Injured While on MBTA's the Ride?

The Ride is a service provided by the MBTA in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that provides door-to-door service of people with various disabilities. As with any mode of transportation, there is a possibility of accidents that can result in serious injuries to those who utilize the service. In the instance an accident is caused by driver error or another form of negligence, the Cambridge personal injury attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP are here to help you.

Those who work as drivers for The Ride have a responsibility to provide safe passage to those who rely on the service to get around the city, as they are unable to utilize other forms of transportation such as trains, buses, cars or bicycles. As these passengers are limited to The Ride, they should be free to utilize the service with a reasonable expectation of safety.

Passengers on The Ride may already be dealing with significant medical issues that require constant attention and treatment, so an accident on the road may be especially difficult for them to handle. If you or a loved one were injured in an accident that occurred on The Ride, and that injury required medical intervention of any kind, you may be entitled to compensation.

In assessing a personal injury claim, the most important question to consider is whether or not the incident that caused your injury could have been avoided through reasonable means. Was the driver responsible due to being impaired while driving? Was the bus used in need of routine maintenance or service that went undone? These are the questions that our expert legal team will get to the bottom of in working towards a successful claim or settlement on your behalf.

Some possible examples of negligence leading to accidents in motor vehicle incidents could include:

• A driver is overtired due to working too many shifts, impaired due to consuming alcohol or other mind-altering substances, or is distracted by using a cell phone or some other device that takes their attention from the road. The driver would be liable if their actions were to cause an accident and injure passengers. Similarly, drivers can be held liable if they engage in reckless driving behavior, such as excessive speeding, failure to yield or performing lane violations.
• The MBTA fails to provide regular inspections of one of its The Ride vehicles, failing to pick up on a faulty brake line. This vehicle is then unable to stop at a critical juncture, causing multiple injuries which the MBTA would be liable for. Other common mechanical failures can include tire blowouts, engine failure and power steering malfunctions.
• The MBTA does not provide adequate safety features within its buses to prevent common vehicular motions - such as stopping suddenly - from causing harm to its passengers. As the program is required to be ADA-compliant, there are certain safety features which are required in order for the passengers to be adequately protected.

The Ride provides a valuable service to people in Cambridge, Boston and the greater metro area. As important as the service is, it is equally important that those who rely on the service are safe in doing so, and are not at risk of unnecessary harm. It is the responsibility of the MBTA to ensure this reasonable expectation to safety, and if they or a driver employ takes that responsibility for granted, we can hold them accountable.

Altman & Altman LLP has over 50 years of experience standing up for people who have been injured through no fault of their own. We can give you a chance to earn compensation that can pay for medical expenses, recovery costs and much more. We take each case on an individual basis and will give you the best chance to emerge from a claims process successfully.

Contact us online or call for a free consultation to go over the details of your case today at 617-492-3000 or toll-free at 800-481-6199. We are available 24/7.