If you have been injured in a bus accident near Lake Buena Vista, Celebration, Golden Oak, or Bay Lake area, there's a good chance the accident involved a Disney bus. These buses are everywhere around Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Disney Springs, and they cause collisions and injuries all the time. With the help of a Disney bus accident lawyer at Spetsas Buist Accident Injury Lawyers, you can bring a personal injury claim and get compensation for things like medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, and other losses associated with your injuries.
At our Orlando injury law firm, you don't pay us anything unless we recover money for you. Our law firm does not charge any upfront costs or retainer fees, and we offer free legal consultations to accident victims. Call us anytime at (321) LAWSUIT, and we'll make sure you get to speak with a Disney bus accident attorney about your potential personal injury case.
Steps Involved in a Disney Bus Accident Injury Claim
Every personal injury case against Disney involves some of the same steps. Before filing a lawsuit, the case is in what we call the "pre-suit" phase of the injury claims process. During this time, the parties exchange information and work to resolve the case before incurring serious legal fees.
In the pre-suit phase, prior to litigation, our Disney bus accident lawyers work with the claims adjusters at Disney. Once a case enters litigation, Disney assigns a team of lawyers to defend the case and fight the claim. Ultimately, if a case doesn't settle pre-suit or during litigation, it will proceed to trial. However, only a tiny fraction of Disney bus accident cases go to trial; most resolve with a settlement.
Below are the steps in a Disney bus accident injury claim:
Step 1: Put Disney on Notice of the Bus Accident and Injury Claim
The first step in a Disney bus accident case is to send our letter of representation to the Walt Disney World claims department. This lets Disney know that you have an injury claim and that we represent you for that claim.
We will send them a Florida 627 letter asking them to provide us with any applicable insurance policies. Also, we typically send a letter of preservation or "spoliation letter," which essentially tells Disney to preserve any and all evidence relative to the injury claim. That way, if they lose or destroy evidence, we can use that against them later on if necessary.
Step 2: Perform an Investigation
Another early step in a Disney bus accident case is to perform a thorough investigation. One of the first things we want to determine is what parties could potentially be liable. The more liable parties, the more insurance coverage that could be available.
We will typically investigate the driver, Disney, any bus company involved, anyone responsible for maintenance, and all other potentially liable parties. Our Orlando bus accident lawyers may also use experts to gather data from the bus, like black box data, dash cam footage, GPS route data, and any other data that can help us strengthen your claim.
We may also choose to investigate the driver. We can hire experts and private investigators to dig into the bus driver's past and search for other driving issues, like traffic tickets, accidents, etc. During this investigation, we may find information that suggests that Disney was negligent for hiring the driver, which could substantiate a claim for negligent hiring or retention.
Our lawyers would also work to gather any videos and photos you may have of the incident or your injuries. We may also be able to uncover potential witnesses who would be willing to give a statement about what happened.
Ultimately, the more information we uncover, the more evidence we can use to strengthen our claim.
Step 3: Finish Medical Treatment and Gather Records
During the investigation and the early stages of the claim, you can continue with your medical treatment. It is important that we determine the full extent of your injuries before attempting to settle your case. That way, we can properly value your case and get you the compensation you're entitled to.
When you settle a case with Disney, they are going to ask you to sign a release of claims in return for the settlement money. Once you sign a release, you cannot come back and ask for more money. The settlement is final.
For example, if you were to settle your bus accident case with Disney, and then 6 months later find out that you needed surgery, you couldn't ask Disney for more money. Accordingly, we strongly advise people to finish their medical treatment before negotiating or accepting a settlement.
Once your medical treatment is finished or nearly finished, we will work to gather all medical records and bills. These records and bills are important to the settlement negotiations, and we can use them to prove your injuries and the medical costs associated with your injuries.
Step 4: Send a Demand Letter to Disney's Claims Department
Once we have all your medical records and bills and once you've reached maximum medical improvement, we can draft a demand letter and assemble a demand package to send to Disney's claims adjusters. The demand letter outlines our theories of liability and the damages you have suffered. Additionally, the demand letter includes a demand that Disney pay a specific amount of money to avoid a formal lawsuit.
After we send the demand letter, Disney's folks will typically have 30 days to respond to us. They will respond in one of 3 ways:
- Accept the demand and pay the amount we demanded;
- Reject the demand and send us a counteroffer; or
- Reject the demand outright.
In our experience, Disney always comes back with a counteroffer.
Step 5: Negotiate a Settlement or File a Lawsuit
If Disney sends us a counteroffer in response to our demand, we will begin negotiations and attempt to meet at a settlement number that is proper and just. They will outline why they think the case is worth less money, and we will outline why we think the case is worth more money. Ultimately, our goal in negotiations is to determine the maximum amount of money Disney is willing to pay to avoid a lawsuit and litigation.
If Disney is willing to pay a proper amount of money for the claim, we will agree to settle the case. Keep in mind, the decision about whether or not to settle the case is always yours. Our attorneys are here to simply guide you and give you the information you need to make a decision. You are in control.
Once the case settles, Disney will send a release for us to review and for you to sign. Once they receive the signed release, they will typically send the settlement check within 20 days.
However, if Disney is not willing to pay proper value on the case, we will likely be left with only one option: to file a lawsuit and litigate the case. Once litigation begins, the parties will exchange information in the discovery phase of the lawsuit.
Prior to going to trial, the case could settle at any time and will almost certainly go to mediation. In other words, just because a lawsuit is filed, that does not mean the case will go to trial. In fact, only a tiny fraction of cases actually go to trial.
Step 6: Engage in Mediation
Mediation is common practice in Florida. During mediation, a third-party neutral person will work with the parties to try and reach a resolution before the case goes to trial. The mediator, this third-party person, is someone who usually has many years of experience in personal injury litigation and can help the parties understand the pros and cons of their positions. Ultimately, the mediator's job is to try and help the parties to compromise and see the case from each other's point of view.
Sometimes, the mediator is faced with a stubborn defense that doesn't want to pay proper value. Other times, the mediator is faced with a plaintiff that is overvaluing their case. Often, it's a little bit of both, and both parties are biased toward their side, which is natural.
Either way, the mediator works to help the parties to see each other's side and to understand what could happen at trial if they don't reach a resolution. Mediators are able to help because of their experience and because they are neutral. They can look at the case from the point of view of a juror or a judge.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You With Your Disney Bus Accident Case
When you're dealing with insurance companies, including Disney's claims folks, they will have a skilled team of adjusters and defense attorneys who are paid to deny and minimize claims. With the threat of litigation and trial, they will place a higher value on the case because litigation is expensive. Thus, they have to make a reasonable decision about whether to settle the case for proper value or spend a significant amount of money on defense attorneys before paying money on the case. Accordingly, a Disney bus accident lawyer at our office can help you get proper and maximum value for your case.
Here's how a personal injury lawyer at our office can help you with your Disney bus accident case:
- Perform a thorough investigation;
- Gather available surveillance footage where the accident occurred;
- Determine all potentially liable parties;
- Determine all applicable insurance coverage;
- Gather black box data before it is overwritten, lost, or destroyed;
- Gather dash cam footage;
- Hire experts to inspect the bus for maintenance or mechanical issues;
- Perform a background check of the bus driver to uncover potential past issues;
- Gather medical records and bills to document injuries and medical expenses;
- Draft and send a demand letter and demand payment from Disney;
- Negotiate a settlement;
- File a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires;
- Take your case to trial; and
- Negotiate medical bills or medical liens.
These are just some of the ways an attorney can help you. Our purpose is to get you maximum value for your case and take as much stress off of you as possible so that you can focus on your recovery.
Contact a Disney Bus Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Our Orlando, Florida personal injury law firm handles cases throughout Orange County, Central Florida, and the state of Florida. We can help you understand your legal options and what filing a personal injury claim would involve. Call us anytime at (321) LAWSUIT to speak with a bus accident attorney at our firm, and we will be happy to talk with you about your bus accident.
Our law firm works on contingency, which means we don't get paid unless we get money for you. We don't charge any upfront retainer fees, and there are no upfront costs whatsoever. If we choose to take your case, we take all the risk.
We have litigated many cases against Disney, Universal Studios, and the other parks in Orlando. We know how to get maximum value for claims against them. We help people from all over the United States and the world that get injured at Disney or in a Disney bus accident. Don't hesitate to call us if you need us.