When the CTA Could Be Held Responsible

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Car Accidents

On September 11, 2014, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) accident injured seven people when a bus crashed into parked vehicles in the Oakland neighborhood. CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase told the Chicago Sun-Times that a southbound bus collided with two parked cars at approximately three o’clock in the morning in the Oakland neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Six passengers and the driver of the CTA bus “suffered minor injuries in the crash,” according to Chase and as reported by the Sun-Times.

This is not the first multi-injury crash involving a CTA bus to have occurred this year in Chicago. In April, according to a different article in the Chicago Sun-Times, nine people were hurt when a van crashed into a CTA bus after running a red light. The difference between the incidents, of course, is that the April accident was not the fault of the CTA driver. According to the Sun-Times is was not necessarily the fault of the van driver, either—“the driver of the van attempted to stop,” reports the Sun-Times, “but there may have been a mechanical issue with the van’s brakes.” In August, according to the Chicago Tribune, at least eight people were injured in a CTA bus crash that involved a U-Haul. In this incident, at least six people were taken to area hospitals in fair-to-serious condition.

In May, several lawsuits were filed against the CTA after a blue line derailed near O’Hare Airport and several people were injured. In the event that a public transportation employee is responsible for the accident, the public transportation office (CTA in Chicago) could be held responsible. This could be the case in the September CTA accident, in which it is likely that either the CTA driver or a bus malfunction was responsible for the accident. In the April and August incidents, passengers on the CTA bus would not likely be able to seek compensation for their injuries from the Chicago Transit Authority.

If you have been injured in a CTA accident in which you believe that the CTA could be held liable, the most important first step is to seek the counsel of a qualified attorney. Contact an Waukegan accident lawyer today.