SEPTA is the 6th-largest U.S. rapid transit system by ridership, and the 5th largest overall transit system, with about 302 million annual unlinked trips a year. This puts a lot of busses on Philadelphia’s streets, and unfortunately, the more there are, the more likely there will be crashes. Some of these accidents are chain-reaction meaning that two vehicles collide, and a third (or more) get involved because of the first crash. When a SEPTA bus is involved, the results can be serious.
SEPTA Bus Collides With Two Vehicles Injuring Three
Three people were sent to a hospital Saturday morning, February 29, 2020, when a SEPTA bus hit two cars that had just crashed into each other. Police say that a dark-colored sedan made a U-turn and was hit by a silver sedan. Then the SEPTA Bus hit both vehicles.
The SEPTA bus off duty and carrying only the driver. All three of the injured were from the two other vehicles in the accident.
Who’s at Fault?
When a SEPTA bus crashes into a motor vehicle, it’s not automatically the SEPTA driver’s fault. The law looks at who was negligent and that person will bear the costs of the damages. In many cases, there is no single person that is negligent, and Pennsylvania law allows the court to divide the negligence to more that one driver and assign a percentage of fault.
Then each at-fault driver will pay their share of the compensation for the injuries sustained by the victims.
SEPTA Liability
When SEPTA is liable, then the victims are allowed to make a claim against the government for their injuries. Generally, the government has protection against negligence suits brought by private citizens. This is to protect the public funds from being taken by civil claims including auto accidents.
However, the legislature passed a law that also allowed for some civil lawsuits, and claims against SEPTA is one of these allowed. There are restrictions and additional requirements for a SEPTA cliam, and failure to follow the correct procedures and rules may mean that the victim loses the right to claim damages from SEPTA. At The Pearce Law Firm, P.C., we know these rules and procedures, and we have brought successful claims against PennDOT on behalf of our clients. Before you talk to anyone from the insurance company, talk to a Philadelphia SEPTA Accident Attorney.
Contact a Philadelphia Auto Accident Lawyer.
After any accident involving a serious injury, contact a highly rated Philadelphia SEPTA Accident Lawyer such as Edith Pearce. Unlike the huge firms with dozens of attorneys and many different attorneys handling different aspects of your case, Edith Pearce is personally involved in every case that we handle. She genuinely cares about her clients and you will not be treated like just another case or file.