Since August 18, there have been five reported Florida school bus accidents that have involved at least 70 school children and claimed the lives of one school bus driver and the driver of a pickup truck.
The 57-year-old school bus driver was killed in Jefferson County after her bus veered from County Road 257 and struck a tree. According to wctv.tv, none of the six children she was transporting were injured during the crash and what cause her to drive off the road is still unknown. Grief counselors have been dispatched to area schools to help grieving children, their families, and fellow bus drivers cope with her death.
As our experienced Fort Lauderdale school bus accident attorneys have reported on our website and in an earlier post on our South Florida Injury Lawyer blog, between 1991-2001, on average, 26 children died each year due to a school bus accident. Half of the victims were between the ages of 5-7.
In Florida, school bus accidents are most common at the start of the school year – a point further validated by number of accidents around the state just during the last month.
The attorneys at Freeman & Mallard have found that in many school bus accident cases, driver inattention, an inexperienced bus driver, faulty or poorly maintained equipment, or a dangerous bus stop location often play some contributing role in a crash. All are common factors in accidents where serious injury or death occur and point to potential issues of negligence and liability on the part of the school bus operator and those who manage and oversee the fleet and their drivers.
The personal injury attorneys and wrongful death lawyers at Freeman & Mallard represent victims of school bus accidents and families in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Pierce /Port St. Lucie. Call us today to schedule a no-obligation appointment to discuss your case at 1-800-529-2368.