SMART: 60 days. A claim for injury against SMART, or another authority created under the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act, is barred unless written notice of the claim is served on the authority within 60 days of the crash (MCL 124.419). The Michigan Supreme Court enforces this strictly. DDOT is a City of Detroit department, and that statute does not by its terms cover it, but serving written notice within 60 days is the safe course for any public bus.
Who pays your no-fault benefits
MCL 500.3114(2) says a person hurt as a driver or passenger of a vehicle “operated in the business of transporting passengers” claims PIP from that vehicle’s insurer. Then it lists exceptions. For a passenger on any of these buses, your own household policy pays first:
- A school bus providing lawful transportation
- A bus run by a common carrier certified by the Michigan Department of Transportation
- A bus operated under a government-sponsored transportation program
- A bus run by or for a nonprofit organization
“Household policy” means your own auto policy, or one belonging to your spouse or a relative you live with. The exception falls away if you have no other coverage: then the bus’s insurer pays. A passenger on a private shuttle, airport van or charter bus outside these categories claims from that vehicle’s insurer. The bus driver claims from the bus’s insurer.
If you were in a car, on a bike or walking when a bus hit you, you claim through your household policy first, as in any crash. See which insurer pays. Either way, PIP covers medical care, wage loss, replacement services and attendant care, and an application must reach an insurer within one year.
Claims against a public agency
Government agencies are generally immune from tort suits. The motor vehicle exception, MCL 691.1405, makes an agency liable for bodily injury and property damage caused by an officer, agent or employee’s negligent operation of a motor vehicle the agency owns. A SMART, DDOT or school district bus driven carelessly by its driver fits that exception.
In Hannay v Department of Transportation (2014), the Michigan Supreme Court held that “bodily injury” damages under the exception include pain and suffering and wage loss beyond what no-fault pays. The usual limits still apply: pain and suffering requires a serious impairment of body function, and the claim must be filed within three years.
You must prove negligent driving caused the injury. In an unpublished July 2026 decision involving DDOT, Barnett v City of Detroit, the Court of Appeals dismissed a passenger’s claim after finding that a driver braking hard to avoid a car that cut in front of the bus was a normal incident of travel. Video from the bus’s cameras often decides these cases, so we request it at once.
The SMART notice rule in detail
In Atkins v SMART (2012), the Michigan Supreme Court held that the 60-day notice applies to the injury claim against the authority and not to no-fault benefits. Notice must state the claim itself. Filing a no-fault application, or the authority’s own knowledge of the crash, does not satisfy it.
School buses
A school district is covered by the motor vehicle exception when its employee is driving a district-owned bus. A March 2026 Court of Appeals decision, Brewer v Adams, let a driver’s claim against a school district go forward where video raised a question of whether the bus driver should have stopped before turning left across his lane. Give the district written notice early and preserve the bus video.
State-owned buses
A claim against the State of Michigan or a state agency, such as a state university bus, requires a verified notice filed with the Court of Claims within six months of the crash for personal injury (MCL 600.6431). See government vehicle claims.
Private bus companies
Charter, tour and intercity bus companies have no governmental immunity. They are liable for their drivers’ negligence while on the job, and interstate carriers must follow federal safety rules on driver hours and maintenance, much like the trucking companies we sue.
What to do now
- Write down the bus number, route, time and direction of travel.
- Get names and phone numbers of other passengers.
- Report your injury to the driver or agency and ask for the incident report number.
- Call us within days, not weeks, so notice goes out inside 60 days.
Contact us for a free review of a bus crash claim.
Sources: MCL 500.3114(1)–(2); MCL 124.419; Atkins v Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (Mich, Aug 20, 2012); MCL 691.1405; Hannay v Department of Transportation (Mich, Dec 19, 2014); Barnett v City of Detroit (Mich App No. 375164, July 23, 2026, unpublished); Brewer v Adams (Mich App, Mar 16, 2026); MCL 600.6431; MCL 500.3135; MCL 500.3145; MCL 600.5805.
Questions people ask us
I was hurt riding a SMART or DDOT bus. Who pays my medical bills?
Usually your own auto insurer, or the insurer of a spouse or relative you live with. Michigan’s priority statute sends passengers of buses run under government-sponsored transportation programs to their own household policy first. If no household policy covers you, the bus’s insurer pays.
How long do I have to give notice of a claim against SMART?
Sixty days from the crash for a claim against the transit authority for injury. The notice must be written, must state the claim, and must be served on the authority. A no-fault application does not count as that notice.
Can I sue a city or school district for a bus crash when the government is usually immune?
Yes, if the crash was caused by an employee’s negligent driving of a vehicle the agency owns. That is the motor vehicle exception to governmental immunity. You still have to meet the serious impairment threshold for pain and suffering.
My child was hurt on a school bus. Whose insurance pays?
Your household auto policy pays first, the same as any other crash. The school bus’s insurer pays only if no other policy covers your child.