A claim over a public school bus is filed with the North Carolina Industrial Commission, which G.S. 143-291(a) constitutes a court for tort claims against State agencies. Which statute applies depends on the vehicle and on who paid the driver, and on the public school bus path the money comes from the State. The sections below set the two paths side by side, then cover who pays, the limit, the deadlines, Form T-1, contributory negligence and the 2024 crash count.
The Industrial Commission or the board's county court, side by side
North Carolina sorts a school bus claim by the vehicle and the driver. G.S. 143-300.1(a) gives the North Carolina Industrial Commission jurisdiction over tort claims against a county or city board of education that arise from the negligence of the driver, transportation safety assistant or monitor of a public school bus or school transportation service vehicle, or from mechanical or other defects affecting a bus's safe operation that result from a negligent act of maintenance personnel. A covered driver is an employee of that administrative unit paid or authorized to be paid by it, or an unpaid driver trainee under an authorized employee's supervision.
| Question | Public school bus, paid school driver | Other board vehicle or employee |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | G.S. 143-300.1 | G.S. 115C-42 |
| Where the claim goes | The North Carolina Industrial Commission | A court of competent jurisdiction, only in the county of the board |
| Who is named | The county or city board of education | The local board of education |
| Money limit | The Tort Claims Act amounts in G.S. 143-299.2 | The extent the board is indemnified by insurance |
| Deadline | G.S. 143-299, three years after accrual or two years after a death | The ordinary periods, G.S. 1-52(16) for injury and G.S. 1-53(4) for death |
G.S. 115C-42 lets a local board of education waive its governmental immunity by the act of obtaining liability insurance, and only to the extent the board is indemnified by that insurance. Liability attaches only for claims arising while the insurance is in force. In my view the two questions that matter first are who owned the vehicle and who paid the driver.
Exception. G.S. 115C-42 does not apply to claims for damages caused by the negligence of public school bus or school transportation service vehicle drivers while driving those vehicles, when the operation of the buses and service vehicles is paid from the State Public School Fund.
A charter school bus answers through the charter school's board
G.S. 143-300.1(a) names county and city boards of education as the boards the Industrial Commission hears school bus claims against. Under G.S. 115C-218.20(a), the board of directors of a charter school can sue and be sued, and the charter school's sovereign immunity is waived to the extent of indemnification by insurance. Under subsection (b), no civil liability attaches to the State Board of Education for any acts or omissions of the charter school.
The eastern North Carolina page covers a State agency vehicle, and a city vehicle is answered in the post on a city vehicle hitting your car.
Who pays a school bus award, from the first $150,000 up
Funds appropriated to the State Board of Education pay the first $150,000 of liability on each claim against a county or city board of education for a school bus accident, under G.S. 143-300.1(c). The Attorney General draws a voucher to pay the award, and G.S. 143-299.4 governs the balance above $150,000.
G.S. 143-299.4 pays that excess from estimated lapsed salaries State agencies transfer to the Office of State Budget and Management, unless the Director of the Budget has the liable agency pay the full claim.
G.S. 143-300.1(c) says neither the county or city board of education nor the administrative unit is liable in excess of the amount paid upon a voucher by the Attorney General. The money for a public school bus award comes from the State, not from the local board of education.
The money for a public school bus award comes from the State, not from the local board of education.
Does the $1,000,000 Tort Claims Act cap reach school bus claims?
G.S. 143-300.1 sets no dollar cap of its own, and borrows the damages rule of the Tort Claims Act, Article 31 of Chapter 143. Subsection (a) makes the liability of the board, the defenses the board can assert and the amount of damages that can be awarded the same in all respects as the Act provides for tort claims against the State Board of Education.
The Act's damages rule is in G.S. 143-291(a), which says that in no event does the amount of damages awarded exceed the amounts authorized in G.S. 143-299.2. Section 143-299.2(a) sets one million dollars as the most the State pays cumulatively to all claimants for injury to any one person from any one occurrence, less any commercial liability insurance the State purchased that applies to the claim.
Read through its cross-references, G.S. 143-300.1 applies the damages limit in G.S. 143-299.2 to a public school bus claim against a county or city board of education.
A civil action against the bus driver personally
G.S. 143-300.1(d) lets the Attorney General, upon the request of an employee or former employee, defend a civil action brought against a public school bus driver, transportation safety assistant, monitor or school bus maintenance mechanic. The Attorney General may pay a judgment in that action not to exceed the limit provided under the Tort Claims Act, with State Board of Education funds covering the first $150,000 of liability per claim.
Subsection (d) requires the Attorney General to refuse the defense in listed cases, including actual fraud, corruption or actual malice on the employee's part.
Three years after the claim accrues, two years after a death
G.S. 143-299 bars a Tort Claims Act claim unless it is filed with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within three years after the accrual of the claim. G.S. 143-300.1(a) applies that Act's filing procedure to school bus claims.
Exception. When the accident causes a death, G.S. 143-299 requires the personal representative of the person who died to file the claim with the Industrial Commission within two years after the death.
The wrongful death page covers who the personal representative is and how the estate is opened.
The board insurance path under G.S. 115C-42 keeps the ordinary limitations periods. It preserves the board's other defenses and relieves no one of the duty to sue within the period set by statute, which for personal injury is three years under G.S. 1-52(16) and for wrongful death two years under G.S. 1-53(4). When two dates could apply, my advice is to plan around the earlier one.
Form T-1 names the county board of education, not the State
Form T-1, Claim for Damages Under Tort Claims Act, is the North Carolina Industrial Commission's claim form, and its instruction 7 says a claim involving a school bus should be filed against the particular county board of education concerned and not against the State Board of Education. The form directs a claimant filing without an attorney to mail it to the Industrial Commission Clerk's Office, 1236 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1236.
Name the board and the employee
G.S. 143-300.1(a) requires the claim to state the name and address of the board and the name of the employee whose alleged negligence the claim rests on.
State the damages, the time and the place
G.S. 143-297 has the claimant's affidavit state the amount of damages sought and the time and place of the injury.
The Commission sends copies to three offices
Under G.S. 143-300.1(a), the Commission forwards copies of the affidavit to the superintendent of schools, the State Board of Education and the office of the Attorney General.
A hearing in the county of the injury
G.S. 143-297 has the Commission hear the matter in the county where the injury occurred, unless the parties agree or the Commission directs another county.
Fifteen days, then thirty days, to appeal
G.S. 143-292 allows 15 days after receipt of notice of the decision to appeal to the full Commission. G.S. 143-293 allows 30 days after receipt of the full Commission's decision to appeal to the Court of Appeals, for errors of law only.
A lawsuit against another driver follows different venue rules, covered in the post on being hurt in a county where you do not live.
Who has to prove the car's driver was careless too?
Under G.S. 143-291(a), the North Carolina Industrial Commission awards damages only after it finds negligence of an employee acting within the scope of employment that was the proximate cause of the injury, and finds no contributory negligence on the part of the claimant. G.S. 143-300.1(a) gives a county or city board of education the same defenses the Act gives the State Board of Education.
What the Commission has to find
Negligence of the bus driver or another covered employee, acting within the scope of the job, that was the proximate cause of the injury, under G.S. 143-291(a).
What the board has to prove
Contributory negligence of the claimant, which G.S. 143-299.1 treats as a matter of defense with the burden of proof on the agency facing the claim.
The contributory negligence finding in G.S. 143-291(a) covers the claimant or the person the claim is brought for. I think the claimant's own driving deserves the closest look in any school bus claim, because the Act conditions every award on a finding of no contributory negligence.
A finding of contributory negligence by the claimant bars a Tort Claims Act award under G.S. 143-291(a), and the board carries the burden of proving it under G.S. 143-299.1.
The car accident page covers claims against private drivers.
North Carolina counted 1,103 school bus crashes in 2024
North Carolina 2024 Traffic Crash Facts, published by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Division of Motor Vehicles, counts 1,103 school bus crashes statewide in its 2024 School Bus Crashes By County table on page 24, with 3 fatalities and 791 injuries. Its 2024 Type of Vehicle table on page 21 lists 1,125 school bus crashes, so the two tables differ.
Guilford County's row in the 2024 school bus table reads 60 crashes, 0 fatalities and 89 injuries. The Greensboro crash statistics page carries that row. The Crash Facts page on the Department of Transportation's DMV site says a copy of the 2025 Crash Facts report can be requested by email.
A statewide count says nothing about fault in your crash.
Wherever the bus hit you in North Carolina, I can come to you. We start by phone or video, then I meet you in person where you are, and we decide in that meeting whether to work together. The how it works page lays out each step.
