Injured on an MITS Bus in Muncie, IN? Who’s Liable?

June 6, 2026

• The MITS bus system in Muncie is great, but accidents do happen, and you could be left with high medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering if you get injured in one.
• Determining liability is complex: There could be many potentially guilty parties, the time to file notice of a claim is reduced to 180 days if MITS or the City of Muncie is partly or wholly responsible.
• You need to act fast, and this means working with a Muncie bus accident lawyer who understands the law and can get your case moving in the right timeframe.

If you are a fan of public transportation, the Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) is nearly a miracle. A single ride costs only 50 cents. A monthly pass costs $18, giving you unlimited access to all 14 bus lines across the city.

Of course, it isn’t perfect. Buses only run until 6:45 during the week, 6:15 on Saturday, and not at all on Sunday. Drivers don’t carry change, so if you want a quick ride, you’ll need a couple of quarters. And, of course, buses can get in accidents, which can be extremely dangerous if you are riding in them.

If you’re injured on an MITS bus in Muncie, IN, you could be left with a staggering array of costs. You may face steep medical bills both short- and-long-term. You might suffer lost wages from being unable to work. Your life might be turned upside down, and you’ll want to be set right side up again.

To do so means determining who is liable for the accident. And the answer might not be as straightforward as you think. But knowing who is liable and pursuing the case correctly is key to your claim, which is why working with a Muncie bus accident lawyer who can solve these complexities could help you get your life back together.

Determining Liability for an MITS Bus Injury in Muncie

Let’s say you’re on the 16, leaving from downtown toward the Ball State University campus. You’re not paying much attention. But when you are crossing Riverside, the bus suddenly slams on its brakes. You look up as you’re thrown forward and see a car cutting in front of the bus right before the collision.

The first thing to do is determine the extent of your injuries. You may need immediate medical care. But if you can, it is also important to try to understand what happened. Talk to other people on the bus. Take photographs if possible. Knowing the cause of the accident can help you and your legal team determine who is responsible.

Reading the description above, it might seem obvious who is responsible for the accident: the car that crossed in front of the MITS bus. But it isn’t always going to be that simple. Some of the other parties who might be responsible include:

• The Bus Driver. If the driver was speeding, not paying attention, driving recklessly, or otherwise impaired, then the driver might be personally responsible for the crash.
• The Muncie Indiana Transportation System is also responsible for its drivers. If the driver didn’t have appropriate training or was overworked, MITS could have liability. Additionally, MITS could be responsible if the buses weren’t properly maintained: for instance, if the brakes weren’t working well, that is on MITS.
• Contractors/Maintenance. MITS might also have had its buses on a regular, workable maintenance routine, but its contractors did subpar work. This kind of liability could also extend to the bus manufacturer.
• Other Parties on the Road. The car that cut in front of you might have itself been cut off by another car. The car might have been trying to avoid a bicyclist. There are a lot of ways for the driver to assign blame to others.
• The City of Muncie. If the road was not well maintained, with unplowed snow or other preventable bad driving conditions, the city might have liability.

It’s important to note that disaster rarely has one cause. There are usually several interlocking causes and different levels of responsibility by different parties.

Determining who is liable for what is crucial. And when it comes to municipal entities such as MITS or the City of Muncie, you need to act quickly.

Why It Is Important to Move Quickly in an MITS Bus Accident

If the car that cut in front of the bus was clearly 100% responsible for the accident, its driver and/or owner would be liable for your medical bills along with their insurance companies. In that case, you’d have two years from the date of the accident to file your case. That’s the Indiana standard for filing a lawsuit against private defendants.

But as we saw, both MITS and the City of Muncie potentially bear liability if you’ve been injured on an MITS bus. That changes the equation.

When it comes to a public entity, you must file a Notice of Claim within 180 days of the accident.

This is not the same as filing a lawsuit. It gives the government a chance to investigate, respond, and either settle or deny the claim. If it does the latter, you have six months to file suit. Failure to meet these deadlines is like missing your stop: you can’t go back.

Unlike missing your stop, a small inconvenience, missing these deadlines could mean being on the hook for all the medical costs and lost wages you might incur. You may not be compensated for the pain and suffering you underwent.

You need to act immediately. And that means working with a team that knows how to determine liability in an MITS bus accident in Muncie.

Reach Out to Our Experienced Muncie Bus Accident Attorneys

Quickly determining liability and filing claims in a timely manner are what a team that’s fully versed in bus accidents can do for you if you’ve been injured on an MITS bus, like the Muncie bus accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Simply call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Muncie bus accident attorney.