CTA bus accident on Lake Shore Drive injures 37

On Saturday, October 9, 2010, a CTA bus carrying at least 37 passengers ran off Lake Shore Drive near 2800 South Lake Shore Drive.  Early reports in the news indicate that there was a mechanical failure and the bus driver could no longer steer the bus so that it went off the road.

The CTA is a common carrier,which means that it has a legal obligation to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.  This includes regular inspections and adequate maintenance of the bus.  Truly sudden catastrophic failures of a piece of machinery like a CTA bus don't just happen -- there are warning signs that were either ignored or not recognized for what they are.

Lawsuits will certinaly be filed after this accident, and there are good reasons for hiring an experienced CTA bus accident lawyer after an accident such as this:

• Witnesses need to be located and interviewed as quickly as possible, before the CTA investigators have them committed to as favorable a story as possible to the CTA;
• The bus itself should be subjected to a protective order which keeps the CTA from disassembling it before everyone has a chance to inspect the remains of the bus.  The allows an indepedent analysis of the root causes of the failure of the bus; and
• Additional protective orders should be obtained requiring the CTA to preserve the videotapes from the bus and the bus maintenance records.

Taking these steps in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic accident such as this are an important reason to hire a lawyer after a bus accident such as the one which happened on October 9.