Two MTA buses collided in East Harlem around 6:20 am on Oct. 31, 2019, at the corner of East 116th Street and Madison Avenue, the New York Post reported.
A BxM11 bus rear-ended a BxM10 bus that was stopped at a red light, an MTA spokeswoman said.
Another MTA spokesman said that the collision was low speed. The windshield glass on the BxM11 bus was cracked, and both bus’s bumpers were damaged. 10 people sustained injuries as a result of the crash and were taken to local hospitals for treatment. All were passengers on the BxM11 bus. Neither bus driver was hurt.
The cause of the collision is currently unknown, as the investigation into this accident is ongoing.
We hope the passengers make a full and speedy recovery after this harrowing experience. Unfortunately, crashes involving buses are part of a larger, appalling trend.
Nationally, collisions involving large vehicles have seen an increase. In the latest U.S. Department of Transportation’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report, it states that 4,889 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes in 2017. That is a 9 percent increase from 2016. Locally, in the five boroughs of New York City alone, 606 buses were involved in crashes in September 2019, according to an NYPD monthly motor vehicle collision report.
Although the aftermath of any motor vehicle crash is difficult to navigate, bus accidents are often extra complicated, since there are specific laws and regulations for bus operation in addition to the normal traffic laws (which also vary by state and locality). Bus companies like the MTA can even have a separate set of rules and regulations governing their buses. Furthermore, it is not always easy to set the blame for the accident on one person’s negligence; multiple parties could have contributed to the accident, including other vehicle drivers, the bus driver, the bus management company, and the bus manufacturer. To successfully bring a bus accident lawsuit, the attorney should consider all of these factors.
As a personal injury law firm, Block O’Toole & Murphy attorneys have years of experience representing bus injury victims and auto accident victims in general. We recovered some of the highest verdicts and settlements in New York, including a $110 million verdict in a lawsuit against the MTA and a $32 million verdict for an auto accident victim.
We have won cases against various bus companies. A notable case result is a $6,000,000 award for a bus passenger injured in a collision (quite similar to the unfortunate accident above). Our client sustained shoulder, knee, and spinal injuries that required multiple surgeries and consistent physical therapy when the New York City Transit Authority bus he was riding collided with a flatbed truck while making a right turn. In another case, our attorneys recovered a $3,000,000 settlement for a client who suffered multiple fractures after his vehicle crashed with an MTA bus at an intersection.
If you or someone you know has suffered as a result of a bus collision, call us at 212-736-5300 or fill out our contact form for a free, no-obligation legal consultation.