Quick Tips After A CTA Injury 

Every day, millions of Americans use “common carriers” as their method of transportation. Common carriers are defined as modes of transportation that carry passengers and goods in exchange for money. In other words, you pay and you ride. However, sometimes the ride doesn’t go as expected and there is a crash. This is when you need help from CTA bus accident attorneys in Chicago.

With its thousands of buses and trains, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) fits the definition of a common carrier, and each day millions of Chicago residents depend on it as their main mode of transportation.

Common carriers are held to rigid standards of safety by both federal and local regulations, but inevitably, accidents and injuries occur.

The most common causes of public transportation accidents are:

• Collisions with other vehicles or solid objects, like guard rails or bridge abutments, often due to driver negligence.
• Criminal action. It’s impossible for common carriers to provide 100 percent protection, but they must make every reasonable attempt to prevent criminal actions.
• Slipping and falling. Carriers cannot control the weather or prevent passengers from spilling drinks, but they can take steps to minimize the effects of these things.

As CTA bus accident attorneys in Chicago, here are some essentials for you to know and do if you’ve suffered an injury using the CTA.

• First and foremost, remember you only have one year to file your claim for damages, not two years.
• Collect as much evidence as possible, including cell phone photos, witness accounts, police reports and your own notes of the incident.
• Get immediate medical treatment for any injuries suffered.
• Do nothing to aggravate the injury. If you do, or fail to seek medical treatment, either of these could reduce your chances of collecting damages for your injury.
• If contacted by the CTA, don’t give them a recorded account of the incident. In our opinion, they’re not trying to help you. They’re trying to collect information to build their defense against your claim.

Frankly, it’s not easy to collect damages from the CTA, partly because they rarely settle injury claims out of court, even when they should. Consequently, many personal injury lawyers won’t take these cases.

As CTA bus accident attorneys in Chicago, at the Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo LLC, we’re not afraid to take your case to court, and, honestly, we wish more of our fellow lawyers would do the same.

Contact us today for your free consultation, and let us try to help you collect the damages to which you are entitled.