Bus Accident Claims Guide

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A Guide To Bus Accident Claims

By Jade Smith. Last Updated 21st June 2024. If you’ve suffered an injury in an accident on a bus accident through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation. Below, we discuss bus accident claims in detail.

Sometimes a bus company can fail in their duty of care and that can lead to passengers suffering an injury.

If you have been injured and you’re looking to make a bus accident claim, we can help.

You can access legal advice via our helpline, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can speak to us now by:

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Who Can Make Bus Accident Claims?

You may be able to start a bus accident claim if you can prove that you have been affected by bus driver negligence either as a passenger of a bus or as another road user. We define negligence as a breach of duty of care which causes an injury.

When you are using public transport, such as a bus, you are owed a duty of care by the bus driver. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that all operators of public services must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of passengers.

As a road user yourself, you are also owed a duty of care by other road users. This means that road users must navigate the roads in a way that minimises the risk of harm to themselves and others that are on the roads. To do this, they must follow the mandatory steps and rules set out by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Highway Code.

As such, in order to claim bus accident compensation, you have to be able to prove that:

  1. You were owed a duty of care by a bus driver.
  2. This duty of care was breached, for example, the bus driver was speeding.
  3. As a result, you were injured.

Examples Of Bus Accidents

Here are some ways how a bus driver could breach their duty of care and cause a bus accident:

  • You are a pedestrian in the middle of walking across a zebra crossing. A bus driver, however, fails to see you and therefore fails to stop at the zebra crossing as they are using their mobile phone while driving. Being run over by a bus as a pedestrian can cause serious injuries such as brain damage. 
  • You are a passenger of a bus, however, the bus driver is under the influence of alcohol. Due to this, the bus driver swerves into oncoming traffic and crashes with another vehicle. You could suffer whiplash or other muscle-related injuries. 
  • A bus driver is exceeding the road’s speed limit. Due to this, the bus driver cannot break in time before crashing into a building ahead. As a passenger of this bus, you could suffer lacerations and broken bones. 

If you’ve been injured on a bus as a result of a breach of care from either the service operator or even another road user, you may be able to make a personal injury claim. Get in touch with our advisors to learn more about public transport accident claims, or read on to learn more about the bus accident claims process

Time Limits In Bus Accident Claims

All personal injury claims against bust companies have to be started within the correct time limit. This is generally three years, as outlined in the Limitation Act 1980, and starts on the date of your injuries.

You may still be able to claim bus accident compensation if you fall outside of this time limit, as it comes with some exceptions. For example, if you are under the age of eighteen when you are injured, the time limit won’t begin until your eighteenth birthday. A litigation friend can claim on your behalf before then, or you can claim for yourself between your eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays.

The time limit is also suspended for an indefinite amount of time for those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves. In these cases, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf. Otherwise, if they recover the appropriate capacity, they can claim for themselves when the time limit reinstates on the date of their recovery.

To learn more about time limits in bus accident claims, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer help and guidance surrounding the personal injury claims process, and may be able to connect you with one of our solicitors.

Evidence That Can Support Bus Accident Claims

It’s important to gather evidence to support your bus accident compensation claim. Evidence is essential, as it can help prove who is responsible for your injuries, how they occurred, and how they will affect your life going forward.

Some examples of evidence that could help support bus accident claims include:

  • CCTV footage: If the bus accident was captured on CCTV, you may be able to request the footage. This can help identify how the accident occurred and who was responsible.
  • Medical records: Your medical records can help illustrate both the severity of your injuries and the effect that your injuries and treatment will have on your life in the future.
  • Photographs: Taking photographs of your injuries can also help demonstrate their severity, and taking pictures of the accident site when safe can help illustrate the impact of the accident.
  • Witness statements: While you cannot take these statements yourself, taking the contact details of potential witnesses allows their statements to be taken at a later date.

One of the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor is that they can help you gather relevant evidence for your claim. For example, a solicitor could take the statements of potential witnesses, and they could also arrange for you to undergo an independent medical assessment.

Bus Accident Compensation Payouts

If you make a successful personal injury claim, your bus accident compensation could consist of two parts. These are general and special damages.

General damages compensate for the physical pain and mental suffering that your injury has caused. To help when valuing personal injury claims, legal professionals may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that contains a list of guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries.

In our table below, we’ve provided a few figures from the 16th edition of the JCG. As all bus accident claims are different, this table is only provided as guidance. Please note that the first entry in this table is not reflected in the JCG.

InjurySeverityCompensation Brackets
Multiple Severe Injuries Plus Special DamagesSeriousUp to £1,000,000+
Brain damageVery severe (a)£344,150 to £493,000
Less severe (d)£18,700 to £52,550
LegSevere (b) (i)£117,460 to £165,860
Less serious (c) (i)£21,920 to £33,880
BackSevere (a) (i)£111,150 to £196,450
Moderate (b) (i)£33,880 to £47,320
Whiplash injuries plus psychological injuriesLasting between 18-24 months. £4,345
Whiplash injuriesLasting between 18-24 months. £4,215

Your award may also consist of special damages to compensate for any financial losses you experienced as a result of the injury. Examples of the losses you could be compensated for include:

  • Medical costs, such as prescriptions and therapy.
  • Your loss of earnings for time spent off work recovering from your injuries.
  • Home help, such as the costs of a cleaner while you recover.
  • Travel expenses, such as taxi fares to and from medical appointments.

You should submit evidence of your expenses, such as receipts, bank statements or invoices.

If you have any questions about how compensation could be awarded for public transport accident claims, please contact one of our advisors using the details at the top of the screen.

Can I Claim For Whiplash After A Bus Accident?

If you suffered minor injuries, such as whiplash, you may have to make your bus passenger accident claim through the Whiplash Reform Programme. However, there is certain claiming criteria that you need to meet.

The injuries you’ve suffered must be valued at £5,000 or less. Whiplash will be valued from the tariff amounts found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. Other minor injuries could be assigned value based on the compensation brackets found in the JCG. We’ve provided figures from the whiplash tariffs and the JCG in our table above.

Additionally, the overall value of your whiplash accident claim cannot exceed £10,000. This means that the combined value of special damages, if you are recovering expenses and your injuries needs to be £10,000 or less.

You must also be 18 or older and the accident on a bus must have occurred on or after the 31st May 2021.

Once you have received a settlement, your claim cannot be reopened. You may like to have your claim assessed for free to ensure that you are claiming for the full amount. To discuss claiming for whiplash with legal experts, contact us. We can value your claim for free.

Claiming Bus Accident Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You may be interested in learning about how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you. Working with a solicitor can come with many benefits; for example, they could help you gather evidence, value your claim, and answer any questions you may have throughout the bus passenger accident claim process.

A solicitor from our panel could help you claim for an accident on a bus by offering their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this kind of No Win No Fee arrangement, you don’t have to pay any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor in order for them to begin work on your case.

If your claim succeeds, then your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your settlement award. The success fee is taken as a small percentage, and there is a legislative cap in place to help make sure you keep the majority of your award. However, if your claim doesn’t succeed, then your solicitor will not take this success fee.

To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of our No Win No Fee bus accident solicitors, get in touch with our team today. They can also provide further guidance on bus accident claims.

Start Your Bus Accident Claim Today

For further advice on potentially making a claim for a bus passenger accident, you can speak to our expert personal injury claims team by using any of the following contact methods:

  • Call us on 0800 073 8804
  • Use our claim form to write to us about your case. We could then call you back at a time that suits you.
  • Or get in touch with us using our live chat feature, bottom right

Helpful Resources and Guides On Road Traffic Accident Claims

Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on what to do if you’ve suffered an injury in an accident on a bus. We hope you’ve found it useful. Below, you can find some further guides you may find helpful.

You’re at the end of our guide to bus accident claims. Do you still need more information or free legal advice? Please get in touch with our team today using the number at the top of the page.

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    • Patrick Mallon

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.

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