School bus Accidents

Two students have been injured, one of them seriously, in an accident involving a Klein Independent School District bus and a passenger vehicle.

The accident occurred on Monday at about 6.30 in the morning in northwest Harris County. The bus was taking students to an alternative school at the Louetta and Stuebner-Airline district annex, when it was struck by a passenger car. That quickly set off a series of smaller collisions. First, another car struck the wreckage, and then, a third motorist tried to avoid the wreckage, and ended up driving his car into a ditch. Two students in the bus were injured. One of them suffered serious injuries, and both had to be taken to the hospital.

The car was, ironically enough, being driven by a Klein High School student. His car was severely damaged by impact, and he was pinned down in his vehicle. Rescue personnel had to extricate him, and he is reported to be in a serious condition.

Our prayers are with all of the students who were injured in this accident, and we pray that they make a complete and speedy recovery.

Bus accident claims in Houston can be somewhat different from auto accident claims. There may be a number of parties besides the driver of the bus, who may be at fault.

Broadly, the following parties may be named by a Houston injury lawyer in a bus accident claim:

• The driver of the bus
• Charter company
• Tour operator
• Any other bus operators
• Any other motorists, pedestrians, or motorcyclists involved in the accident

The state of Texas has seen more than its share of fatal and tragic bus accidents over the past few years. It doesn’t help that Houston is the hub for transportation between Mexico and the US. There has been a lack of stronger federal oversight over the operations of these commercial motor vehicles, and this has contributed to shady bus operations and serious accidents.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a bus accident, car accident, truck accident or motorcycle accident, contact the Husband & Wife Legal Team at The Kahn Law Firm at 713-226-9900 for a case evaluation today.

Click here to see a video of the crash footage: 3/15/10 Metro Crash

In yesterday’s accident, a Metro bus that was heading westbound on St. Joseph Parkway struck a light-rail train, that was heading northbound on Main. Nineteen people, including two Metro employees, have been injured in the accident. Fortunately, none of the injuries are reported to be life-threatening, but most of the passengers had to be taken to the hospital. The Metro employees union is now calling for a complete and thorough investigation of the second accident. Metro has responded with an assurance that it will be looking into whether the traffic signals at Main and St. Joseph Parkway are functioning properly.  However, Metro announced today that according to their preliminary investigation, Debra Lynn Harrison, the driver of the Metro bus, was at fault for the accident.  In fact, the investigation has shown that the light for Ms. Harrison was red for at least 10 seconds before she ran through the light.

The first crash that occurred on February 8^th has been linked to the bus driver running a red light. The driver insists that the light was green at the time, and the union has supported him. That incident is currently under investigation, and Houston accident lawyers are still waiting for the results of that probe.

Metro needs to find out if there are issues with the traffic signals at the intersection. If these are functioning properly, then human error is likely to have been a factor here. These also need to be investigated thoroughly, union issues notwithstanding.

As Houston personal injury lawyers, we believe the safety of the thousands of passengers who use these trains and buses everyday must be paramount. We need to encourage mass transit use in Texas if we want to cut down our dependence on foreign oil. That isn’t going to happen if there are accidents like the one here.

If you have been injured in a bus, train, car or truck accident, contact the Husband & Wife Legal Team of Jennifer and John Kahn at the Kahn Law Firm today for a free consultation at 713-226-9900.

The accident comes just as the National Transportation Safety Board removed school bus safety from its most wanted list.  In its recent wish list, the 2011 Federal Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, the agency praised the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for passing a rule requiring lap shoulder belts on all Type A Buses manufactured after 2011.  The new rules would apply to Type A buses which are typically smaller.  Larger buses would be exempted from the lap shoulder belt rule.

As parents and injury lawyers in Houston, we believe it’s important to keep up the pressure on this important safety matter. The NTSB’s 2011 Federal Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements seems to focus harder on issues like truck and aviation safety, which are serious issues.  However, injuries in bus accidents would be vastly reduced if we mandate seat belts on all buses, or at the very least, all school buses.  Unfortunately, there are pricing issues to consider, and business interests that seem to place keeping costs in check at a higher value than children’s lives. Additional safety features like seat belts, would keep children in their seats during an accident and prevent them from turning into projectiles.  But, these would be expensive and increase the cost of a school bus.

It’s sad, but we know it’s not exactly the kind of investment school districts in Texas will be willing to make in these tough economic times.

If your child has been injured in a school bus accident, contact the child injury lawyers at The Kahn Law Firm today for a free consultation.

According to police, a Toyota Camry pulled out right in front of the bus to make a left turn. The school bus driver was not able to stop in some time to avoid the Camry, and ended up striking the car. At least three students in the bus suffered injuries, and were taken to the hospital.  Fortunately, according to reports, none of the injuries in this accident were serious, and the students are expected to recover soon. Residents in the area say that the intersection where the accident took place, plays host to far too many speeding motorists.

Houston School Bus Accidents Can End in Serious Injuries

Any time an accident involves a school bus, it’s a matter of grave concern to us. As Houston auto accident lawyers, we know that although school bus accidents aren’t as frequent as motor vehicle accidents, they can result in more serious injuries.  With seatbelts still not mandated, it is highly likely that children will be thrown out of their seats and hit the interior of the bus, leaving them with potentially serious injuries. Injuries to children in a school bus accident can range from fractures, sprains, bruises and cuts, to more serious head injuries, brain injuries and spinal cord fractures.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced 4 recalls for Thomas Built buses. According to School Transportation News, the recalls are linked to problems with brake pedal arms, accelerator pedals, brake lines and undertorqued fasteners. The recalls affect more than 15,000 buses of model years between 2006 and 2011.

Thomas Built’s parent company Daimler Trucks is also recalling several school buses of model years 2006 to 2011 because of jammed accelerator pedal problems.

If your child has been injured in a school bus accident, it is important that you contact an attorney quickly.  We offer free case evaluations on all injury cases.  Call us at 713-226-9900 or toll free 1-877-226-9940 today.

According to news reports, the school bus had stopped to pick up a student when a freight truck crashed into the back of the bus. At the time of the crash, there was one special needs student of MacArthur High, a bus aide and a driver inside the bus. The bus was severely damaged. The special needs student, the aide, and the driver of the truck were seriously injured.

From all that we know about this accident, it seems that the bus was stopped at 8 am in the morning with its loading lights on, and yet, the truck failed to stop to avoid rear ending the bus. As Houston truck accident lawyers, we see that rear ending accidents are typically caused by

• High speeds that prevent the driver from slowing down in time to avoid the vehicle
• Fatigue that prevents the driver from seeing the vehicle in front of him
• Distractions
• Malfunctioning brakes
• Drunk driving

Out of these, federal regulations do address the issues of drug and alcohol use by truck drivers, maintenance and repairs of trucks and the driver’s experience and driving abilities. Driver fatigue is another issue that has been gathering momentum over the past few months. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is revising the Hours of Service rules for truck drivers, and we could soon be back to the 10-hour rule that was in place earlier. Longer driving hours expose a trucker to the risk of fatigue and related accident risks.

Besides, the FMCSA has already received recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board which call for mandatory sleep apnea screenings for truck drivers. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person suffers from disturbances in breathing during sleep. This causes the person to wake up several times during sleep, leading to feelings of tiredness and drowsiness the next day. Truck drivers because of their lifestyles are more prone to obesity, which is one of the risk factors for sleep apnea.  Mandatory screenings and treatment programs would address this issue of driver fatigue and prevent accidents.

If you have been involved in a car accident, truck accident, bus accident or motorcycle accident, contact the accident lawyers at The Kahn Law Firm today at 713-226-9900.