Public Transit Personal Injury Claims | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

In this informative segment from Preszler Injury Lawyers, personal injury lawyer John Philp discusses the complexities surrounding injuries sustained on public transit, particularly buses. He explains the critical differences in accessing accident benefits depending on whether a collision occurs or if injuries result from sudden stops. Philp emphasizes the importance of documenting incidents by speaking with the bus driver and reporting the situation immediately to ensure proper support and coverage. He also touches on the distinctions between public transit and taxi insurance, as well as the implications for rideshare services like Uber. For further inquiries about personal injury law, viewers can connect with John and his team at Preszler Injury Lawyers or call 1-800-JUSTICE.

This segment is brought to you by Preszler Injury Lawyers, helping accident victims since 1959.

Good morning, everybody. We have some beautiful blue skies, but it is minus three degrees right now, with a high of nine later today. We could be seeing some showers a little later this morning as well.

Whether they are the result of speeding, braking suddenly, or driving away before passengers have taken their seats, falls on buses are the most common reason for getting hurt on public transit. But who is responsible, and what do you do if you get hurt? Here to answer those questions is personal injury lawyer John Philp from Preszler Injury Lawyers. Welcome back!

Thank you for having me again.

Let’s go through the scenario step by step. It makes a big difference, as you were explaining to me earlier, whether the bus just slams on the brakes and you fall, or if it actually hits something and you are injured. There is a significant difference. We get dozens of these types of cases a year at our office. Sometimes we can help people, and sometimes we can’t.

If there is a collision in these types of situations and you are injured because the public transportation vehicle has collided with someone, then you are entitled to what are called accident benefits. However, if there is no collision—if there is no actual impact, and say the bus just slams on the brakes, which happens all the time—and people get injured, you actually do not have access to these accident benefits. These benefits are really important because they cover medical rehabilitation, income replacement if you can’t work, physiotherapy, or if you need someone to help you around the house. If there is no collision, you no longer have access to these benefits, which come from whatever transit authority you happen to be traveling on.

Well, it all depends. If you are on a bus and you have your own motor vehicle insurance policy, that insurance would kick in. But if you don’t have your own insurance and you are on the bus, there actually has to be a collision in order for these benefits to kick in for you. Even if you have your own insurance, if there is no collision, you do not have access to these benefits.

So, let’s say there is a collision and you get injured. What do you do in that moment?

The most important thing is to talk to the driver first and foremost. Get the driver’s information, and make sure you record the route you are on, the time, and the location. If police are not being called to the scene, and for whatever reason the bus driver is being dismissive of the situation—typically, if there is a collision involved, they are not going to be dismissive—but this happens a lot. If they have suddenly applied their brakes to avoid a car that has cut them off, they may be dismissive of the fact that some of their passengers have fallen or injured themselves.

It is very important to advocate for yourself in the moment. Talk to the driver, insist that they report it, and insist that a supervisor come to the scene. You can also call the police. Absolutely! Because if you don’t do these things and you get off the bus—there are situations where some of my clients don’t feel the pain immediately. They get off the bus, and ten minutes later, all of a sudden, their back seizes up, and they haven’t done anything about it. We can’t really do much for them in those circumstances because they haven’t reported the incident. If you don’t report the incident to the driver immediately, you could have a big problem.

Does this apply to taxis?

Well, in these circumstances, it doesn’t. Taxis and public transit are very different beasts. Taxis have their own insurance; they are statutorily required to have, I think, two million dollars in insurance to ensure there is protection for people who are in their vehicles. It’s a little different.

You know, in the news recently, there have been these Uber cabs, and this has been a big concern for a lot of people. Specifically, if you are an Uber driver or an Uber passenger, what happens to your insurance coverage if you get into an accident? Right? Because Uber sometimes is just a regular cab that shows up, but UberX is just somebody who has decided they want to do that.

Exactly. If you haven’t disclosed to your own insurance company that you want to pick up a few dollars and you are going to pick up a fare, and you haven’t told your own insurance company that you are doing this, technically, you are now using your vehicle for commercial purposes, which may not be included in your policy. If you get into an accident, there is a risk you might not have coverage.

All right, John Philp, thank you so much. If you have any questions about personal injury law, you can visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/morningshow to reach John and his team at Preszler Injury Lawyers. Thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for having me.

We are going to take a short break. It is ten minutes before eight o’clock on Wednesday morning. You are watching The Morning Show here on Global. Thank you.