San Francisco is widely acclaimed for having one of the best mass transit systems of any city in the United States. BART and MUNI networks provide thousands of people with reliable transportation every day.
While BART delivers commuters into and out of the city, it is the San Francisco Municipal Railway System (MUNI) that operates a fleet of light rail, buses, trolleys and streetcars that serve 200 million passengers annually in the city.
With those kinds of ridership numbers, accidents are bound to happen. When an accident occurs, there is a possibility that you may be compensated for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, and related damages.
If you are a passenger or a pedestrian on one of the MUNI modes of transportation, or you are in another vehicle, and it appears the MUNI operator is at fault, you may have a legitimate claim that you can file against MUNI. When an accident occurs, MUNI investigators will come out to the scene and conduct an investigation, and while you are free to speak with them, if you have sustained serious enough injuries you will also want to speak with an attorney to represent your interests.
Through your attorney, the claim process can begin with the MUNI claims department. Because an attorney will be more skilled than a victim in dealing with a variety of matters related to the accident, it’s always advisable to let them work directly with the claims department. For claims that are serious enough to result in litigation, the case will be turned over to the San Francisco City Attorney’s office to defend MUNI.
The most important thing to note in filing a claim against MUNI is that they have a short time frame of six months that victims are allowed to file a claim. This is why it’s critical to speak with an attorney as soon as possible if injuries are serious enough to require hospitalization or prolonged absence from work.
Choulos, Choulos & Wyle proudly serve clients in San Francisco, Oakland and in cities throughout the Bay Area.
