Attorney Questions Cause of Fatal Bus Accident

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) November 20, 2009 -- A tour bus rolled over at approximately 3:30 p.m. on November 18, 2009 on Interstate 90 near Austin, Minnesota. Local media report that at least 22 persons have been injured and two passengers were killed. The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm in Minneapolis has represented several victims of other bus crashes, in and outside of Minnesota.

Joel Smith, a partner in the Kosieradzki • Smith firm, asks why this fatal Austin crash occurred and did someone fail to do their job right. Smith points to reports that the bus company had prior safety violations and the 20-year-old bus involved in the crash itself had been pulled from service a year ago because of safety issues.

Smith notes that other bus crash litigation that his firm has handled: "Those investigations tell us that you have to dig deep and long to make sure the true extent of the negligent bus companies and drivers is revealed. You have to be persistent in your quest to reveal the truth of what really happened and why it happened."

In the Austin crash, Smith points out, we have already learned not only that the company has a history of safety issues, but the driver of the bus himself has a history that may bear on his qualifications to be driving the bus. The driver's employer states that the driver had an aneurysm that might have cause him to lose consciousness. "That raises questions that need to be answered about his medical fitness to be put in charge of the safety of his passengers, especially knowing that the bus will be traveling 70 mph on an interstate highway," Smith says.

Furthermore, we have learned that the driver had a serious driving violation previously. In 2002, according to court records, the driver crossed the center line and pleaded guilty to drunken driving.

Smith's partner, Mark Kosieradzki, says that his firm's prior investigations have shown safety infractions that are hard to believe actually go on with some of these companies in the tour bus industry. One of the bus crash cases recently handled by the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm involved a charter bus that crashed in the mountains of Colorado. After nearly twenty-three hours on-duty, the bus driver lost control and drove the bus southbound off the right side of a mountain highway, spun 180 degrees, and rolled the bus 1-1/4 times.

Kosieradzki • Smith's investigation revealed that the bus company had a long and significant history prior to this crash of disregard for the federal safety regulations that govern the operation of interstate commericial buses. Kosieradzki • Smith's investigation also revealed that the bus driver had a significant history of disregard for these federal safety regulations, including violations occurring on this particular trip.

"Unfortunately," Kosieradzki observes, "the things that seem incredible actually are far too commonplace in an industry that holds that lives and safety of its passengers in the balance. We must hold the wrongdoers accountable."

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