A tragic California bus accident today, in which a bus was struck by a Fed-Ex big rig truck, has resulted in at least nine deaths and numerous injuries. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Northern California bus crash occurred when the FedEx truck, traveling southbound, crossed into the opposite direction of Interstate 5, when it crashed into the bus. The bus may have been carrying Los Angeles school students who were in Northern California to visit Humboldt State University, during spring break.
After this terrible bus accident, the bus caught on fire and ended up completely burnt out. It is not clear if the students who were injured escaped the bus before the fire, or if they suffered fire, burn and smoke inhalation injuries as well.
Whether the students on the bus were in fact from Los Angeles has not yet been confirmed. Initial reports suggest that they are high school seniors from a school in South Los Angeles. Our hearts go out to the injured students and the families of the injured and deceased.
Legally, with a California bus versus truck accident, such as this, liability must be established to determine who will be responsible for the millions of dollars in wrongful death and other serious injury damages. Reports at this time are suggesting that the Fed-Ex big rig truck may be responsible for causing the bus accident wrongful deaths and injuries. Importantly, both the bus company and Fed-Ex should carry significant commercial insurance policies to protect themselves in case of an accident such as this one. If the fault for the crash were on the bus company, it may not have enough coverage for all of the wrongful death claims that will be made. However, Fed-Ex will be able to pay wrongful death settlements and/or judgments in the millions of dollars, in addition to all of the injury claims that will be made.
The families of the victims of this Fed-Ex truck accident should immediately contact a California wrongful death lawyer or personal injury lawyer to make sure all of their rights are protected and make sure they are hiring an experienced lawyer who won’t be intimidated by going against big companies for massive amounts of damages.