USA Holiday Bus Crash on Interstate 10 in Desert Hot Springs

Were you or a loved one injured in the USA Holiday bus accident on Interstate 10? If so, you’ll likely need some help on the legal side. Estey & Bomberger, a personal injury law firm in southern California, has been helping families of victims and survivors of serious bus accidents – those with catastrophic injuries, since 1998. Our attorneys are persistent, aggressive, and relentless in pursuing the best result for your family. If you’re a USA Holiday bus accident victim, you (likely) have not been through a lawsuit before. We, on the other hand, have done this often, for many clients, again and again. Though USA Holiday is a very small bus company, it likely has a large insurance company, and you’ll need guidance as you move through the process.
We can prevent you from feeling re-victimized by the bus company and the insurance company, organizations that typically have larger financial resources, and certainly a more bureaucratic system. What we’ve found is that clients can get the best of both worlds: reduced stress AND more financial compensation. Healing is easier with less stress, and our ability to help a family walk through the process reduces stress during a particularly difficult time.

Building your Team, Building your Assets

Lawyers are always on the side of their clients, and Estey & Bomberger’s legal team is no different. That said, we are uniquely qualified to help you with a more serious case, and here’s why: We don’t accept all cases. We accept just a few each year, so our attention to you is undivided. We have the ability to pay money from our own funds, to acquire the best services — top investigators, professionals and other experts, that are prohibitively expensive for most families. Whether the case lasts weeks or months, our team spares no expense. We spare no expense as we prepare the most aggressive case possible, aiming for top results. As we mentioned, we’re on your “side”, and we bring assets, experience and ability to our side of the table. We know that true success is both a record-setting verdict or settlement AND a low-stress process for you.

USA Holiday

USA Holiday is the definition of the proverbial one man band. It is a one-bus company based in Alhambra, California that employs just one driver. According to news sources, it collided with a truck on the 10 Freeway in Desert Hot Springs on its way home from the Red Earth Casino early Sunday morning October 23, 2016. All of the 44 passengers were injured; thirteen, including the driver, fatally so. Neighbors of the owners said that the father (the driver), the mother and the college-aged son had been in the same apartment for nearly two decades, often parking the tour bus outside the apartment building. One neighbor described them as hard-working and good people, and noted that the father was always working, coming in and out, providing for his family.
USA Holiday does not operate your typical “Titans of Hollywood take the private jet to the casino for a quick dinner” type of trip. USA Holiday operates on the opposite end of the spectrum, taking residents from lower-income neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to a casino for a few hours of fun. They’re referred to as turnaround trips—round trips of just twelve or 24 hours from pick up to drop off. For example, trips to and from Red Earth Casino for just $20, Tortoise Rock Casino for $25, or even the Las Vegas Strip for $60 including snacks and drinks. USA Holiday advertised heavily on social media including Facebook and Instagram, and made turnaround trips several times a week.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, sending a team to the area, according to board spokesperson Eric Weiss. In the meantime we have learned, according to private data provider FreightConnect, that USA Holiday was most recently inspected in April 2016, and previously in 2014 and 2015 as well, by federal transportation officials. It’s rating at the time of the last inspection was satisfactory, and no issues were raised as to the bus or the driver. California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Jim Abele indicated that traffic had been slowed on the 10 by CHP officers to allow Southern California Edison workers to string wires across the freeway. He added that it appeared the bus (a 1996 model) did not have seat belts, and likely did not have a black box common to newer vehicles.
Firefighters entered the bus windows via ladders, tow trucks having lifted the trailer of the truck to improve access to the bus.

What to do if a Loved One was Killed or Injured on the USA Holiday Bus

As the details of the crash further-unfold, we are not surprised to be getting many phone calls and emails asking questions and seeking representation.
Trips or tours to casinos are filled with excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead. What are the odds that you’ll come home a winner? What are the odds you’ll have a good time, even if you lose money? No one ever asks “What are the odds you’ll come home to your family and friends?” Unfortunately for many of the victims of the October 23 crash, there will be no more casino trips, or trips of any kind.
Dr. Ricard Townsend and the team at Desert Regional Medical Center went into overdrive on that Sunday morning, expertly organizing their surgeons, doctors, nurses, lab techs, chaplains, social workers, and workers who arranged and provided transportation and meals for family members back in Los Angeles.
After the medical team, and the social services team, have done their very best and healed what was healable, survivors will return to their families. Families of those fatally injured will return home with only memories.
If you or your loved one was a victim in this Interstate 10 Crash aboard the USA Holiday bus, please request a free-of-charge meeting with Estey Bomberger lawyers. It’s important to open the discussion with skilled and compassionate attorneys, personal injury attorneys, about whether to file a lawsuit against the driver, the bus company, or any other organization. As far as experience, Estey Bomberger has fought for, and secured, some of the top individual financial results for victims – more than 119 million in just the last half decade.
In a case of a catastrophic bus accident on a large scale, such as this one, any lawsuit requires attorneys to have 1) specialization and 2) experience. Litigation is a process, and it is virtually always overwhelming to the victim and the victim’s family. Estey & Bomberger attorneys are well-known and respected for guiding clients, allowing them to feel security, and sanity, throughout the process. It’s part of the experience a client needs as the family heals.

Day or Night

Call us when you need us, toll free at 800.925.0723. This is the first step in the discussion with you and your family, and it’s free and confidential. Afterwards, you and your family can decide what to do – whether to move forward with a lawsuit or not.
Estey & Bomberger will not get paid unless and until we win the case on your behalf. There are no fees up front, you are not charged anything. This is referred to as contingency payment, and we think it’s the fairest way for us to get paid – we are passionate and motivated to get you the best results.