What Should I Do If I Am Injured In A Public Transportation Accident

Public transportation, including CTA buses and commuter trains, offers many benefits to Illinois residents, including convenience, reduced costs, and a lower environmental impact. However, choosing to use public transit also means placing your trust in the driver or operator to keep you safe from injury. If an accident happens because of the negligence of the driver or another party, you may be seriously injured. In this case, you should know the steps you will need to take in order to recover fair compensation.

Get Medical Help and Hire an Attorney

As with any personal injury case, there are a couple of things you should be sure to do as soon as possible after the accident. The first is to seek medical attention. This ensures that you have detailed information about the extent of your injuries, both for the sake of getting the treatment you need and for creating a record to support your injury claim. Second, you should reach out to a personal injury attorney. Your lawyer can help you immensely with the following steps and give you a better chance of recovering full compensation for your damages.

Determine Who Is At Fault

If you are injured in an accident as a public transit passenger, someone else is almost always at fault, but it may not be easy to identify exactly who because of all of the different parties that may be involved. Depending on the situation, the negligent party could be the operator of the bus or train, the government organization responsible for the transit system, the driver of another vehicle involved in the collision, or some combination of multiple parties. Thoroughly investigating the accident and speaking to witnesses can help you identify anyone from whom you can recover compensation. You should also know that according to Illinois legal doctrine, public transportation is a common carrier with the highest duty of care to passengers, which means operators can be liable even for injuries caused by third parties and other passengers.

Prepare and File Your Injury Claim

After determining who is likely at fault, you should work with your attorney to file your claim for compensation. Your claim should name all negligent parties, as well as all of the damages you are seeking to recover, including medical bills, lost income, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. If your claim names a government entity as a defendant, which is often the case in a public transit accident, you will need to file notice with the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Court of Claims no later than one year after the date of the accident. After filing, your attorney will help you resolve your claim through a settlement or a trial.

Contact a Lake County Personal Injury Attorney

At Salvi & Maher, L.L.C., we help injury victims of public transportation accidents handle the complicated details of their cases. If you have been injured, we encourage you to contact us promptly at 847-662-3303 to schedule a free consultation with a Waukegan personal injury lawyer. We can answer your questions and start working to achieve the outcome you deserve.

Sources:

https://courts.illinois.gov/court/CircuitCourt/CivilJuryInstructions/100.00.pdf

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1865&ChapterID=50