Personal Injury Law

Six hospitalized in bus crash

By Barry Doyle

On Saturday, a CTA bus driver lost control of his bus and crashed into a fence near Roosevelt and Kolmar.

Six were hospitalized, one with severe injuries.

There are always two important points to keep in mind when a CTA bus or train is involved in an accident like this.

The first point is that the CTA has the legal status of a common carrier. Most drivers are required to use ordinary care for the safety of others, including their passengers. However, as a common carrier, the CTA must use the highest degree of care to assure the safety of its passengers. The reasoning behind this distinction is that the passengers have relinquished control over their safety to someone who they have paid to transport them.

The second point is that there is a special 6 month statutory notice that must be given to the CTA before a lawsuit can be filed against them. The notice is not terribly difficult to comply with, but the notice must be completely accurate, or the lawsuit is subejct to dismissal. Anyone considering suit against the CTA following an accident should be careful to hire legal counsel to esnure that the notice if properly completed and filed with the CTA.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Full post as published by Cook County Personal Injury Lawyer on October 07, 2007 (boomark / email).