Has your child been injured in a school bus accident?

A school bus accident recently occurred in Raymond, New Hampshire. Thankfully, none of the children suffered a head injury and there were only minor injuries occurred. However, in the United States nearly 17,000 children annually are taken to hospital emergency rooms with injuries as a result of school bus accidents.

Common carriers and greater standard of care

Certain private and public conveyances (buses, taxis, trains, trucks, airplanes) are considered common carriers. They are in the business of transporting the public and goods for a fee. When transporting people they owe a greater duty of care than do other vehicle drivers because the multiple passengers are completely dependent upon them for their safety.

When a child is injured in a school bus accident, liability must be established in order to have a viable personal injury claim.

If a child is injured by a motorist who has ignored the speed limit or who illegally passed a stopped school bus, liability is obvious.

If the bus is defective or has been poorly maintained, evidence can be provided to support a claim.

However, when the accident is the fault of the bus driver or circumstances on school grounds, determining liability can be difficult.

Most common causes of school bus injuries due to accidents

• Inattentiveness by the school bus driver when children are crossing in front of the bus


• Speeding by the school bus driver


• Drivers illegally passing stopped school buses


• Improperly maintained and/or defective school buses


• Lack of seat belts in older school buses

New Hampshire Statute 590 describes the circumstances under which school bus driver can be found liable for an injury or fatality to a student.

If the public school bus driver has observed a higher than normal degree of care for the students' safety, he is not liable for injuries that occur.

However, should he fail to exercise this care, he can be found liable. Instances of bus driver liability include injuries occurring when children were boarding or exiting the bus, when the bus driver was speeding, and when he failed to maintain order on the bus.

School districts may be held liable for a student injury or death before and during the boarding of a school bus on school grounds if:

• the accident was foreseeable


• no preventive steps had been taken to correct the potential danger


• poor supervision of the process existed

A New Hampshire school district was found liable when a car struck several students in the parking lot. Extremely chaotic traffic conditions existed and thus the accident was reasonably foreseeable.