In Michigan, a car accident lawsuit is a legal claim against the at-fault driver to recover compensation not covered by No-Fault insurance — including pain and suffering, excess medical expenses, and lost wages. Because Michigan is a no-fault state, your own insurance typically pays your medical bills and wage loss first, regardless of fault. A third-party lawsuit becomes available only in specific situations.
To win pain and suffering compensation, you must prove two things: the other driver was at least 50% at fault, and your injuries meet Michigan’s “serious impairment of body function” threshold — or resulted in death or permanent serious disfigurement. If your medical bills or lost wages exceed your No-Fault policy limits, you can also sue the at-fault driver for those excess amounts, even without meeting the injury threshold.
Michigan’s auto crash laws carry strict filing deadlines and procedural rules that can bar your recovery if missed. Below, we answer the most common questions about who can sue, what compensation is available, and how long you have to act.
Types of Car Accident Lawsuits in Michigan
There are two primary types of lawsuits you can file after a Michigan car accident: a first-party lawsuit against your own insurance company, and a third-party lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Which one applies to your case depends on what kind of compensation you’re seeking.
First-party lawsuits (suing your own insurance)
Because Michigan is a no-fault state, your own auto insurance policy’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your medical expenses and other economic losses regardless of who caused the crash. These benefits include:
- Medical expenses: All reasonably necessary medical treatment related to your injuries, up to your policy’s selected coverage level. (MCL 500.3107)
- Wage loss benefits: Up to 85% of your lost income, subject to a monthly cap and a three-year limit from the date of the crash. (MCL 500.3107)
- Attendant care: Compensation for family members or others who provide daily care and assistance while you recover. (MCL 500.3107)
- Replacement services: Payment for household tasks you can no longer perform yourself, such as cleaning, cooking, or yard work. (MCL 500.3107)
When to file a first-party lawsuit: If your own insurance company delays payment, underpays a benefit, disputes your claim, or wrongfully terminates your PIP benefits, you may need to file a first-party lawsuit against your insurer to recover what you’re owed.
- Statute of Limitations: You have one year from the date of the car accident to file a claim or lawsuit for unpaid Michigan No-Fault benefits. (MCL 500.3145)
Third-party lawsuits (suing the at-fault driver)
To recover pain and suffering compensation or damages beyond what your Michigan No-Fault benefits cover, you must file a third-party lawsuit against the driver who caused your car accident. To sue the other driver for pain and suffering (non-economic damages) or excess economic losses, you must meet very specific legal thresholds:
- The Threshold Injury: Under Michigan law, your injuries must result in death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a “serious impairment of body function” (an injury that significantly affects your ability to lead a normal life, such as traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, or spinal cord damage). (MCL 500.3135(1))
- Comparative Fault (50% Rule): You can only recover pain and suffering damages if you were 50% or less at fault for the crash. If you were partially at fault (e.g., 20%), your compensation will be reduced by that percentage. If you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover non-economic damages. (MCL 500.3135(2)(b))
- Excess Economic Damages: If your injuries are so severe that your medical bills or lost wages exceed your PIP policy limits, or extend past the three-year limit, you can sue the at-fault driver for those excess costs. (MCL 500.3135(3)(d))
- Vehicle damage: Michigan allows limited “mini-tort” claims against the at-fault driver to recover up to $3,000 for vehicle damage costs not covered by insurance. (MCL 500.3135(3)(e))
- Statute of Limitations: In Michigan, you have three years from the date of the car accident to file a third-party lawsuit against the at-fault driver. (MCL 600.5805)
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More FAQs
How does a car accident lawsuit work in Michigan?
A Michigan car accident lawsuit requires proving two things: the other driver was at fault, and your injuries meet our state’s legal threshold for a serious impairment of body function, permanent serious disfigurement, or death.
How do you file a lawsuit for a car accident in Michigan?
To file a car accident lawsuit in Michigan, your lawyer prepares and files a complaint in the appropriate circuit court, naming the at-fault driver (and their insurer, where applicable) as the defendant. The complaint must be filed before the relevant statute of limitations expires. Once filed, the case moves through discovery, negotiation, and — if it doesn’t settle — trial.
Michigan’s rules for what must be pled, which court has jurisdiction, and how damages are calculated are complex, and mistakes in the filing can jeopardize the case. This is why crash victims typically hire an experienced attorney to handle the filing rather than doing it themselves.
How do you prove fault in a Michigan car accident lawsuit?
You must prove the other driver was 50% or more at fault. Under Michigan’s comparative fault law, a car accident victim who was more than 50% at fault cannot file a lawsuit for pain and suffering. (MCL 500.3135(2)(b)) If you were partially at fault, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Importantly, the comparative fault rules also provide that if you were at-fault in causing or contributing to your crash, then the amount of compensation you recover from your car accident lawsuit in Michigan will be reduced by the percentage of fault you were responsible for.
Once you prove that the other driver was at-fault in causing your crash, you must then be able to show that your crash-related injuries caused you to suffer a “serious impairment of body function.” (MCL 500.3135(1), (2), (3)(b)) This is called a tort-threshold and it is a legal standard that requires a crash victim to first prove that their injuries rise to this threshold level in order to sue for and collect pain and suffering compensation.
In Michigan, if you file a car accident lawsuit for “excess” medical benefits (i.e., medical expenses in excess of the No-Fault PIP medical benefits coverage level in the policy through which you are claiming No-Fault insurance benefits) or “excess” lost wages or other economic damages, you do not need to prove a “serious impairment of body function.” The only exception to this is if you are a non-Michigan resident seeking economic damages. (MCL 500.3135(3)(d))
What evidence helps a car accident lawsuit in Michigan?
Strong evidence can make the difference in proving fault and the extent of your injuries. Common evidence includes:
- Police crash report
- Photos and video of the crash scene
- Medical records documenting your injuries and treatment
- Witness statements
- Insurance information for all parties involved
- Repair estimates for vehicle damage
- Documentation of lost wages and time away from work
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Michigan?
The time you have to file a car accident lawsuit in Michigan (statute of limitations) is 3 years after the crash if you are suing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering compensation and/or for vehicle damage. (MCL 600.5805) You only have 1 year after the crash to sue the auto insurance company for unpaid No-Fault benefits. (MCL 500.3145(2))
If you have filed an application for No-Fault benefits within one (1) year of your crash — which we strongly advise you do in order to protect your rights to medical benefits and lost wages — then you will have one (1) year after your most recent medical bill or wage loss “has been incurred” to sue for unpaid, overdue No-Fault benefits. (MCL 500.3145(2))
How long does a car accident lawsuit take in Michigan?
It’s difficult to answer how long a Michigan car accident lawsuit will take. It will depend on your injuries, the docket of where it is filed, whether you’re disabled from working and how long until you can return to your normal life; your lawyer’s track record and reputation; and the at-fault driver’s insurer.
Other relevant factors that influence how long it can take include: whether your injuries will necessitate “excess” coverage for medical bills and lost wages; whether the at-fault driver is contesting liability; the liability insurance policy limits of the at-fault driver; whether there are multiple layers of insurance with different insurance companies; the defense lawyer or lawyers assigned to the case; whether the defendant is self-insured or has hired private counsel; the insurance company that insures the driver; whether the case is on a fast or slower discovery track which is determined by the judge assigned to the case; and how quickly the case can be scheduled for trial.
One of the factors that can significantly shorten the length of your case is the track record and reputation of your lawyer. Lawyers who have a proven track record of winning at trial and a reputation for being ready to go to trial will often be able to settle your case faster and for more money, compared to lawyers who an insurance company knows always take the last settlement offer and who the insurer knows has not taken a case to trial in years.
How much money to expect from a car accident lawsuit in Michigan?
There’s no set amount — every case depends on your injuries and the facts of the crash. Insurance industry research shows cases settle for 3 to 4 times more with an experienced lawyer.
The lawyers at Michigan Auto Law have more than 50 years of experience getting record-breaking automobile crash settlements and trial verdicts for our clients. In fact, we’ve recovered more million-dollar settlements on behalf of our clients than any other lawyer or law firm in Michigan.
To learn more about what the settlement value of your case may be, please check out our “Settlement Calculator.”
Who pays?
The at-fault driver’s auto insurance company is the one that pays. However, if the pain and suffering compensation, excess medical and lost wages and other economic damages exceed the driver’s liability insurance coverage, then the driver may also have to pay.
Generally, the recovery amount in an automobile crash case is governed by the at-fault driver’s liability insurance coverage, meaning the insurance company – not the driver personally – pays to settle the case within the applicable insurance coverage limits available.
But if the recovery amount is more than what’s covered by the at-fault driver’s liability policy, then he or she may be held personally liable for that excess amount. When that happens, the at-fault driver may be required to pay what is owed to the person who was injured by the driver’s negligence.
What happens when someone dies in a crash?
When someone dies in a car accident in Michigan, the person’s family can bring a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation for pain and suffering, loss of affection of their loved one and loss of financial support. A wrongful death case may have a modified statute of limitations depending on the facts.
Michigan’s wrongful death law allows the family of a person who was killed in a crash to bring a wrongful death claim. (MCL 600.2922(1) and (2)) Specifically, the Michigan law requires that this type of car accident lawsuit be brought in the deceased’s name and by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate.
If the crash victim passes away before the three-year statute of limitations has run – within 30 days of it having run – then the case “may be commenced by the personal representative of the deceased person at any time within 2 years after letters of authority are issued although the period of limitations has run.” (MCL 600.5852(1))
What happens if the driver who caused the crash doesn’t have insurance or has minimal coverage?
If the driver who caused the crash doesn’t have insurance or has minimal coverage, then your ability to recover the pain and suffering compensation, excess medical benefits and lost wages and other economic damages you’re entitled to may be limited by the driver’s personal assets and ability to pay.
A crash victim can still file a claim against the at-fault driver. However, if the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance or has very minimal insurance coverage, then the ability to collect what is owed to you can prove difficult. Some at-fault drivers will not have the personal resources to pay the compensation and damages that you are owed. Your lawyer can still file a judgment and garnish wages and periodically check on the financial status of the defendant at-fault driver, but you may not be able to recover for all the harms and losses you have incurred, or it may take much longer to collect money damages to fulfill a judgment.
Under these circumstances – where the at-fault driver is either uninsured or underinsured – your best and maybe your only chance for recovery is if you have “uninsured motorist” or “underinsured motorist” coverage.
When should you talk to a lawyer after a crash?
You should consider speaking with an experienced lawyer if any of the following apply to your situation:
- You suffered significant or long-term injuries
- The other driver or their insurance company disputes fault
- You have substantial medical bills or lost wages
- Your insurance company is denying, delaying, or undervaluing your claim
What determines whether you have a case?
In Michigan, whether your situation is only a no-fault matter or also supports a third-party car accident lawsuit generally comes down to four things: the severity of your injuries, the strength of the fault evidence, the available insurance coverage, and how much time has passed since the crash. An experienced lawyer can review these details with you and tell you where you stand.
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Injured In A Car Accident In Michigan and Have Questions About a Lawsuit? Call Our Attorneys Now For A Free Consultation!
If you were injured in a crash in Michigan and have questions about a lawsuit, call now (800) 968-1001 for a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer. There is no cost or obligation. You can also visit our contact page or use the chat feature on our website.
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