Bus Passenger Injury Lawyer in California

Passenger and boarding cases our team has resolved:

• $5.3 million (2026, Fresno): a passenger tilted into a window on a curve when a safety lock the driver had not checked failed, causing a serious neck injury.
• $2.3 million (2025, Los Angeles): a public transit bus pulled away while a passenger was halfway aboard; the passenger fell onto the concrete, causing back, hip and leg pain.
• $2.3 million (2024, Los Banos): a bus's raised ramp fell and struck a bystander on the head, causing a traumatic brain injury.

See more on our settlements and verdicts page. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.

Many passenger injuries happen without any collision: a rider standing in the aisle is thrown forward when the bus brakes hard, or falls when it lurches away from a stop. California law asks more of a bus operator than of an ordinary driver. The carrier owes riders the utmost care (Civ. Code § 2100) and must keep to a reasonable speed (§ 2104), and a driver who knows passengers are standing has to drive with that in mind.

A hard stop is not automatically negligence. If the operator braked to avoid a crash someone else caused, the other driver may be the one responsible. What decides these cases is the detail: how fast the bus was going, how closely it followed, whether the operator was distracted, and what the bus's own cameras and records show. Write down the route, the bus number, the time and the direction of travel while you still remember them.

The moments at the door are some of the riskiest. A carrier must give passengers "a reasonable degree of attention" (Civ. Code § 2103), which can include checking that riders are fully on or off before the doors close and the bus pulls away. Our $2.3 million Los Angeles result came from a bus that left while the passenger was still stepping aboard.

Other boarding injuries come from doors closing on a rider, a bus stopping too far from the curb, a step or handrail in poor repair, or an operator who pulls out before an older or disabled passenger has reached a seat or a handhold.

Federal rules for public and private bus operators require staff to use the vehicle's securement system for wheelchairs and, where necessary or on request, to help riders with securement, ramps and lifts, leaving their seats to do it if needed (49 CFR § 37.165(c), (f)). An operator may recommend that a rider transfer to a regular seat but may not require it (§ 37.165(e)).

When a chair tips because it was never strapped down, or a lift or ramp fails, both the operator's conduct and the equipment are at issue: a carrier must keep its buses safe and fit for their use (Civ. Code § 2101). Ramps can injure people outside the bus too: our $2.3 million Los Banos result came from a raised ramp that fell on a bystander.

A carrier must not overcrowd or overload its vehicle (Civ. Code § 2102), and the duty to keep the bus safe and fit covers seats, rails, latches, floors and windows (§ 2101). Our $5.3 million Fresno result followed a curve where a safety lock the driver had not checked gave way and a passenger tilted into a window.

Spills, debris and broken fixtures can also cause falls on board. If another rider attacked you, our public transportation accident page explains when the agency can answer for it.

Public buses. A city, county or transit agency can be liable for injuries caused by its employees acting within the scope of their jobs (Gov. Code § 815.2(a)). Before you can sue, you must present a written claim, usually within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). Public agencies cannot be ordered to pay punitive damages (Gov. Code § 818). Our government claims guide walks through each step.

Charter, tour and private buses. No government claim is needed. In most cases the deadline to sue is two years from the injury (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1).

Others who may share fault include a driver who cut off the bus, a company that maintained it, and the maker of a defective part.