Bus accident in Los Angeles?Talk to a lawyer for free.

If the bus belonged to Metro, the City, LAUSD or another public agency, a written claim is usually due within six months. The agency then has 45 days to act, and if it sends a written rejection, a lawsuit usually has to follow within six months of the notice. Against a private bus company, you generally have two years to sue. Call us early so no deadline slips by.

On Metro's Claim for Damages form, which also comes in Spanish, mailed or delivered in person to Metro Legal Services, One Gateway Plaza, 99-PL-4, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Metro rejects claims sent by email and says it takes 2–3 weeks to review one. The form asks for the bus or train number, the line, where you got on and what happened, so the details you wrote down matter. We can prepare and file it for you.

DASH and Commuter Express are City of Los Angeles services, run by LADOT through a private operator. A claim against the City goes to the City Clerk: online, in English or Spanish, by mail, or in person at City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Room 395; emailed or faxed claims aren't accepted. Whether the operating company must also be named, and on what deadline, is a question for a lawyer.

Get your child checked by a doctor, even if the injuries seem minor, and keep any notes from the school. The CHP investigates school bus crashes. A claim against LAUSD is mailed to the Executive Officer of the Board of Education, 333 South Beaudry Avenue, 24th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017, usually within six months; the district doesn't accept hand-delivered claims. If six months have passed, call us anyway: when the injured person was a child for that whole time, the district generally must allow a late claim if you ask within a year of the injury.

It may be the bus driver and the agency or company they work for, another driver, or a company that maintained or built the bus. A public agency is responsible when its employee, such as a bus driver, injures someone while doing the job. Often more than one is responsible, and each may have its own insurance.

You can claim against the bus operator like any other driver who caused a crash. If it was a Metro, DASH, school or city bus, the public agency's claim rules come first, so call us early. Our Los Angeles pedestrian and bicycle accident pages cover the rest.

These are private companies, so there's no claim step before a lawsuit, and the usual two-year limit applies. Greyhound and FlixBus board at Los Angeles Union Station and at stops in Hollywood, Westwood, West LA and Downey. Charter, tour and party buses, and shared-ride airport shuttles, need a permit from the CPUC, which also sets the insurance they must carry.

Yes. Our office is in Woodland Hills, inside Los Angeles city limits, at 22440 Clarendon St, Suite 200, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, and our Palmdale office serves the Antelope Valley. Come in if you like, or we'll come to you. Call (800) 985-9565 any time, 24/7.

Nothing upfront. Your consultation is free, and no attorney's fees are owed unless we recover compensation for you. You may be responsible for case-related costs and expenses; we'll explain them before you sign.