Short answer. If a CTtransit or CTfastrak bus hits you, or you’re hurt as a passenger, a claim may run against the State, a bus operating company, another driver, or more than one of them. Public transit claims can carry shorter notice windows and special procedures, so it pays to sort out who owned the bus and who employed the driver early.
Buses around Hartford
CTtransit runs local and express buses throughout the Hartford area, including routes along Farmington Avenue, Albany Avenue and Park Street. CTfastrak, launched in March 2015, is a bus rapid transit system with a 9.1-mile bus-only guideway between New Britain and Hartford, with stations at Sigourney Street, Parkville and Flatbush Avenue among others. Buses leave the guideway and run on regular streets for parts of many routes.
Bus crashes tend to fall into a few groups.
- Passengers hurt by sudden stops, sharp turns or falls while boarding.
- Cars and buses colliding at intersections or while a bus pulls away from a stop.
- Pedestrians struck near stations and bus stops.
- Cyclists caught when a bus pulls to the curb.
Who may be responsible
Bus drivers owe passengers a high level of care. If the driver was careless, the claim generally runs against whoever is legally responsible for that driver and the bus. For a State transit system, that can involve the State itself, a contracted operating company, or both, and the answer affects which deadlines and procedures apply.
Connecticut allows negligence claims against the State when a State employee was operating a State-owned and insured vehicle, under CGS 52-556. Claims against a private operating company follow the ordinary negligence rules and the two-year deadline in CGS 52-584. If another driver caused the bus to brake or swerve, that driver may share fault too.
When the road or a station is the problem
A broken curb at a bus stop or a defect on a State highway can raise a highway defect claim instead. Those claims require written notice within 90 days under CGS 13a-144 for State roads or CGS 13a-149 for town roads. See claims against towns and the State before those 90 days pass.
Evidence on a bus
Most transit buses carry interior and exterior cameras. Video can show whether a driver braked hard, whether a passenger was seated and how a car cut in front of the bus. Transit video may be kept only for a limited time unless someone asks for it to be preserved. A written request, or a letter from a lawyer, can help keep it from being overwritten.
Other useful evidence includes the route number, bus number and time, the names of other passengers, and the police report. Hartford Police usually respond to bus crashes on city streets. See getting a Hartford crash report.
Fault and passengers
A passenger seated on a bus is rarely at fault for a crash. Insurers sometimes argue that a standing passenger wasn’t holding a rail, which can reduce an award under Connecticut’s comparative fault rule. For a driver or pedestrian in a collision with a bus, fault is weighed the same way as any other crash.
Paying medical bills
Connecticut doesn’t require PIP coverage. A bus passenger usually relies on health insurance first. If you own a car, check whether your own MedPay applies to you as a passenger in another vehicle. See medical bills after a Connecticut crash.
Steps after a bus crash
- Tell the driver you’re hurt and ask that police be called.
- Write down the route, bus number, direction and time.
- Ask riders who saw it for a name and a number.
- Photograph where you fell or where the collision happened.
- Get medical care, and keep every bill and note.
- Ask in writing that bus video be preserved.
Reports, notices and the civil clocks after a CTfastrak or bus crash
CTfastrak opened on March 28, 2015, on a 9.1-mile guideway. A crash on that system, or with a CTtransit bus on a Hartford street, should still be reported to the police if someone is hurt. Ask for the report number, photograph the coach or station, and request the Hartford Police copy at 253 High Street, at (860) 757-4150, if that agency responded. The office is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Reports are often ready in 7 to 15 business days, and the copy fee is 50 cents a page, per the Hartford Police report page.
If a town or State road, station or vehicle may be involved, written notice can be due within 90 days under CGS 13a-149 or CGS 13a-144, and a State-vehicle path may also exist under CGS 52-556. The ordinary injury period is two years from the date the injury is sustained or discovered, and no more than three years from the act, under CGS 52-584. A death claim is generally two years measured from death, and no more than five years from the act, under CGS 52-555. The Office of Victim Services generally allows three years to apply, with a police report. Call 1-888-286-7347. Keep the official report, the bus or station number and every medical bill in one folder.
Questions to ask a lawyer
- Who owned the bus and who employed the driver, and does that change my deadlines?
- Is a 90-day notice needed because of a road or station defect?
- How can we get the bus camera video before it’s gone?
General information only, not legal advice.