Yesterday there was a Washington DC bus accident in the District of Columbia involving a D.C. school bus and a sports utility vehicle. Fortunately, there were only 3 or 4 people on the school bus at the time of the impact. The car accident occurred in the Southeast (SE) quadrant of Washington, D.C. As a result of the crash, four people were sent to the hospital and at least two people had serious injuries. If you were injured in a car crash contact one of our trusted personal injury lawyers in Silver Spring today for a free consultation.

The school bus accident occurred at 28th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. SE when a Cadillac Escalade collided with the bus. The school bus driver was seriously injured in the crash as well. We certainly hope that those injured in this accident have a speedy recovery. If they intend to seek compensation for their injuries, they should act quickly.

At this time it is unclear to me whether the impact was due to the negligence of the SUV driver or the school bus driver, or both. If the accident was the due solely to the negligence of the SUV driver, there may be inadequate insurance coverage for all of those injured to be fairly compensated.

In that case, those injured may need to make timely uninsured motorist claims against their own car insurance policies. If the accident is due to the negligence of the school bus driver, then those making claims must put the D.C. Government on Notice pursuant to Section 12-309 of the D.C. Code within 180 days of the accident. If this is not done, or if it is not done properly or timely, claims against the bus driver and the D.C. Government will be barred forever by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

It is very important that those involved in accidents with government vehicles seek legal representation promptly so that notice requirements (which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction) can be complied with. The general statute of limitations for bringing negligence claims in Washington, D.C., and Maryland is 3 years from the date of the injury. However, notice requirements for claims against governmental entities generally allow for only 6 months to comply.

Experienced Silver Spring Auto Accident Attorneys serving Silver Spring, Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas, Goldberg Finnegan’s website offers information on car accidents and resources on a variety of other practice areas.