Bus Accident Lawyers Create Cardinal Bus Crash Hotline to Assist Victims and Their Families

HOUSTON, April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the deadly rollover accident on April 11, 2013, the bus crash lawyers at Fitts Zehl LLP have created a Cardinal Bus Crash Hotline to provide the passengers and their families with updates about the state's investigation, as well as the firm's own internal investigation of the crash. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130423/DA00394)

It was recently announced that a third passenger, Mrs. Alice Stanley, tragically passed away on Sunday as a result of the injuries she sustained in the bus accident. She was 82 years old.

While the investigation is still ongoing, driver negligence remains a likely contributing factor, especially considering that the bus operator, Loyd Rieve, was also involved in a prior fatality accident back in 1998.

Is Cardinal's Insurance Coverage Sufficient to Cover the Severe and Fatal Injuries?

According to Cardinal Coach Line's website, the company carries $5 million in coverage. This is the minimum amount required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), says Ryan Zehl, a bus accident lawyer at Fitts Zehl. "While this may at first sound like a large sum of money, in a bus accident of this magnitude, it is likely that the company's total liability will be much greater than their limited insurance coverage," says Zehl.

Driver's Driving Record May Subject Cardinal Coach to Punitive Damages

The fact that Cardinal Coach Line recklessly hired a driver who ran over and killed a pedestrian in 1998 could also expose Cardinal and the driver to punitive damages—monetary awards designed to punish a company for "gross negligence" as well as deter anyone else from similar behavior in the future.

Although difficult to recover, the bus accident lawyers at Fitts Zehl successfully recovered over $10 million in punitive damages against Greyhound, the largest bus company in the country, in January 2012.

"This was the largest accident verdict in Texas in 2011 and it remains the largest accident verdict ever awarded against Greyhound," according to Mr. Zehl.

The Cardinal Bus Crash Hotline: 1-800-993-4887

"We created the hotline to provide passengers and their families with updates on our internal investigation and answer any questions they may have about their rights and legal options," says Zehl.

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, and all calls will be routed to an experienced bus accident lawyer.

About the Bus Accident Lawyers at Fitts Zehl:

The Texas bus accident lawyers at Fitts Zehl have successfully represented hundreds of clients from across the country, who were seriously injured in bus and other commercial vehicle accidents.

In 2011, the firm recovered over $18,000,000—the largest verdict ever awarded against Greyhound—after a 3 week trial in Dallas, Texas on behalf of a passenger who injured her lower back when a Greyhound bus flipped over on icy roads.

SOURCE Fitts Zehl LLP