January 25, 2012--Reno, NV--a shuttle bus carrying tourists from Harrah's to Reno-Tahoe International Airport crashed Tuesday morning, injuring one passenger.  Nevada State Police say that a mechanical failure was the cause of the bus accident.

The accident occurred on Highway 50 near Tahoe, when the shuttle carrying 18 passengers and driven by 57-year-old Cynthia Hendrickson spun around in the road and crashed into a concrete median.  A broken drive shaft was determined to have caused the bus to spin out of control.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said that one passenger was taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries, but the remaining passengers were put on another bus to the airport.

My sincere wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured passenger, and my congratulations to the other passengers on escaping harm.

Accident Statistics

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than 1,000 people are injured annually and more than 50 die each year in inter-city and cross-country bus accidents.  Although the majority of these accidents are due to driver error, some are due to mechanical failures.  More people are injured or killed in accidents involving long-distance travelling buses than in short city hops, indicating that driver fatigue or inattention could also contribute to accidents.

What Happened in this Accident

While the authorities have ruled this accident the result of mechanical failure and not driver error, it remains to be seen who was responsible for the maintenance and safety checks on the bus.  A broken driveshaft is quite a serious mechanical malfunction, so if proper safety checks were not completed and proper maintenance was not done on this bus, leading to the mechanical failure, liability could be an issue for several people or groups.  On the other hand, if the driveshaft or bus itself was simply poorly made, the assessment of liability could change.  It would take a professional personal injury attorney with experience and know-how to examine the facts of the case and make a liability determination.

Liability Issues

Liability in this case is going to depend on who was responsible for the condition of the bus which led to the crash.  Since the driveshaft broke, it is likely that one of two things happened:  either the driveshaft was simply made or installed incorrectly, in which case the bus manufacturer could have liability; or the driver or others at the company responsible for routine maintenance and safety checks failed to perform them, in which case those people or the company might be held responsible.  It is unclear from the story whether the shuttle belonged to Harrah's Casino or the airport; however, a good CA personal injury lawyer can find out the facts and make a determination as to who is liable for the victim's injuries.