunately in the metropolitan New York area, including New York City, Westchester and New Jersey, bus accidents are on the rise and more and more passengers are sustaining serious personal injuries and even death because of bus accidents.

Our New York bus accident lawyers have handled personal injury cases involving bus accidents in New York City, Westchester, Upstate New York and New Jersey. Lead New York attorney Michael Joseph, has been featured as a bus accident expert commentator for the Daily News.

Our New York bus accident personal injury attorneys are seeing more and more tragic cases of personal injuries and even death in bus accidents including New York City Transit Buses, Westchester Liberty Lines and the discount motor coach bus lines. Our Westchester office is based in White Plains and is within walking distance of the White Plains bus depot. As a result, our Westchester accident lawyers are familiar with the tactics of Liberty Line's lawyers and the Westchester County Attorney's office and we know how to handle them.

Bus accidents involve issues that are often more complex than standard car accident cases or truck accident cases. The raw power and weight of buses dramatically increases the damage done when a bus is involved in an accident with a car or motorcycle. As a result the personal injuries sustained are by accident victims are often more serious and more likely to result in a fatality.

The first questions our clients often ask our New York bus accident lawyers is who is going to pay my medical bills and what happens if I cannot work. In New York, state law governs and if you or anyone you live with own a car, then the insurance company must provide no fault benefits which includes payments for medical bills and lost wage payments. A large amount of the population living in New York City, including Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens do not own cars. For those who don't own cars, the bus company is obligated to provide no fault benefits. In the case of wrongful death from a bus accident, the insurance company or bus company is required to pay for the funeral expenses and to provide the next of kin with a statutory death benefit of $2,000. To obtain no fault benefits, the person injured in the bus accident, must file an application for no fault benefits within thirty days of the accident. Our New York and Westchester bus accident lawyers customarily prepare these forms for our clients who sustain personal injuries on the first visit to make sure that our clients are protected.

In New Jersey, the benefits are governed by New Jersey state law, which requires that the bus company pay medical bills but not lost wages. Often the interstate coaches travel among different states, and in this case often what benefits the personal injury victim is entitled to depends on where the accident happens.

For accidents involving municipal buses in New York, including the Westchester County Bee line, the New York City Transit Buses and the New York Bus Company buses, which include Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, a notice of claim must be filed within ninety days of the accident. If this form is not filed then the injured passenger may loose their right to file a lawsuit, unless they can get permission from the Court to file a late notice of claim.

Our New York personal injury lawyers have extensive experience in handling personal injury cases involving bus accidents. Buses are heavier and larger than most cars and as a result, the likelihood of a serious personal injury or fatality is dramatically increased when a bus hits either a car or a pedestrian.

We have found that the most common causes of bus accidents in the New York metropolitan area are:

• Driver Error and Inattention
• Driver Fatigue
• Failure to Check Blind spots
• Unqualified Drivers
• Bus Drivers Driving On Roads Where Buses Are Not Allowed
• Bus Drivers Texting and Talking on Cell Phones
• Bus Drivers Suddenly Accelerating and Decelerating
• Improper and Inadequate Bus Maintenance
• Time Pressure

Our New York bus personal injury lawyers will continue to serve the New York City areas including the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. As rapid transit bus services are becoming more common in the Westchester cities of White Plains, Yonkers, Port Chester, Mamaroneck, Ossining, New Rochelle, Greenburgh, Elmsford, Rye, Scardsdale, Harrison and Bronxville, our New York personal injury lawyers and Westchester bus accident attorneys will continue to represent personal injury victims of bus accidents.