There are several parties who could be held liable for a bus accident. Depending on the cause of the crash, whether the bus was public or private, and a variety of other factors, the following parties may be liable for the resulting damages: the bus company, the company that performs maintenance on the bus, a person driving another vehicle, a tour bus operator, a government entity, the bus driver, the school board, or the manufacturer of the bus or its parts.
When an employee’s negligence causes an injury while he or she is performing work-related duties within the scope of his or her employment, respondeat superior usually applies. Therefore, if the bus was privately owned, the bus driver was an employee, and the bus driver’s negligence was the proximate cause of the crash, it’s likely that the bus company can be held vicariously liable for the accident. However, the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply when the worker is an independent contractor.
