Miami Bus Accident Lawyer

If you were hurt in or by a bus in Miami, the most important thing to understand before you do anything else is this: not all Miami bus crashes are the same case. The Miami bus accident lawyers at the Perazzo Law Firm have learned through experience, that two riders can be injured in near-identical collisions and face completely different rules — different deadlines, different limits on what they can recover, and even a different party to sue. The single fact that changes everything is who owned and operated the bus. A public transit bus and a private charter bus are governed by different bodies of Florida law, and confusing the two can quietly end an otherwise strong claim.

The Perazzo Law Firm represents people injured in bus and transit crashes across Miami-Dade — passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers. This page explains how these cases work under Florida law, why the government-versus-private distinction matters so much, and why the first call after a bus injury should be to a lawyer, promptly. This is general information, not legal advice about your specific situation.

The First Question That Decides Your Case: Government Bus or Private Bus?

In Miami, the most important intake question is not how badly you were hurt — it is who was running the bus. Florida sorts bus-crash claims into two very different tracks, and the track determines your deadline, whether a damages cap applies, and who the correct defendant is.

Government buses — Miami-Dade Transit vehicles (Metrobus, Metromover, Metrorail) and public school buses. These are government subdivisions, so Florida’s sovereign-immunity statute, Fla. Stat. § 768.28, applies. That means damages caps, a strict pre-suit written notice of claim, a mandatory waiting period before you can sue, and a different filing clock.
Private buses — charter and tour buses, intercity lines like Greyhound, FlixBus, and Megabus, hotel and casino shuttles, and church, daycare, or camp vans. These follow ordinary Florida negligence rules: a full common-carrier duty of care to passengers, no damages cap, and a shorter, single filing deadline.

Because the consequences are so different, sorting out the operator early is one of the first things an attorney does. For a deeper look at the government side, see our explainer on suing a government entity after a Florida bus accident.

The Deadline Trap: Why Riders Assume They Have Years and Lose the Case

Most people injured on a bus assume they have plenty of time — two years, maybe four. In a government-bus case, that assumption is dangerous. Even though the deadline to actually file a personal-injury lawsuit against a government entity is longer than the private deadline, a much shorter pre-suit notice clock runs first, and there is a mandatory waiting period stacked on top of it. Waiting to call a lawyer can burn the notice window before you ever realize a lawsuit is on the table.

If a Miami-Dade Transit or public school bus was involved (government track)

Miami-Dade Transit is an agency of Miami-Dade County, so claims run through Florida’s limited waiver of sovereign immunity under Fla. Stat. § 768.28. Several rules apply that do not exist in an ordinary car-crash case:

Damages caps. Under § 768.28(5), recovery from the government is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, no matter how catastrophic the injuries. Anything above those figures can only be paid through a separate legislative “claim bill.” This is a real structural limit, not a prediction about any specific case.
Pre-suit written notice of claim. Under § 768.28(6), you generally cannot sue unless you first present the claim in writing to the appropriate agency — within 3 years of the injury, or within 2 years if the crash was fatal.
A Miami-specific notice nuance. For claims against a county, the statute excepts the separate notice to the Florida Department of Financial Services that state-agency claims require. Because Miami-Dade Transit is a county agency, notice goes to the county/agency — and DFS notice is not required. Getting this right matters; conflating county and state claims is a common error.
A 6-month waiting period. Under § 768.28(6), you generally cannot file suit until the agency denies the claim or 6 months pass without a final decision (treated as a denial). You must clear this window and still file within the limitations period — which is exactly why notice has to go out early.
A 4-year deadline to file the injury lawsuit. Under § 768.28(14), a personal-injury suit against a government entity must be filed within 4 years of accrual — longer than the private 2-year rule, but only if the notice and presentment machinery has been satisfied first. A wrongful-death claim against the government is 2 years.

If a private bus was involved (private track)

A crash on a charter bus, tour coach, intercity line, or shuttle follows ordinary Florida negligence law. There is no § 768.28 notice requirement, no waiting period, and no $200,000/$300,000 cap. But the filing deadline is shorter: under Florida’s negligence statute of limitations, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), you generally have 2 years from the date of injury to file suit. (Older articles may cite this as § 95.11(4)(a); a 2024 amendment renumbered the two-year category to subsection (5).) A wrongful-death claim is also 2 years.

The takeaway is simple and urgent: private bus, injury — roughly 2 years to sue. Government bus, injury — notice as soon as possible, a 6-month wait, then up to 4 years to sue. Any bus, a death — 2 years. Because these clocks differ by defendant and by whether the case involves injury or death, no single deadline fits every bus crash. If a bus was involved, treat the case as time-sensitive from day one.

The Second Fork: Were You a Passenger, or Were You Hit by the Bus?

The Transit Bus Accident lawyers in Miami at the Perazzo Law Firm know that Florida law does not owe everyone injured around a bus the same duty of care. There is a heightened standard — but it runs only to passengers, the people riding the bus.

Under Florida’s standard for common carriers, reflected in Florida Standard Jury Instruction 401.6, a carrier owes its passengers the highest degree of care consistent with the type of transportation and the practical operation of the business. That is well above the “ordinary reasonable care” an average driver owes. In plain terms, a bus operator is expected to be exceptionally careful about maintenance, driver hiring and training, and safe operation. Florida’s Supreme Court recognized this heightened common-carrier standard in Marley v. Saunders (Fla. 1971).

That heightened duty can be a significant advantage — but only for people injured while riding the bus. A pedestrian, cyclist, or another motorist struck by a bus is owed ordinary reasonable care, the same standard that applies to any negligent driver, not the heightened common-carrier duty. Knowing which standard applies to you shapes how a case is built and what must be proven.

Types of Miami Bus Crashes We Handle

Buses move through Miami-Dade in many forms, and each operator raises different liability and deadline questions. The firm handles injury claims involving a broad range of buses, including:

Miami-Dade Transit / Metrobus — public transit routes across the county (government track).
Public school buses — injuries to student riders, pedestrians near stops, and other motorists (government track).
Municipal trolleys — city-sponsored trolley services, which are frequently run by private contractors, so liability can involve both a government sponsor and a private operator.
Private charter and tour buses — hired coaches and sightseeing buses (private track).
Intercity lines — Greyhound, FlixBus, and Megabus service into and out of Miami (private track).
Hotel, resort, and casino shuttles — and airport-area private shuttles (private track).
Church, daycare, camp, and assisted-living vans — smaller passenger vehicles carrying groups (private track).

Whether you were a passenger, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or in another vehicle, the analysis starts the same way: identify who operated the bus, then determine what duty they owed and which deadlines attach.

PIP and No-Fault After a Miami Bus Crash

Florida’s no-fault (PIP) system does not treat every bus the same way, and this is an area where general assumptions go wrong. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.732, a bus that is used in mass transit, is designed to carry more than five passengers, and is owned by a municipality, transit authority, or political subdivision is expressly excluded from the definition of “motor vehicle” for PIP purposes. That means a Metrobus is not a PIP no-fault vehicle, so a passenger injured on Metrobus does not obtain PIP through the bus itself. (“Public school transportation” is carved back in, so the school-bus analysis differs.)

Importantly, that does not mean a transit passenger has no coverage. Many people injured on a bus still have their own PIP from a household auto policy that can follow them as a passenger or pedestrian, and they may be able to pursue the at-fault party’s liability directly. Because a government transit bus is not a PIP “motor vehicle,” a passenger’s path to recovery on that ride is different from a typical car crash — which is one more reason to have the coverage analyzed early.

[TODO: attorney verify — private-bus PIP status. The § 627.732 exclusion covers only government-owned mass transit. Whether a private charter or intercity bus (e.g., Greyhound) is a PIP “motor vehicle” is more nuanced and turns on case law about large for-hire buses. Do NOT state a blanket “commercial buses are not PIP motor vehicles” rule on the page until confirmed.]

How Fault Affects Your Recovery in Florida

Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Fla. Stat. § 768.81. Any damages you recover are reduced by your own percentage of fault, and a person found more than 50% at fault for their own harm recovers nothing. Because insurers for bus operators and their contractors often try to shift blame onto the injured person to reduce or defeat a claim, how fault is investigated, documented, and presented can significantly affect the outcome.

Who May Be Liable After a Miami Bus Crash

Bus cases often involve more than one potentially responsible party, and liability always depends on the facts and must be proven. Depending on how a crash happened, parties who may be responsible can include:

The public transit agency or government subdivision that operated the bus.
A private bus company that owned or ran the vehicle.
The bus driver, if inattention, fatigue, or unsafe operation played a role.
A maintenance or repair contractor responsible for a mechanical failure.
A private operator under contract to run a city-sponsored service, such as a trolley.
Another motorist whose driving contributed to the collision.

Sorting out which parties can be held responsible — and which deadlines attach to each — is one of the most important early steps in a bus case. If another vehicle was involved in your crash, our Miami car accident lawyers handle those overlapping issues as well.

What to Do After a Bus Accident in Miami

The steps you take in the hours and days after a bus crash can protect both your health and your legal rights. As soon as it is safe to do so:

Check yourself and others for injuries and move to a safe location if possible.
Call 911 so police and paramedics respond and a report is created. If you are seriously hurt, get to the nearest emergency room.
Get medical attention promptly, even if you feel “okay” — some injuries surface hours or days later.
Write down the bus number, route, operator name, and driver information if you can.
Photograph the scene, the vehicles, visible injuries, and road conditions.
Collect names and contact details of witnesses and other passengers.
Avoid admitting fault or guessing about what happened to anyone at the scene.
Keep records of medical care, missed work, and out-of-pocket costs.
Contact a lawyer right away — especially if a public bus was involved, because government notice deadlines can run well before an ordinary lawsuit would be due.

What Your Bus Accident Case May Involve

Every case is different, and no outcome can be promised. Depending on the facts, the compensation an injured person may be entitled to pursue can include economic losses such as medical bills, future care, and lost wages, along with non-economic harms such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. The value of any claim depends on factors including the severity of the injuries, the available insurance and coverage, liability, each party’s share of fault, and — in a government case — the sovereign-immunity damages caps discussed above. An attorney can help evaluate these factors for your specific situation.

Why Injured Miamians Turn to The Perazzo Law Firm

Free, confidential consultations — we review your situation and explain your options at no cost.
No fee unless we win — you pay no attorney fees unless we recover for you, with zero upfront costs.
Bilingual team — we serve Miami’s English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
Available 24/7 — because bus-case deadlines can be short, we make it easy to reach us quickly.
Personal attention from attorney Jonathan Perazzo — your case is handled by an attorney, not handed off.

[TODO: attorney verify — add firm credential lines here if approved for this page (e.g., years of experience, recognitions, or Google rating). Left off pending confirmation.]

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a bus accident claim in Miami?

It depends on who operated the bus. Against a private bus company, Florida’s negligence statute of limitations under § 95.11(5)(a) generally gives you 2 years from the date of injury to file suit. Against a government operator like Miami-Dade Transit, a personal-injury lawsuit has a 4-year deadline under § 768.28(14) — but only after you satisfy a written pre-suit notice (generally within 3 years, or 2 years if fatal) and a 6-month waiting period first. Any wrongful-death claim is 2 years. Because these clocks differ, it is important to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.

Who do I sue if a Metrobus hit me?

A crash involving Miami-Dade Transit is a claim against a county government agency, governed by Florida’s sovereign-immunity statute, § 768.28. That means a written notice of claim to the county, a mandatory waiting period before suit, and damages capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. Because Miami-Dade Transit is a county agency, the separate notice to the Department of Financial Services that state-agency claims require does not apply. Other parties, such as another driver, may also share responsibility depending on the facts.

What is the difference between a government bus and a private bus case?

A government bus — Metrobus or a public school bus — triggers sovereign-immunity rules under § 768.28: damages caps, a pre-suit notice of claim, a 6-month waiting period, and a 4-year injury filing deadline. A private bus — a charter, tour, intercity line, shuttle, or van — follows ordinary negligence law: no cap, no notice requirement, a full common-carrier duty to passengers, and a 2-year filing deadline. Which set of rules applies changes the deadline, the limits on recovery, and who the correct defendant is, so identifying the operator early is essential.

Does the “highest degree of care” standard protect me if a bus hit me as a pedestrian?

Not directly. Florida’s heightened common-carrier standard — the “highest degree of care” reflected in Florida Standard Jury Instruction 401.6 — runs to passengers riding the bus. If you were struck by a bus as a pedestrian, cyclist, or another driver, you are owed ordinary reasonable care, the same standard that applies to any negligent driver. You may still have a strong negligence claim; it is simply evaluated under the ordinary-care standard rather than the heightened passenger duty.

Does PIP cover me if I was hurt on a Metrobus?

A government mass-transit bus like Metrobus is excluded from the PIP “motor vehicle” definition under § 627.732, so you do not obtain PIP through the bus itself. That does not mean you have no coverage: many riders have their own PIP from a household auto policy that can follow them as a passenger or pedestrian, and you may be able to pursue the at-fault party directly. Because a transit bus is not a PIP vehicle, the coverage path is different from a typical car crash, and it should be reviewed carefully.

What should I do first after a Miami bus accident?

Get medical care right away — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you are seriously hurt — and document as much as you safely can: the bus number and route, the operator, photos of the scene, and witness contacts. Avoid admitting fault. Then contact a lawyer promptly, especially if a public bus was involved, because government notice deadlines can run well before an ordinary lawsuit would be due. You can find more general answers on our personal injury FAQ page.

Talk to a Miami Bus Accident Lawyer Today

If you or a family member was injured in or by a bus anywhere in Miami-Dade, do not wait to get legal guidance. In a government-bus case, the notice window can run well before a lawsuit would otherwise be due, and acting early is often the difference between protecting your rights and losing them. The Perazzo Law Firm offers free, confidential consultations and can review your situation, identify which track your case falls on, confirm the applicable deadlines, and explain your options.

Call The Perazzo Law Firm today for a free consultation. Our Miami office is located at 16666 NE 19th Ave #110, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. Call (786) 529-7411 or contact us online to speak with our team about your bus accident case.

This page is attorney advertising and provides general information only; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.