November 11, 2013
Visiting Alaska is the dream of a lifetime for many of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who travel to the 49th State each year. After all, this is the land Jack London wrote of and its beauty and grandeur is showcased in the television advertisements sponsored by the State of Alaska and the Alaska’s tourist industry. Alaska is “the last frontier.”
A common means for an out-of-state tourist to see Alaska is from the comfort of one of the many large 40+ passenger tour buses operated by a variety of tour companies. Popular routes start in Haines, Seward, Anchorage and Fairbanks with stops in Tok, Glenn Allen, Denali Park, Talkeetna and Valdez. Every summer tour buses filled with out of state and out of country visitors travel the Alaska Highway, the Seward Highway, the Glenn Highway, the Parks Highway, the Richardson Highway, and in years past the Taylor Highway, offering tourist a firsthand opportunity to experience Alaska’s unique beauty. Tour buses also meet cruise ships and provide local tours in Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. Buses also carry passengers though the Alaska parks which have road access.
While most of the tour operators comply with state and federal law requiring them to properly train their drivers and maintain their equipment, this has not always been the case. Many tour bus accidents have occurred in Alaska over the last 35 years. I am Attorney Elliott Dennis, and I have represented multiple out-of-state tourist passengers injured in bus accidents. I have also represented parties whose interests have been directly affected by the negligence of tour bus operators. In addition, I’ve represented hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death clients and their families, many of whom have been injured as a result of negligence in the transportation industry; truck/bus accidents, railroad train passenger injuries, aviation crashes and marine accidents. Through these experiences, I am truly an Alaska bus accident and transportation accident attorney.
As a bus accident lawyer, I’ve helped injured bus accident passengers and their families navigate the legal system, deal with tour bus operators and battle with their insurers to recovery money damages necessary to pay medical bills and compensate for losses caused by bus operator negligence. Over the years, I have acquired knowledge unique to litigating and resolving bus accident cases favorably to my clients.
In a the following weeks I’ll be writing more about my experiences in this unique field of law, and how I’ve helped the visitor’s to our state recover from these tragedies.