Were you injured in a bus accident in Rochester, NY?
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we have represented injured New Yorkers since 1981 and offer a free consultation with a Rochester bus accident lawyer.
If you were riding an RTS bus that stopped short, were struck by a school bus in a crosswalk, or were hit by a charter coach on I-490, you may be dealing with severe injuries and a transit authority that is already protecting itself. Buttafuoco & Associates has handled serious injury cases in New York for more than four decades, and our attorneys take motor vehicle cases from the first phone call through jury verdict. Our Rochester, NY bus accident lawyer can review what happened and explain your options at no cost.
Bus Accident Lawyer Rochester, NY
A bus accident claim is a personal injury case brought against the party whose negligence caused a crash involving a transit bus, school bus, charter coach, shuttle, or paratransit van. The responsible party may be the driver, the company or public authority that employs the driver, another motorist, a maintenance contractor, or a parts manufacturer.
Rochester depends on its buses. RTS ridership data reported to the Federal Transit Administration shows Regional Transit Service carried more than 10.2 million riders in 2024, close to 34,000 trips every weekday across 277 revenue vehicles. Each trip puts a vehicle weighing many tons beside cars, cyclists, and people in crosswalks. A Rochester bus accident attorney has to understand the force of that collision and the special procedural rules that apply when the defendant is a government agency.
Types of Bus Accident Cases We Handle in Rochester
Bus crashes in Rochester, NY involve more vehicle types and more potential defendants than a typical two-car collision. Our Rochester bus accident attorneys handle the full range. Every case begins with three questions: who owned the bus, who was driving it, and who was responsible for keeping it safe.
- RTS and public transit bus accidents. Claims against Regional Transit Service and its parent authority follow different rules than claims against a private driver. A notice of claim must be served quickly, the authority may demand a sworn hearing before any lawsuit, and the filing deadline is shorter. We handle each of those steps.
- School bus accidents. Children hurt on a school bus, at a stop, or while crossing in front of one have claims against the district, the bus contractor, or a passing motorist. We represent families in claims involving minors, including the court approval those settlements require.
- Charter, tour, and intercity bus crashes. Coaches on I-90 and I-490 carry dozens of passengers at highway speed. When one rolls over or rear-ends slowed traffic, passengers may hold claims against the operator, the ticket seller, and the maintenance company.
- Car accidents. Occupants of a car struck by a bus face injuries out of all proportion to an ordinary crash. We obtain the bus’s camera footage and the driver’s history.
- Truck accidents. A crash between a bus and a tractor-trailer involves two commercial carriers and two sets of federal safety records. We request both.
- Pedestrians struck by buses. Right-turn collisions at intersections, riders hit at stops, and people struck in crosswalks are among the most severe bus cases we see. Many become wrongful death claims.
- Bicycle accidents. Buses pulling into and out of curbside stops cross bike lanes dozens of times per route. A cyclist caught in that movement has almost no protection.
- Motorcycle accidents. A bus merging without seeing a rider, or braking hard in traffic, can throw a motorcyclist from the bike. Those cases often turn on sightlines and mirror blind spots.
Why Choose Buttafuoco & Associates as my Bus Accident Lawyer in Rochester, NY?
Trial Experience in Motor Vehicle Cases
Mark T. Freeley has handled motor vehicle and serious injury cases for more than 20 years and oversees the firm’s court and trial calendar. He has conducted close to 1,000 depositions in accident cases, selected juries in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, and negotiated hundreds of six- and seven-figure settlements.
Founder Dan Buttafuoco has practiced since 1981. He has held board certification in civil trial law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1989, and has taught trial law as an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law. He belongs to the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and holds the third-highest recorded personal injury settlement in New York State history. Our personal injury lawyer in Rochester, NY, uses that record of success for every case we take on.
Results in Bus Accident Cases
Our bus accident results are part of the millions of dollars recovered for our clients since 1981. They include:
- $2,000,000 for the family of a 10-year-old killed in a bus crash that also injured the child’s mother
- $851,013 for a plaintiff pinned under a bus
- $125,000 in a bus collision where the parties disputed which vehicle had the green light
Every consultation with a Rochester bus accident lawyer at our firm is free, and we explain how the case will be handled before you commit to retaining our services.
What Is Important to Understand About a Bus Accident Case?
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Bus Accident Cases
New York’s no-fault coverage pays an injured passenger’s or driver’s initial medical bills and part of their lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. A lawsuit against the at-fault party is how you recover the rest. Compensation a Rochester, NY bus accident attorney will pursue can include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, and equipment
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
- Home care and modifications
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family members
Liability depends on negligence: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, and harm caused by the breach. Fault is rarely all on one side. Under CPLR 1411, a claimant’s own negligence reduces the award in proportion to their share. A 2026 amendment added a harder rule for motor vehicle injury lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026: a claimant whose fault is greater than the combined fault of the defendants recovers nothing. We treat comparative fault as the first fight in every bus case, because transit insurers raise it in nearly every answer.
What Are Important Aspects of a Bus Accident Case?
Three features separate a bus case from an ordinary crash claim. First, the defendant is often a public corporation. When a transit authority is responsible, a notice of claim must be served within 90 days, and a lawsuit against RGRTA faces a shorter filing deadline of one year and 90 days rather than the usual three. The same short clock applies when a municipality is responsible for a road defect or a city vehicle.
Second, evidence disappears. Onboard video, dispatch logs, driver hours, and maintenance records are kept for a limited period, and we send preservation demands at the outset.
Third, several parties often share fault, and each insurer points at the other. If you were injured as a passenger, you had no control over either vehicle and will usually have a claim against every negligent driver involved.
What Is the Bus Accident Case Timeline?
Against a private bus company, a personal injury suit must be filed within three years of the crash, and a wrongful death claim within two years of the death. Public authority deadlines are far shorter. A typical case moves through these stages:
- Investigation and preservation demands in the first weeks
- Notice of claim and any required sworn hearing when a public entity is involved
- Filing the lawsuit and exchanging written discovery
- Depositions of drivers, passengers, witnesses, and medical providers
- Mediation, settlement negotiation, or trial
Serious injury cases usually take longer for the case to settle because the full extent of the injury has to be known first.
What Should You Bring to Your Bus Accident Consultation?
Bring what you have of the following items to your consultation. The most useful materials to bring to a consultation include:
- The police or transit incident report, or the report number
- Photos of the scene, the bus, and your injuries
- Medical records and discharge paperwork
- Your bus ticket, fare card record, or transfer
- Names and numbers of other passengers or witnesses
Most Dangerous Locations for Bus Accidents in Rochester, NY
Bus collisions cluster where heavy RTS routes meet dense pedestrian and vehicle traffic. A 2024 charter bus rollover on I-490 west of the city sent dozens of passengers to area hospitals.
Dangerous streets:
- Lake Avenue. North-south RTS corridor with closely spaced stops and heavy foot traffic
- Lyell Avenue. A commercial strip with frequent mid-block crossings near bus stops
- Monroe Avenue. Buses, bikes, and pedestrians share a narrow roadway from downtown to Brighton
- East Main Street. The approach to the downtown transit center, where routes converge
- North Clinton Avenue. High ridership and frequent pedestrian crossings between stops
Dangerous highways:
- I-490. The main east-west route through the city, used by charter and intercity coaches
- I-390 and I-590. Suburban connectors with heavy merging traffic
- Route 104. A high-speed arterial on the north side with sudden slowdowns at interchanges
Reach Out to Buttafuoco & Associates to Schedule a Consultation
If a bus crash in Rochester left you or a family member injured, a bus accident attorney in Rochester, NY can review the facts, identify every responsible party, and explain the deadlines that apply to your claim. The case review is free and confidential. Contact us to schedule your consultation with Buttafuoco & Associates.