Public transport injuries divide into two groups. Injuries caused by the way a vehicle is driven, a bus braking suddenly, pulling away before a passenger is seated, or colliding with another vehicle, fall under the CTP scheme. Injuries caused by the condition of premises or the conduct of staff, a slippery platform, a broken step, a train door closing on a passenger, fall under public liability. The forms, time limits and defendants are different.

Key points

  • Injuries arising from the driving of a bus are motor accident claims under the Motor Accident Insurance Act, against the bus's CTP insurer.
  • Injuries from the state of stations, stops, platforms or trains are public liability claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act, against the operator or owner.
  • Both need early notice: nine months (or one month after seeing a lawyer) for CTP; nine months (or one month after seeing a lawyer) for PIPA notice too, with a further requirement to name the right respondent.

Bus passengers thrown by braking or acceleration

The Act treats injury caused by, through or in connection with the driving of a motor vehicle as a motor accident. A passenger who falls because the driver braked hard, cornered too fast, or moved off before they were seated has a CTP claim against the bus's insurer. Some large fleets are self-insured under the Act, in which case the claim goes to the operator's own claims unit, but the scheme and the process are the same. You do not need to prove the driver did something dramatic; the question is whether the driving fell short of reasonable care in the circumstances, which includes the known presence of standing and elderly passengers.

Collisions involving buses

If a bus is hit by another vehicle, injured passengers claim against the at-fault vehicle's insurer. If fault is shared, notices go to both. Other road users injured by a bus driver's negligence claim against the bus's CTP insurer.

Stations, platforms, stops and trains

Rail and station injuries are not motor accidents, because a train is not a motor vehicle under the Act. A fall on a wet platform, a trip on a damaged surface, an injury from a malfunctioning door or escalator, or an assault that adequate security should have prevented is a public liability claim against the operator, the station owner or a contractor. The claim runs under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act: a Part 1 Notice of Claim, a liability response, disclosure, a compulsory conference and, if needed, court proceedings. Incident reports, CCTV requests and the names of staff who attended are the evidence that matters most, and CCTV is routinely overwritten within weeks, so ask early.

Bus stops and footpaths

A fall at a bus stop is usually a claim against whoever controls the stop and the surrounding footpath, often the local council, sometimes the transport authority. Councils have some statutory protections in relation to roads and footpaths, and the claim needs to be framed with those in mind.

Frequently asked questions

I fell on a bus when it braked. Is that a CTP claim? Yes. Injury caused by the driving of a motor vehicle is a motor accident claim against the bus's CTP insurer.

I slipped on a train platform. Who do I claim against? The operator or owner of the station, under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act. Report it, get the incident number, and ask for CCTV to be preserved.

How long do I have? Lodge a CTP notice within nine months, or within one month of first consulting a lawyer; a PIPA notice is due within nine months, or within one month of first instructing a lawyer once the respondent is identified. Three years to start court proceedings.

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