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The first thing to do after any injury is to get the medical attention you need. Your health is most important. If your injury is serious or permanent, the next thing to do is talk to a personal injury attorney about suing the transportation agency in order to get compensated for your injury, including medical bills, lost income and other ways in which the accident has affected your life. These costs should not be yours to deal with alone.

Public transportation must be safe for the public. There is a duty to keep trains and busses in good repair, as well as stations and platforms. There is a duty to properly hire and train drivers, operators and other employees. Failure to do these things, plus an injury as a result, can lead to a lawsuit.

Suing a public transportation agency is different from suing a private business or individual. In Chicago, for example, lawsuits against the CTA (a government agency) have different rules. The most important difference for you to be aware of is that you only have one year from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit. This is considered a very short amount of time, so don’t wait too long before looking into whether a lawsuit would be right in your situation. If you miss the deadline to file a lawsuit you almost never get a second chance, no matter how good of a case you would have had.

We suggest talking to an attorney who has experience with public transportation lawsuits. In Chicago, we know attorneys who have had success going up against CTA. Their specific experience gives them an advantage, in our opinion.

Written by Michael Helfand