Accidents Involving Public Transportation in Texas: Know Your Rights

Public transportation is essential for thousands of Texans each and every day. Accidents involving DART rail or buses can occur, though they are not frequent enough to affect most riders. That said, when these types of accidents do occur, the emotional and financial fallout may be devastating.

Filing a claim against a public transit entity and proving a transit company's fault in a crash is a difficult matter. The intricacies of public transit law are not simple to navigate on your own, which is just one reason why it's essential to consult an attorney if you've been involved in a public transportation accident.

In the meantime, please get in touch with our team if you have concerns regarding fault or want to learn more about how Texas law impacts your public transit accident claim. Our team at the Rasansky Law Firm team has worked hard to build our impressive record of success and client confidence over the last three decades. If you've been injured in Texas and need advice on how to proceed, please contact our Dallas personal injury attorneys right away.

Establishing Liability in a Texas Transit Crash

If you were hurt in an accident involving public transportation in Texas and the driver or corporation was negligent, you have the right to sue them. With a network that extends over 700 square miles, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system in Texas carries an estimated 20.1 million passengers annually. As reported by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, bus accidents in Texas cause somewhat less than a thousand injuries annually. However, these incidents still occur, and understanding how to establish liability in such a crash is important for victims.

In Texas, liability is established according to the principle of comparative negligence. When one driver is obviously at fault in a car accident, the other driver's insurance company will often be liable for covering the victim's medical bills, car repairs, lost wages, and other damages. But if a plaintiff is found to have contributed in any manner to the accident, the regulations vary somewhat.

According to "modified comparative fault" rules in Texas, the fault for an accident is split 50/50 between the parties involved. Thus, the fault distribution in Texas is often based on each participant's relative degrees of liability. Moreover, courts will not award damages to a plaintiff who is 51% or more at fault.

Common Types of Public Transportation Crashes in Texas

Various kinds of accidents involving public transportation might have external, internal, or fault-based causes. Examples of common types and causes of these accidents include but are not limited to the following:

• Transportation crashes involving buses, such as crashes, rollovers, or problems with boarding or disembarking for passengers.
• Derailments and crashes at railway crossings, as well as wrecks between trains.
• Water-based ferry or taxi accidents.
• Accidents involving pedestrians or bicyclists hit by public transit vehicles.
• Victim injuries sustained from slipping and falling on public transit platforms and vehicles, such as those for trains, buses, and transit terminals.
• Technical and mechanical defects, like faulty brakes or engines.

Public transit accidents often happen for reasons that the company in question has no control over, such as bad weather.  The potential success of a lawsuit against a public transportation agency is dependent on the specifics of the crash and the relevant laws that govern the aftermath if a victim chooses to initiate legal action.

Duty of Care For Public Transport Drivers

A plaintiff must prove a few things to succeed in a personal injury lawsuit.

When it is assumed that the defendant should have taken some action to protect another person's safety or should have avoided taking any action that may put that other person in danger, then the defendant has a legal responsibility to do so. This is called a "duty of care," and it exists in many contexts, such as between a carrier and a passenger (especially in public transit).

According to Texas law on personal injury, a plaintiff who proves that the defendant owes them a duty of care has a negligence case. Duty, an obligation the defendant was obliged to perform under the law, arises because of the connection or relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. If the court determines that there is a "duty of care" in Texas, then it must decide whether or not it was broken by conduct that a reasonable person would not have thought improper under the same or comparable circumstances.

Immunity in Texas Public Transportation Accidents

Whether privately held or controlled by the state, public transportation agencies in Texas are often shielded from lawsuits under the legal concept of sovereign immunity.

Under some circumstances, however, Texans are able to sue public transportation firms due to the state's exceptions and restrictions to sovereign immunity. In most cases, they include cases of negligence or carelessness, deliberate wrongdoing, or situations in which the company willingly forfeits its immunity. To successfully traverse the complicated process of initiating a complaint against companies involved in public transportation in Texas, victims must be knowledgeable of the particular requirements and circumstances that give rise to legal action.

Contact a Dallas Vehicle Accident Attorney

For almost three decades, our legal team at the Rasansky Law Firm in Dallas has been advocating for victims of injury-causing accidents, including those involving public transit vehicles and companies. In addition, our team of seasoned and caring attorneys gives our clients legal advice tailored to the specific facts of their cases. We're prepared to look into the details surrounding your accident and assess whether you have a case.

If you've been hurt in a public transit accident in Texas and aren't sure what to do next, don't hesitate to call our Dallas car accident lawyers at (214) 651-6100 for a free consultation. Give our Dallas personal injury attorneys a call if you want to learn more about your options following any type of accident involving public transportation and beyond. You won't have to pay anything until we win your case and you get the compensation you deserve to cope with this frustrating, stressful time in your life.