What the claim involves
Bus operators owe passengers the utmost care, and public transit claims run on a short clock.
A carrier of persons for reward must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, provide everything necessary for that purpose, and exercise a reasonable degree of skill (Civil Code § 2100), and it must provide vehicles safe and fit for their purpose (§ 2101). Anyone who offers to the public to carry persons is a common carrier (§ 2168). California juries are told that a common carrier must use the highest care and the vigilance of a very cautious person, though it does not guarantee its passengers’ safety (CACI No. 902). When the bus belongs to a public agency, the agency answers for its employee’s negligence on the job (Government Code § 815.2), but a written government claim generally must be presented within six months of the injury (§ 911.2), and if the agency rejects it in writing, the lawsuit is generally due within six months of that notice (§ 945.6).
Kyle Scott Law represents passengers, other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians hurt in bus and transit crashes from its Tustin office, across Orange County and Southern California. The firm identifies who owned the bus and who employed the driver, since a public agency may contract part of its service to a private operator; asks early, in writing, for the onboard and exterior video to be preserved; presents the government claim on time; and files suit in the Orange County Superior Court when the claim is rejected. Your first conversation is with attorney Kyle J. Scott, admitted to the State Bar of California in 1991.
Public transit buses
A transit agency is a public entity: the Government Claims Act reaches every county, city, district, public authority, and public agency (Government Code § 811.2). A crash involving a contracted bus may involve both the agency and a private operator, under different deadlines. Your own uninsured motorist coverage generally will not fill a gap, because the statute’s definition of an uninsured motor vehicle excludes a vehicle owned by a state, a political subdivision, or one of their agencies (Insurance Code § 11580.2(b)).
School buses
School districts are public entities, so a claim for a child hurt in a school bus crash is generally due within six months too, and the rule that pauses ordinary deadlines for minors does not apply where a government claim is required (Code of Civil Procedure § 352(b)). If the six months pass, the law allows an application to present a late claim within a reasonable time, not more than one year after the injury, and requires the district to grant it in listed situations, including when the child was a minor for the whole claim period (Government Code §§ 911.4, 911.6).
Shuttles, charter buses, and tour coaches
A private carrier is not a public entity, so no government claim is needed, and most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). Anyone who offers to the public to carry persons is a common carrier (Civil Code § 2168), and charter-party carriers operate under authority from the California Public Utilities Commission, which requires them to keep liability insurance on file. Whether a particular hotel, airport, or employer shuttle counts as a common carrier depends on the facts.
Passengers and people outside the bus
Passengers are owed the utmost care, and their claims often involve collisions, sudden stops, falls while the bus is moving, and injuries while boarding or leaving. People outside the bus, in other cars, on bikes, or on foot, are owed the ordinary care every driver owes, along with the Vehicle Code’s rules of the road. Under California’s comparative-fault rule, an injured person’s own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than barring it (CACI No. 405).
Cases the firm reviews
Common bus & transit accident matters.
Information that can matter
A strong claim starts with preserved evidence.
The useful records vary by case. The initial review identifies what exists, what may need to be requested, and what should be preserved before it is lost.
Legal guides
Answers to common bus & transit accidents questions.
Common questions
Questions about bus & transit accident claims.
How long do I have to file a claim after a public transit bus crash?
A transit agency is a public agency, so a written government claim is generally due within six months of the injury under Government Code § 911.2. If the agency rejects the claim in writing, a lawsuit is generally due within six months of that notice (§ 945.6). A late-claim application is possible in limited situations, generally within one year (§ 911.4). The two-year lawsuit deadline that applies to private defendants does not replace these rules.
I fell when the bus braked suddenly. Do I have a claim?
You may. Civil Code § 2100 requires a carrier to use the utmost care and diligence for its passengers’ safe carriage, but a carrier does not guarantee every passenger’s safety (CACI No. 902), so the question is whether the stop or the driving fell short of that standard. Onboard video, the driver’s account, and other passengers’ statements usually answer it.
What if the bus was run by a private contractor?
Then more than one party may be responsible. A transit agency may contract part of its service to a private operator, and the buses can look the same. A claim against the agency still requires a government claim within six months, while a claim against a private company generally follows the two-year lawsuit deadline (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). The firm identifies the owner and the employer early so neither deadline is missed.
Will my own car insurance pay if a public bus hit me?
Usually not as uninsured motorist coverage. Insurance Code § 11580.2(b) excludes vehicles owned by a state, a political subdivision, or one of their agencies from the definition of an uninsured motor vehicle, so the claim against the agency itself usually matters most. Depending on your policy, medical payments coverage, health insurance, or collision coverage may still help with immediate costs while that claim is pending.
My child was hurt on a school bus. What deadlines apply?
A school district is a public entity, so a written claim is generally due within six months. Being a minor does not stop that clock (Code of Civil Procedure § 352(b)), although the law allows an application to present a late claim, generally within one year, and requires it to be granted in some situations involving minors (Government Code §§ 911.4, 911.6). Write down the bus number, route, and time, and keep the child’s medical records.
How do I get the video from the bus?
Ask early, in writing, that the operator preserve all onboard and exterior video from that bus around the time of the crash, because recordings can be overwritten. A lawyer can send preservation letters to the agency and to any contracted operator, and request the footage during the claim or the lawsuit.
This page provides general information, not legal advice. A consultation is needed to evaluate the facts, deadlines, parties, and law that may apply to a specific matter.
Sources
Official sources.
The figures and rules of law on this page come from these official sources.
- California Civil Code § 2100 (duty of a carrier of persons)
- California Civil Code § 2101 (safe and fit vehicles)
- California Civil Code § 2168 (common carriers)
- California Government Code § 811.2 (public entity defined)
- California Government Code § 815.2 (liability for employees’ acts)
- California Government Code § 911.2 (six months to present a claim)
- California Government Code § 911.4 (application to present a late claim)
- California Government Code § 911.6 (when a late-claim application must be granted)
- California Government Code § 945.6 (deadline to sue after a claim is rejected)
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 (two years for injury lawsuits)
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 352 (minors; not for government claims)
- California Insurance Code § 11580.2 (uninsured motorist coverage; government vehicles excluded)
- California Public Utilities Commission — charter-party carriers
- Judicial Council of California, Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) Nos. 405 (comparative fault) and 902 (duty of a common carrier) (2026 edition)
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