City Buses & Access-A-Ride Accidents

Hurt on a city bus, hit by one, or injured on an Access-A-Ride trip? You may have a claim — but the deadlines are much shorter than in an ordinary accident case, and they start running immediately.

The cases we handle

• Passengers injured when a bus crashes

• Pedestrians struck by a bus, at a bus stop or in a crosswalk

• Injuries while boarding or getting off a bus

• Hurt when the bus suddenly stopped, started, or jerked

• Access-A-Ride accidents, including during pickup and drop-off

• Wheelchair lift and securement failures

• Bus doors closing on passengers

Who is responsible?

New York City's buses and the Access-A-Ride program run under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), through public authority agencies including New York City Transit (NYCTA) and the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MABSTOA).

Which agency operated your bus matters, because the claim has to be brought against the right one. That is something we determine at the beginning of the case, not at the end.

The driver is responsible for operating the bus safely. If another vehicle caused the crash, that driver and the owner of that vehicle can be responsible as well, and you may have a claim against more than one party.

If you were hurt when the bus suddenly stopped, started, or jerked, the company or city agency that runs the bus and its driver may be responsible.

Access-A-Ride claims are treated as claims against a public agency. A notice of claim must be served within 90 days.

What do we have to prove?

That the bus was operated carelessly, or that a dangerous condition on the bus was allowed to remain, and that it caused your injury. That means showing what the driver or the agency did, or failed to do, and tying it directly to how you were hurt.

How we win your case

City buses carry cameras, inside and out, and the agencies keep records of every trip — the route, the bus, the driver, the time, and in most cases the operator's own report of the accident. Those records exist, but they are not handed over for the asking. We request them in writing, we demand them in the lawsuit when they are not produced, and we question the driver and the agency's witnesses under oath.

How violent the stop or start was is something we prove, not something you have to explain. The bus video, what other passengers saw, and your medical records showing how seriously you were hurt are what carry that point.

How long do I have?

Less time than you think. A notice of claim generally must be served within 90 days of the accident, and the lawsuit itself must be started within one year and 90 days. Miss the 90 days and a good case can be lost before it ever reaches a courtroom.

Why we have to move fast

Video is the reason. Bus camera footage does not last — it is recorded over, and once it is gone, it is gone. The bus goes back into service the same day. Witnesses at a bus stop scatter and are never identified. The sooner we are in the case, the more there is left to find.

Call us immediately. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you.

The Law Offices of Kaplan & Kaplan is a Brooklyn personal injury and civil rights law firm representing people injured throughout New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. To speak with a lawyer about your case, call us.