SEPTA Accident Attorney

SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) is the largest operator of transportation in Philadelphia and the greater Philadelphia area. SEPTA transports thousands of commuters by bus, train and trolley seven days a week. Many members of the community are victims of injuries due to negligent operators of SEPTA vehicles. 

The 3 most common SEPTA Accidents are caused by the following:

• SEPTA bus passengers injured when the bus collides with another vehicle
• Sudden stops or acceleration can cause SEPTA bus passengers to be thrown about the inside of the bus
• SEPTA bus or trolley strikes a pedestrian walking in the street

The following bus accident facts were supplied by the federal government:

• In 2016, 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes, a 2-percent increase from 2015. Although the number of large trucks and buses in fatal crashes has increased by 29 percent from its low of 3,432 in 2009, the 2016 number is still 15 percent lower than the 21st-century peak of 5,231 in 2005. From 2015 to 2016, large truck and bus fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by all motor vehicles increased by 1.9 percent, from 0.141 to 0.144.
• There was a 34-percent decrease in the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses between 2005 and 2009, followed by an increase of 28 percent between 2009 and 2016. From 2015 to 2016, the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses increased by 6 percent.
• The number of injury crashes involving large trucks or buses decreased steadily from 102,000 in 2002 to 60,000 in 2009 (a decline of 41 percent). Since then, it increased 62 percent to 97,000 in 2015. In 2016, there were an estimated 119,000 injury crashes, based on NHTSA’s new CRSS data collection.
• On average, from 2006 to 2016, intercity buses accounted for 13 percent, and school buses and transit buses accounted for 40 percent and 34 percent, respectively, of all buses involved in fatal crashes.
• From 2015 to 2016, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes increased by 3 percent, from 4,074 to 4,213, and the large truck involvement rate (large trucks involved in fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled by large trucks) remained constant at 1.46.
• The number of buses involved in fatal crashes decreased from 263 to 227, a decrease of 14 percent.

Recent SEPTA Train Crash Settlement

Mr. Gagliano recently represented a commuter who was injured when a SEPTA train crashed because of high speed. Shortly after the crash, SEPTA denied the injury victim’s claim. Mr. Gagliano filed a lawsuit on behalf of the injured passenger and was able to prove that the train was speeding by obtaining surveillance footage of the crash. SEPTA settled the case for a large cash settlement shortly after the video was discovered.