Taking the Bus? You Are Taking Your Life In Your Hands

By Greg Kohn
Partner

For many people taking public transportation is part of their daily routine. They wake up, get ready and hop on New Jersey Transit. If you are planning to take a bus, or any other form of public transportation, you should know that you are not one hundred percent safe. Just like driving a car, being a passenger on a bus or a train involves serious risk. This is something that a number of individuals became all too familiar with in the summer of 2016.

On the morning of August 19 two N.J. Transit buses collided. Bus No. 59 was traveling west on Raymond Street in Newark when it collided with bus No. 13 that had been traveling north on Broad Street. Although experts will reconstruct the accident and nothing has been confirmed, there is evidence that one of the bus drivers ran a red light causing the crash.  In total, 18 people were injured in the accident.  One of the bus drivers, who had worked for the State for many years, was even killed. Witnesses and those involved describe the scene as chaotic.  First responders quickly came to the aid of those injured, many of which were in critical condition after the crash.

This is not the first dangerous incident involving N.J. Transit. In fact, in the last 2 years, over 100 crashes have been reported. These incidents have resulted in injuries and a number of deaths.

While it might be well known that those in private car accidents can be compensated for their injuries, you should know that you could also bring a lawsuit after being injured in an accident involving public transportation. These types of cases require special knowledge as suing a local or state government is a complicated process and involves strict time limitations. If you or a loved one were injured when traveling on N.J. Transit or any other form of public transportation, you should speak to an experienced personal injury attorney right away.

About the Author
Greg Kohn is a partner at Nagel Rice and specializes in complex civil litigation cases, including professional malpractice, personal injury, class actions, wrongful death, products liability, and commercial litigation.  He has extensive experience representing clients in both state and federal court. Greg has tried many jury trials to verdict and has recovered over $50 million in settlements and verdicts in all types of personal injury matters including automobile accidents, wrongful death cases, slip and falls, and other catastrophic injury cases. Greg also handles medical malpractice cases, involving misdiagnoses, wrongful birth, and delayed cancer diagnosis. If you have questions regarding this article, you can contact Greg here.