St. Joseph Transit has announced that it will be adding new bus routes on Saturday, starting on April 8. The increase in bus routes is great news for our city’s senior citizens and people who have disabilities that prevent them from driving. However, the new bus routes increase the odds of being in a car accident with public transportation, which raises some unique issues in personal injury law.
St. Joseph Transit Adds New Bus Routes
The new routes – #19 and #20 – come from a federal grant that aims to bring better public transportation to areas for their senior citizens and people with disabilities. The new routes used demographic studies that revealed which areas of St. Joseph have high concentrations of seniors and the disabled.
Route 19 will be a combination of the #13 and #14 routes, connecting residential areas to the east of St. Joseph to numerous destinations in the city, including the library and shopping mall.
Route 20 will be a combination of the #11 and #12 routes, and will bring residents to the north of St. Joseph to the casino and other shopping areas in the city.
Car Accidents With Buses Raise Unique Legal Issues
Running more buses in the St. Joseph area is a great idea. Many people in the city depend on public transportation to get around, commute to work, and run errands. Without an adequate choice in public transportation options, these people are left inside without anything to do and unable to get to important appointments that they have to keep. This drastically influences their quality of life.
However, with more buses on the road we’ll likely see a few more accidents and injuries associated with them. Because of the size of the buses used by St. Joseph Transit, these accidents are frequently more severe than a normal car accident. Therefore, it is important to understand how a personal injury lawsuit can work if you were hurt by public transportation.
The crucial thing to know about an accident involving public transportation is that St. Joseph Transit is run by the city government. The only assets that the government has are those that come from taxpayer money. Therefore, there are numerous legal obstacles to overcome in order to get the compensation you need to recover. This is because, technically, any compensation you get in a personal injury lawsuit against the city comes from tax payments that were paid by the city’s residents, including you and your neighbor.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
Car accidents with public transportation are no less severe or debilitating than other crashes. In fact, many of them are even worse.
Unfortunately, because it is the city that runs public transportation, getting the compensation that you need is often an uphill struggle. This makes having a personal injury attorney from the Smith Law Office at your side even more important. Contact us online or call our St. Joseph law office at (816) 875-9373 to get the legal representation that you need.