Specialist Lawyers Helping To Support Families Of Children Injured As Two Buses Collide

The families of school children who were on-board two buses which crashed head-on in County Durham last month are taking legal action as they seek to find out exactly what went wrong.

Police said at the time that as well as the bus drivers, around 50 children were involved with 28 taken to hospital. The pupils, aged 11-18, were from St Bede's Catholic School, Lanchester, and Tanfield School.

Specialist injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell which has an office in Newcastle have so far been instructed to represent 15 children injured in the crash which occurred on 3 June in Stanley as a double-decker and a single-decker bus collided.

Insurers for Stanley Travel which operated the single decker have now admitted liability for the incident paving the way for lawyers to agree a fair settlement for the passengers on both buses involved.

Irwin Mitchell has represented hundreds of people injured in bus and coach crashes around the world, and lawyers at the firm say an investigation into the cause of this crash could prove crucial for improving the safety of vehicles in future.

Glen Edney, a specialist injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing passengers who were travelling on both buses involved said:

Expert Opinion

This was a very serious incident in which a total of thirteen ambulances were needed to help treat the school children.

“Thankfully no one was killed but many have suffered injuries with some suffering more serious injuries. It is also vital that we support the injured children with any treatment they need for their injuries and to help them overcome the trauma of the crash.

“We are now helping to investigate exactly what went wrong to provide answers to the families as to what caused the crash and so that we can learn from the incident to improve bus safety in future.” Glen Edney - Partner

Gerard Williamson’s 13-year-old son Sean was on the double-decker bus involved in the crash and suffered bruising to his legs and neck after a metal bar hit him during the incident.

Gerard, from Stanley, said: “When we found out about the crash I feared the worst. One bus crashing is bad enough but for two buses to hit each other, with so many children on-board, is simply shocking.

“As parents the most important thing at the moment is making sure that our children are ok and get the help they need. But we also want to know exactly what happened so that any lessons can be learnt to stop this from happening again.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Road Traffic Accident Claims.