Does Government Ownership Of School Bus Make Accident Damages Reduced?

One of the basic tenants of the American concept of justice is the right for a person to be fairly compensated when someone does something careless that causes injury or damage to someone else.  In Florida, this concept of justice disappears in many cases where the government is involved.

The Orlando Sentinel has reported another significant school bus crash.  This one occurred yesterday at the intersection of Old Winter Garden Road and Good Homes Road in Orlando.  Apparently, Orange County Schools bus driver Joinel Jorcelin ran a red light early yesterday morning in one of the School Board’s buses, and crashed into a Kia being driven by Cang Trung, of Orlando.  The crash was significant, with Mr. Trung being taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

Many people do not realize that public entities, such as the Orange County School Board, do not necessarily have to fairly compensate accident victims for the full measure of the damages they cause.  Under Florida law, governmental entities enjoy protective caps on damages ($100,000.00 per injury, for now), regardless of how severe the injuries or damages caused by the government.  Governmental entities may decide to carry additional insurance, or may decide not to.  Either way, injury victims have to hope that governments will voluntarily decide to be fair.  If the government does not deal fairly, then accident victims have to go through a number of special procedures just for the chance of recovering more than the cap.

This is why we, as Orlando accident attorneys, are such strong advocates for people to carry as much Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage as they can afford. Underinsured Motorist coverage can be used to pay for damages that exceed the governmental cap.  Hopefully, in this case, Cang Trung had plenty of Underinsured Motorist coverage on his Kia, because it sounds like his injuries and damages may exceed the sovereign immunity caps.  We are going to keep our fingers crossed from Mr. Trung.

If you have any questions regarding Uninsured Motorist coverage, or bus accident, please call us at 407-565-7386 or text us at 407-644-4444. We are always happy to offer a no-obligation, free consultation to discuss your case with you.