Within six months: present the claim
A written claim to the public entity, with the information the Government Code requires. Agencies provide a form; using it avoids a fight over whether the claim was sufficient.
Personal injury
Long Beach Bus Accident Lawyer
Most buses on Long Beach streets belong to a government agency, which means a claim against them runs on a six-month clock that most people have never heard of. The consultation is free.
Patrick S. AguirrePersonal injury attorney · Long Beach & Downey offices, serving all of California4.7 out of 5 from 40+ Google reviews. 25+ years of experience Patrick handles your case personally
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The first question
Who ran the bus decides the rules
Long Beach Transit, LA Metro, and Long Beach Unified school buses are public entities, and paratransit is often run by private contractors under public contract, which changes the deadline. A claim against a public entity must be presented in writing within six months of the injury under Government Code 911.2 before any lawsuit can be filed. Miss it and the claim is generally lost, whatever the driver did.
Private buses are different defendants: charter and tour operators, intercity carriers such as Greyhound and FlixBus, hotel and casino shuttles, and contractors running private school routes. Those claims carry the ordinary two-year statute under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1, and federal rules require interstate passenger carriers with seating for sixteen or more to carry at least $5 million in liability coverage, so coverage is rarely the problem.
The standard
What a bus company owes the people on board
Civil Code 2100 requires a carrier of passengers to use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage. That is a higher duty than the ordinary care two drivers owe each other, and it covers the ways bus passengers actually get hurt: a hard stop that throws a standing rider, pulling away while someone is still boarding, doors closing on an arm, a wheelchair not secured, or a stop that leaves a passenger in the roadway.
For people outside the bus, a pedestrian in a crosswalk, a cyclist in the bike lane, a driver in the next lane, the standard is ordinary negligence. The evidence is unusually good either way, because a bus records itself.
The evidence
What a bus keeps, and how fast it disappears
- Onboard video from several cameras, usually retained for days or weeks unless someone asks
- Event-recorder data: speed, braking, and door status second by second
- GPS and schedule data showing whether the driver was behind and pushing
- The driver’s qualification, training, and hours records
- Maintenance and inspection records for the coach
- The agency’s own incident report and the names of passengers who gave contact details
A preservation letter to the agency or carrier in the first days is what keeps the video. The office sends it before the six-month claim, not with it.
What is at stake
What a bus claim covers
Medical care already received and care the injury will still need, lost income, pain and suffering, and, when a passenger or pedestrian does not survive, wrongful-death damages for the family. Passengers rarely share any fault. Pedestrians and drivers can, and California’s pure comparative fault rule reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share without eliminating it.
Deadlines
Six months, then the clock keeps running
The agency answers, or does not
The entity has 45 days to accept or reject the claim. If it rejects it in writing, a lawsuit must be filed within six months of the rejection notice. If it never answers, a different deadline applies.
Private carriers: two years
Claims against a private bus company follow the ordinary two-year statute, but the video does not wait two years. Treat the evidence deadline as days.
The six-month rule applies to children too. A minor can usually obtain leave to present a late claim, but that application has its own one-year limit, so do not assume a child’s claim can wait.
The first days
What to do this week
Get examined
Falls on a bus produce injuries that show up the next day. See a doctor and follow the plan.
Write down the bus
Route, bus number, direction, time, stop, and the driver’s name or badge if you have it. The agency identifies the video from those details.
Ask for the incident report
The driver or agency completes one. Ask for a copy, and for the names of other passengers who saw what happened.
Keep the claims unit at arm’s length
Public agencies use claims adjusters like any insurer. Do not give a recorded statement or sign releases before you have advice.
The office
How the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre handles bus cases
When the bus is public, the office treats the matter as a government-claim case from the first day: the preservation demand goes out immediately, the claim is presented on the agency’s form well inside six months, and the video and telematics are requested through the agency and, where available, the Public Records Act. If the claim is rejected, the lawsuit is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court within the six months that follow.
The office has represented injured people in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. The firm now has offices in Long Beach and Downey, and speaks Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
I was standing and the bus braked hard. I fell and got hurt. Is that a case?
It can be. A carrier owes passengers the utmost care, and a sudden, unusually violent stop can breach it. The agency will call it normal operation. The onboard video and the event-recorder data decide the argument, which is why preserving them is the first step.
A city bus hit my car. Is that different from a normal accident?
Yes. The agency answers for its driver, but only if a written government claim is presented within six months. The rest of the case, fault, injuries, and damages, works like any collision, with far better evidence than usual.
Do I have to use the transit agency’s claim form?
The law requires a written claim containing specific information, not a particular form, but the agency’s form asks for exactly that information and is the safest way to present it. A defective claim gives the entity an argument that the claim was never properly made.
I missed the six-month deadline. Is it over?
Not necessarily. Within one year of the injury you can apply for leave to present a late claim, and the entity or a court can grant it for specified reasons such as minority, incapacity, or excusable mistake. The window is narrow, so call now.
Selected case results
Personal injury results
A selection from 55 documented results
$2,850,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$320,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$480,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$520,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$360,000
Motor-vehicle collision
Los Angeles Superior Court
Client experiences
What clients say
★★★★★
Patrick and his staff were very helpful with taking care of all the bills and legalities, so we can focus on healing.
★★★★★
Got my money and my vehicle fixed. Don’t hesitate to give them a call.
★★★★★
Patrick helped me with a dog bite case. He was able to get me more than I expected and was easy to work with. … I would recommend his services.
★★★★★
Patrick is very reliable, trustworthy, and will definitely be able to help you out. Cost is very reasonable.
Meet your attorney
Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.”
Robert F. Kennedy
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