Harlingen CISD reports bus accident, no students on board
by Benjamin Treviño | May 21st, 2024 | Bus Accidents
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen School District has issued a new release stating one of its school buses was involved in a May 16 traffic accident.
According to the district’s transportation department, the school bus was on its way to pick up students when was hit by a red pickup truck at approximately 7:45 a.m. at the intersection of F Street and Tyler Avenue.
The school district stated that the driver of the truck disregarded a red light, causing the accident. The Harlingen Police Department had not independently verified the accident as of this writing.
Meantime, a district employee emphasized that there were no students on the bus at the time of the accident and that the bus driver was not injured.
“He [school bus driver] was on the second run, so he was on the way to pick up some other students,” said Luciano Rubio with the Harlingen CISD Transportation Department.
Harlingen CISD did not provide identification on either of the two drivers involved in the crash.
Personal injury lawsuits involving school buses
Texas school districts have sovereign immunity protecting them from most personal injury lawsuits. However, school bus accidents are not covered by this immunity.
As noted in the above news story, school districts are not always at fault when a bus accident occurs. Therefore it is important to sue the correct party or parties. Personal injury cases will proceed differently, depending on who caused the crash.
Suing the other driver
If your child was injured in a crash that was caused by a motorist other than the bus driver, then, you would sue that motorist. If the school bus driver were to be injured in such a case, he or she could also sue the other driver.
Suing the other driver’s employer
If the school bus was hit by a commercial vehicle, victims can generally sue that driver’s employer. This is common in cases where the accident is caused by a delivery truck, a van, or a commercial passenger vehicle.
Suing the bus driver or school district
If the bus driver caused the accident by negligence victims can sue him or her individually, but they likely won’t have the money to pay multiple or perhaps even one claim. Since the school district hired the bus driver, the school district might also be held responsible for the driver’s mistakes or negligence.
Contact J. Gonzalez
Because of the many complexities of school bus accidents, it’s important to have a lawyer who has experience handling difficult cases. The personal injury attorneys at the J. Gonzalez Law Firm are just the kind of team you want fighting for you.
They’re ready to listen to the circumstances of your case and it won’t cost you anything unless we recover a settlement on your behalf. Call now for a free consultation at 1-800-CAR-CRASH.
