Michigan car accident laws, in plain English

1. No-fault: your own insurer pays first

Michigan is a no-fault state. After a crash, your own auto insurer, or one belonging to a spouse or relative you live with, pays your medical care up to your PIP limit, 85% of lost wages up to $7,455 per 30 days for up to three years, household help and attendant care, regardless of who caused the crash (MCL 500.3105, 500.3107, 500.3114). See no-fault benefits and which insurer pays.

2. Suing the at-fault driver: the injury threshold

You can sue the driver who caused the crash for pain and suffering only if the crash caused death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a “serious impairment of body function”: an objectively shown impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life (MCL 500.3135(1), (5)). You can also sue for medical costs and lost wages above what no-fault pays. See the serious impairment threshold and excess medical and wage claims.

3. Comparative fault

Being partly at fault doesn’t end a claim against the other driver. Your damages are reduced by your share of fault, and you lose pain and suffering only if you were more than 50% at fault (MCL 500.3135(2)(b); MCL 600.2959). Your own no-fault benefits are paid regardless of fault. See comparative fault.

4. Car damage and the mini tort

No-fault does not pay to fix your car. Your collision coverage does, if you have it. If the other driver was more than 50% at fault, you can recover up to $3,000 of what your insurance doesn’t cover, such as your deductible, through a mini-tort claim (MCL 500.3135(3)(e)). See the mini tort.

5. Driving without insurance

The owner or registrant of a car must insure it (MCL 500.3101), and driving an uninsured car is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail (MCL 500.3102). An owner driving their own uninsured car generally can’t collect no-fault benefits (MCL 500.3113) and can’t sue for any damages (MCL 500.3135(2)(c)). Passengers and pedestrians are treated differently. See driving without insurance.

6. Duties at the scene

• Stop, exchange information and help. Every driver involved must stop, give their name, address and registration, and help anyone injured get care (MCL 257.617, 257.618, 257.619).
• Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious impairment or death is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison, or up to 15 years if the driver caused a death (MCL 257.617). Leaving a crash with lesser injuries is a misdemeanor (MCL 257.617a). If you were hit and the driver fled, see hit-and-run claims.
• Report it. A crash that injures or kills anyone, or damages property to an apparent total of $1,000 or more, must be reported immediately to the nearest police station or officer (MCL 257.622).

7. Police reports

The officer’s report is important for getting a claim started, but under MCL 257.624 the report itself generally can’t be used as evidence at a trial. An officer who didn’t see the crash may get fault wrong, and a report can be challenged with witnesses, video and physical evidence. See what not to say to an adjuster.

8. Seat belts and phones

• Seat belts. Not wearing one can reduce what you recover from the at-fault driver, but by no more than 5% (MCL 257.710e). It doesn’t affect your no-fault benefits.
• Hands-free driving. Michigan bars drivers from holding or manually using a phone while driving, with limited exceptions (MCL 257.602b). Phone records can be strong evidence that the other driver was distracted.

9. Who else can be responsible

• The car’s owner. An owner who lets someone drive can be liable for that driver’s negligence (MCL 257.401). See does insurance follow the car or the driver.
• Employers and trucking companies for drivers working at the time. See truck accidents.
• A bar or restaurant that served a visibly intoxicated driver, under Michigan’s dram shop law, which has short notice deadlines (MCL 436.1801). See drunk driving crashes.
• A government agency for a defective road or a government vehicle, with notice due in as little as 120 days. See government vehicle and road defect claims.

10. Deadlines

• One year to give your no-fault insurer written notice, and generally to sue for no-fault benefits (MCL 500.3145).
• Three years to sue the at-fault driver (MCL 600.5805).
• As little as 120 days for notice of some claims against government agencies.

The deadline calculator works out every date for your crash.

Sources: MCL 257.401; MCL 257.602b; MCL 257.617, 257.617a, 257.618, 257.619; MCL 257.622; MCL 257.624; MCL 257.710e; MCL 436.1801; MCL 500.3101, 500.3102, 500.3105, 500.3107, 500.3113, 500.3114, 500.3135, 500.3145; MCL 600.2959; MCL 600.5805; Michigan Judicial Institute, Traffic Benchbook (sections on leaving the scene and failing to report an accident).