Chesapeake, Virginia School Bus Accident Injures 3 Students | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

School buses transport our most cherished passengers: children.  A school-transportation-related crash is a crash that involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus body vehicle, or a non-school bus functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities.  One such crash happened recently in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA).  The double school bus crash occurred when one school bus rear-ended another on Eden Way, at the intersection with Greenbrier Parkway.  Both buses had students on board and three were transported for injuries.

There is no information yet why this accident occurred but it is very rare to have a double school bus accident.  Usually school bus accidents and injuries involve a distracted driver that does not see the bus coming to a stop.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration school buses don’t have seat belts in them because they have a built-in occupant protection system known as “compartmentalization,” which is a system of seat height, seat length and padding, among other requirements. Compartmentalization is like an egg carton protecting a child. 

The idea of children bouncing around like fragile eggs in a school bus doesn’t’ seem very reassuring.  The NHTSA however touts safety statistics that show the annual average of student fatalities during normal school travel times is 1% when riding a school bus compared to 58% when traveling by teen driver and 23% when traveling with an adult driver.

As Virginia (VA) personal injury lawyers any time a child is hurt during an accident we take it seriously which is why we have created a report specifically relating to child injuries.  As the parent or guardian, being prepared to handle this situation will help ensure you and your family receive proper compensation to help cover large medical bills, any permanent scarring or brain damage to your child, and pain and suffering.

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