If you were injured in a bus accident, you may be dealing with serious injuries and an uncertain future. In addition, there will be the complication of facing a government transit agency, a private bus company, a third-party driver, or all three at once, each with its own coverage, its own attorneys, and its own process for fighting your case.

You may be entitled to compensation and you don’t have to fight for it alone. Freeman Law Firm, Inc. has the experience and track record you need to go up against powerful entities and win. Your initial consultation is free and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf. In Olympia and Thurston County, call (360) 338-6886 today and let Freeman Fight for Justice.

After an Olympia Bus Accident: Take the Right Steps

The actions you take after a bus accident can affect what evidence is available and how your case develops.

Call 911 so the accident is documented by law enforcement and emergency responders.
Get medical attention even if injuries don't seem severe. Delayed symptoms are common in bus accidents, and a gap in treatment can be used against you later.
Document everything you can at the scene: photos of the vehicles, your injuries, road conditions, and the bus number or route.
Don't sign anything or make any statements to Intercity Transit, their adjusters, or any insurance representative before speaking with an attorney. Initial settlement offers usually won’t account for the full extent of injuries or long-term costs.
Contact Freeman Law Firm before evidence disappears. Onboard camera footage and driver logs are not retained indefinitely. Our attorneys will help you understand your options and how the case process works.

Types of Bus Accidents

Olympia's primary public transit system is Intercity Transit, a publicly funded agency that operates fixed routes throughout Thurston County. If you were injured on or by an Intercity Transit bus, your case may be a government tort claim with procedural requirements that can be more complicated than other accident types. Beyond Intercity Transit, bus accidents in the Olympia area can cover:

School buses operated by Olympia School District, Tumwater, or other local districts
Private charter and tour buses
Shuttle services tied to hotels, airports, or corporate campuses
Commercial intercity carriers (Greyhound, FlixBus, etc.)
Company or employer-operated transportation vans and buses

Each category brings different liable parties, different insurance coverage, and different rules. Getting that sorted out at the start is one of the most practical things our bus accident lawyers can do for you.

Liability in Olympia Bus Accidents

The Bus Operator

Drivers who cause accidents through speeding, distraction, fatigue, or failure to yield can expose their employer to liability. With commercial carriers, driver logs, dispatch records, and hours-of-service compliance frequently become part of the investigation.

The Transit Agency or Bus Company

Bus operators, whether public or private, are held to a higher standard of care than ordinary drivers under Washington law because they're classified as common carriers responsible for passenger safety. A vehicle with defective brakes, a route with a known dangerous stop, or a company that ignored prior safety complaints can be the source of liability separate from what the driver did.

Third-Party Drivers

A substantial number of bus accidents are caused by other vehicles, not by the bus itself. If a car ran a red light and collided with an Intercity Transit bus, that driver's liability doesn't disappear because you were on the bus. You may have a direct case against the at-fault driver while also pursuing a case against the transit agency for how the crash was handled or how the vehicle was maintained.

Government Entities

Road conditions controlled by the City of Olympia, Thurston County, or the Washington State Department of Transportation can contribute to bus accidents. Dangerous intersections, inadequate signage, or road defects that were known and unaddressed can create a separate avenue of recovery, though government cases carry procedural requirements that need to be followed precisely.

Proving liability in a bus accident case means pulling maintenance logs, driver histories, onboard camera footage, dispatch communications, road condition reports, and witness accounts to build a complete picture of what happened and who was responsible. Freeman Law Firm investigates every angle so that liability doesn't get shifted onto the wrong party or diluted across defendants when it shouldn't be.

Injuries in Bus Accident Cases

Buses don't have seatbelts in most seating configurations, and passengers can be thrown forward, sideways, or into other riders during a crash or sudden stop. Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a bus face the most severe outcomes in any vehicle collision.

Injuries commonly seen in bus accident cases:

Traumatic brain injuries and concussions
Cervical and lumbar spine injuries, including disc herniations and fractures
Broken bones, particularly in the wrists, arms, and shoulders from bracing impacts
Soft tissue injuries that don't appear on initial imaging but cause lasting pain
Internal injuries from blunt force
Psychological trauma, including PTSD following serious collisions

Injury severity and treatment costs can take weeks or months to fully emerge, and our bus accident attorneys build cases that account for the full trajectory of recovery, including future care and lost earning capacity.

Passengers Aren't the Only Ones Who Can Recover

If a bus hit your car, struck you while you were walking, or knocked you off your bike, you have the same right to pursue compensation as someone who was riding the bus. Intercity Transit and other bus operators owe a duty of care to everyone on the road. Passengers are owed the heightened common carrier standard under Washington law, while pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists are owed the standard duty of care, and Freeman Law Firm pursues both. Pedestrian and cyclist injuries in bus accidents tend to be among the most severe we see, and the cases follow the same liability and tort claim framework outlined above.

What Compensation Can I Recover?

Washington allows injured people to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover your measurable financial losses:

Medical expenses already incurred and projected future treatment costs
Lost wages from time away from work
Reduced earning capacity if the injury affects your ability to work long-term
Out-of-pocket costs related to the injury

Non-economic damages cover losses that don't appear on a bill:

Physical pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Loss of enjoyment of activities you could do before the accident
Impact on your relationships and daily life

Washington law holds local government entities liable for negligence to the same extent as a private person or corporation, so Intercity Transit and other public bus operators do not get a pass simply because they are government-run.

The Government Tort Claim Process for Intercity Transit Accidents

If Intercity Transit caused or contributed to your accident, Washington law requires a formal tort claim to be submitted to the agency before a lawsuit can be brought. Freeman Law Firm covers this process for our clients, including obtaining and submitting the correct form to the right agency within the required timelines.

Here's how the process works:

The completed tort claim form is submitted to Intercity Transit's designated agent by mail or in person.
Intercity Transit has 60 days to respond before a suit can be brought.
The three-year statute of limitations under RCW 4.16.080 is paused during that 60-day window.

Submitting to the wrong agency, sending an incomplete form, or missing the deadline can eliminate your right to recover, regardless of how clear the liability is, which makes working with a bus accident lawyer from Freeman Law Firm even more critical.

Washington's Three-Year Filing Deadline

For bus accidents with private carriers or third-party drivers, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Washington is three years from the date of the accident under RCW 4.16.080. Government cases have additional pre-filing requirements that create earlier effective deadlines.

Two situations that affect the standard deadline:

Minors: RCW 4.16.190 generally holds that the three-year period doesn't start until the injured person's 18th birthday. A child injured at age 12, for example, typically has until age 21 to bring a case. Parents' independent claims for medical expenses and loss of consortium are not tolled by that provision and run from the date of the accident under the standard three-year limit per Curtin v. City of East Wenatchee, 457 P.3d 470 (Wash. App. 2020).
Government defendants: Intercity Transit and other public agencies require the tort claim process described above before suit can be brought, which creates a procedural layer on top of the three-year limit.

Working with us sooner rather than later preserves more options. Evidence from bus accidents, including surveillance footage, driver logs, and transit authority records, is not kept indefinitely.

Let Freeman Fight for Justice

Freeman Law Firm takes bus accident cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing upfront and nothing at all unless we recover compensation for you. For injured people already dealing with medical bills and lost income, that means you can have an experienced bus accident attorney in your corner without adding to the financial pressure you're already under. Call (360) 338-6886 or send us an email today to find out if you have a case.

PHOTO CREDIT: Joe A. Kunzler Photo, AvgeekJoe Productions, growlernoise-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Olympia Bus Accident Attorneys