Auto vs bus accident leaves injured without case or claim.
On November 9th, 2010, my daughter borrowed my Xterra so that she and my son-in-law could take some firewood to his mother around the block. It was near dusk, half light, when she pulled out of our driveway onto the highway, right in front of a truck with no headlights on. They were broadsided, the truck ended up across the highway in the neighbor's yard,the Xterra in the southbound lane facing south, and both my daughter and son-in-law injured inside, struggling to release themselves from seatbelts and get my daughter's legs out from the tight squeeze between the crushed driver door and the center console. As they were trying to extricate themselves, the county transportation bus approached. There were people flagging and yelling for the bus to stop, and it slowed down, but as it approached our driveway it sped up and then rear-ended the Xterra, knocking it another 30ft down and off the highway and pinning a passerby underneath the front wheels of the bus.
I heard the first collision and ran to the highway (my home is 800ft off the highway). I could clearly see from my yard that my Xterra was hit and disabled. It took me over a minute to get to the scene, and from 50ft away, witnessed my children struggling in the Xterra when the bus hit it. Horrified, I ran to the Xterra, and I and another woman helped my son-in-law out of the passenger door and to the ground off the highway, and I went in after my daughter. I was freaked--she was hurt so badly, and I was afraid another vehicle might plow through us on the side of the road, so I somehow managed to get her in the house and on the couch. The other woman stayed with my son-in-law while we waited for EMT and ambulance. Daughter was airlifted out. Son-in-law by ambulance.
Daughter's injuries sustained in the truck broadsiding them was broken ribs on her left side and a punctured lung. My son in law just shook up. Injuries sustained from the bus rear-ending them: daughter sustained crushed ribs on her left side that separated from her sternum and are now jutting up from her chest, fractured shoulder, fractured collarbone, and concussion. Son-in-law sustained fractured vertebrae in his back and neck, and a concussion that has affected his sight.
One would think that my insurance company or the insurance company of the bus would cover these injuries and expenses, but the police report has a witness testimony from a man who said that he and his passenger removed them from the Xterra BEFORE the bus hit them, so they say we have no case. I amended the police report to include my witness testimony, but I can't find an attorney to take the case. I spoke to both of the witnesses that were purported to have taken them out of the vehicle before the accident, and they deny that is what happened. However, my insurance company says that they also talked to the man and that he told them that they HAD taken my daughter and son-in-law out of the Xterra BEFORE the bus hit.
We need legal help in the worst way, and being disabled, and now none of us able to work, cannot afford to hire council to handle this for us. What can we do? Where do we go? How do we get fair treatment and representation? No one is helping us. No one wants to...
Comment on smoothy's post
This is a DOUBLE accident. The first accident IS my daughter's fault. Being disabled in the middle of the lane and a couple of minutes later, the bus came through, slowed down, then sped up and hit them while they were struggling to get out. HOW is THAT their FAULT?
Comment on smoothy's post
I didn't say that the bus floored it. I said that it sped up after it slowed down. What I think the 78 year old driver did was slow down because people were flagging, looked to the left at the truck that was spun out in the neighbor's yard, thought she was clear, and accelerated. When she looked forward, she was already hitting the Xterra, no brakes until contact. A passerby was at the driver window and was drug under the front wheel of the bus by her head. It was ugly. Everyone was badly hurt. Yes, my daughter's fault for the truck hitting her--that was never my question if you re-read my original post. I need help with the bus accident after the truck. It was not helpful to hear something that was never in question in the first place. Sorry if you consider finding that unhelpful rude.
Comment on AK lawyer's post
I have spoken to 6 attorneys. They all said that without the police report amended, there is no case, no proof the kids were in the vehicle when the bus hit.
My daughter's doctors all said that the injuries on her right side are not consistent with a blow from the right. When they were hit by the bus, they had just managed to get their seatbelts off, and my son-in-law was trying to help my daughter get her legs out from between the crushed door and the center console. She got them out by sliding up in the seat, put her feet on the seat, and that's when the bus hit them at about 45-50 mph. When I went in the vehicle to get her out, she was jammed onto the headrest of the seat (which broke her pelvis). The blow to her shoulder from impacting the roof of the vehicle when the bus hit it from the rear is what broke her shoulder, collarbone, crushed 6 ribs front and back and disconnected them from her sternum, which are all jutting out under the skin of her chest.
Comment on AK lawyer's post
So I have professional witnesses to rebuke the claim that the bus didn't hit them.
