GOVERNMENT TORT LIABILITY

Collisions Involving Public Transportation

Bus, MUNI, light rail, taxicab, BART, and train, operators are all common carriers under the law. Because common carriers are entrusted with transporting passengers, members of the public, the law requires that common carriers be held to a higher standard of care then other drivers. Common carriers must exercise a very high degree of care toward their passengers and are liable for personal injuries caused by even their slight negligence. Injuries involving public transportation can occur when a bus, train, or cab causes or is involved in a collision while you are a passenger. When this happens, you may have a claim against the owner and operator of the mode of transportation as well as any other driver involved in the collision whose negligence caused or contributed to the collision. Sometimes, MUNI or other public transportation causes injury to its passengers by sudden, abrupt stopping or jerking, closing the doors on a passenger, colliding with another vehicle or object on the road, or letting a passenger off at a location which is dangerous and causes injury to the passenger. In these circumstances, you may have a claim against the owner and the operator.

If you have been injured on or by MUNI, BART, Caltrain, AC-TRANSIT, SamTrans, or other forms of public transportation, you have a very limited time to pursue legal action. We are experienced in cases against public transportation systems which is important because early investigation in these claims is crucial.

Injuries from Dangerous or Defective Roadways or Other Conditions

Sometimes, pedestrians and drivers of cars, motorcycles or bicycles are injured because the public road or highway they were traveling on was defective in its design or it was improperly maintained. When this happens, it may be a “dangerous condition of public property” either caused by a City, County, Town, the State of California, or employees or contractors hired by any of these entities.

Examples of a dangerous condition include:

A complicated, confusing intersection, with few or no stop signs, lights or other controls where a collision occurs;
A pothole, bump, trench or other uneven condition in the road or on a sidewalk;
A raised sidewalk caused by tree roots.
Construction hazards present without adequate warnings for bicyclists or pedestrians, such as uneven pavement, a grooved roadway or an open or partially concealed trench.

In California, the public entity which owns, possesses or controls the roadway is liable for the dangerous condition if it can be established that the property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred, and either: (a) [a] negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the public entity within the scope of his employment created the dangerous condition; or (b) [t]he public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition. If you have been injured due to a dangerous condition of public property, you have a limited time to pursue legal action. For more information on suing public entities, see Articles/Resources.

Contact Our Attorneys

All personal injury cases at RAHMAN GRAMLY are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means that unless we obtain a monetary recovery for your case you will not pay attorneys’ fees or costs. In most cases, we will pay case costs on your behalf until the conclusion of your case. All other matters are handled on an hourly basis, with a free initial consultation.