Lawyers Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman, lead attorneys for our bus accident litigation team, are urging victims of the Megabus crash in Litchfield, Illinois to contact a bus accident lawyer as soon as possible. Valuable evidence can be lost or damaged if an independent investigation is not started as soon as possible.
“Because a defective tire may have caused the Megabus to crash, there may be product liability claims,” said Fred Pritzker, attorney and traffic safety advocate. “Proving that a tire was defective or improperly maintained and that the blowout was the cause of the accident can be difficult. I have handled many cases like this one, and my experience is that manufacturers do not readily admit fault.”
Megabus Crash Causes Injuries and One Death
On July 2, 2012, a Megabus crashed into a highway overpass near Litchfield, Illinois, killing a student at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Dozens of other passengers were injured, and 5 were airlifted to hospitals. The bus was travelling from Chicago to Columbia, Missouri.
The bus was owned and operated by Megabus and made by VanHool in 2011. It had passed a full preventative maintenance check within the week before the crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into whether there were safety violations. Another federal agency, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been stepping up its enforcement of passenger bus regulations, closing down several unsafe companies. Megabus was not one of those companies, but this accident may force FMCSA to take a closer look at Megabus operations.
Our law firm handles personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against bus companies. We are a Minnesota law firm.
