Florida moves enormous numbers of people by bus: charter coaches, intercity buses, airport and hotel shuttles, tour vans, transit buses and school buses. Bus passengers are often unbelted or standing. A sudden stop throws a standing passenger into a pole or the floor. A bus that pulls away while a passenger is still boarding or stepping down causes falls and crushed limbs. Outside the bus, the driver's blind spots and long wheelbase put pedestrians in crosswalks and cyclists at risk in right turns.
Bus cases often involve many injured people sharing one pool of insurance, and the type of operator shapes everything.
1. Identify the operator and the type of service
Photograph the bus, its number, the operator's name and USDOT number, and the license plate. Keep your ticket, boarding pass, receipt, hotel or tour confirmation, or transit fare card; these prove you were a passenger and identify who sold the trip. A charter coach may be booked by a tour company and operated by a separate carrier. A hotel shuttle may be run by a contractor. A transit bus may belong to a county, a city or a regional authority, and a school bus may belong to a school board or a private contractor.
2. Ask for the video right away
Transit buses and many charter and school buses carry several cameras, inside and out. Transit systems also record the bus's location and speed through automatic vehicle location systems, and door and brake events may be logged. Footage can be overwritten within days or weeks. We send a preservation letter to private operators and, for public systems, both a preservation demand and a public records request. Florida law provides that "all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection" and copying (§ 119.01(1), Fla. Stat.).
“all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection”
§ 119.01(1)
3. Check the driver's qualifications and hours
A commercial driver needs a passenger endorsement to drive a bus and a separate endorsement to drive a school bus, and both require a skills test (49 C.F.R. § 383.93). Under federal rules, a vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce if it is designed or used to transport "more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation," or "more than 15 passengers, including the driver," without compensation (49 C.F.R. § 390.5). Hours-of-service limits (§ 395.3), post-accident drug and alcohol testing (§ 382.303) and the carrier's maintenance duties apply to covered carriers. For buses, maintenance rules specifically require that pushout windows, emergency doors and emergency door marking lights be inspected at least every 90 days (§ 396.3(a)).
“more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation,”
§ 383.93
4. Document the passengers and the seating
In a multi-passenger crash, the defense will look at where each person sat and whether seat belts were available or used. Write down where you were seated or standing, who was next to you, and whether your seat had a belt. Get contact information for other passengers; their accounts of the driver's speed, phone use or conduct before the crash are often the strongest evidence.
5. Send written notice if the bus is public
When the bus is operated by a government entity, a lawsuit may not be filed until the claim has been presented in writing. Section 768.28(6)(a) requires presentation "in writing to the appropriate agency," and, except for claims against a municipality, county or the Florida Space Authority, also to the Department of Financial Services, "within 3 years after such claim accrues." The notice must include the claimant's date and place of birth and Social Security number (§ 768.28(6)(c)). The agency has six months to act before its failure is treated as a denial (§ 768.28(6)(d)). A transit bus run directly by a county is a county claim. When the bus belongs to a school board or a regional transit authority, we confirm the entity's legal status at the outset and, when there is any doubt, serve notice on both the agency and the Department of Financial Services.
“in writing to the appropriate agency,”
§ 768.28(6)(c)
Who may be responsible
The bus driver and the operating carrier are the first parties we consider. A tour company or booking platform that sold the trip may share responsibility, depending on its role in selecting the carrier and the contracts involved. A maintenance vendor, a tire shop, or a manufacturer may be responsible for a mechanical failure. Another driver who caused the crash is responsible for that negligence. When the operator is a government entity, a public employee driver may not be "held personally liable in tort or named as a party defendant" unless the employee acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety or property (§ 768.28(9)(a)); the claim runs against the entity.
“held personally liable in tort or named as a party defendant”
§ 768.28(9)(a)
The Florida rules that matter
Insurance minimums for private interstate carriers. For-hire passenger carriers in interstate or foreign commerce must carry at least $5,000,000 in public liability coverage for a vehicle seating 16 or more passengers, including the driver, and $1,500,000 for a vehicle seating 15 or fewer (49 C.F.R. § 387.33T). Those minimums do not apply to a vehicle "transporting only school children and teachers to or from school," to small taxicabs, to certain commuter vans, or to some school-contracted extracurricular trips (§ 387.27(b)).
Limits on recovery from the government. Recovery against a government entity that operates a bus is limited to $200,000 for any one person and $300,000 for all claims arising from the same incident (§ 768.28(5)(a)). In a crash with many injured passengers, the per-incident limit is shared.
Deadlines. Against a government entity, the lawsuit must be filed within four years after the claim accrues (§ 768.28(14)), after the written notice. Wrongful death claims must be presented to the Department of Financial Services within two years (§ 768.28(6)(a)). Against a private operator, most negligence claims carry a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(a)), and wrongful death claims also carry a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(e)).
School buses. Drivers approaching a stopped school bus displaying its stop signal must stop, and "shall not pass the school bus until the signal has been withdrawn" (§ 316.172(1)(a)). Federal motor carrier safety rules exclude "All school bus operations" as federally defined from most of their requirements (49 C.F.R. § 390.3T(f)(1)), so school bus cases rely more heavily on Florida law and school board policies.
Fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault (§ 768.81(2)) and barred if you are found more than 50 percent at fault (§ 768.81(6)).
“transporting only school children and teachers to or from school,”
§ 387.33
“shall not pass the school bus until the signal has been withdrawn”
§ 316.172(1)(a)
Your checklist
- Keep your ticket, receipt, fare card or booking confirmation.
- Photograph the bus number, operator name and USDOT number.
- Write down where you were seated or standing and whether a seat belt was available.
- Get names and phone numbers of other passengers and witnesses.
- Get medical care right away and keep every record.
- Call us quickly so video is preserved and any required government notice is served on time.
How we handle these cases
We identify who operated the bus, who sold the trip and who maintained the vehicle, then secure the video and electronic records before they are overwritten. For public buses, we prepare and serve the written notice required by § 768.28. In crashes with many passengers, we move early to identify every policy and protect our clients' share of limited coverage. We handle bus and commercial vehicle crash cases throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Meetings by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.