Getting hit by a driver who then speeds off is its own kind of awful. You're hurt or your car is wrecked, and the one person responsible just vanished. Michigan law treats fleeing a crash seriously, and because the state runs on a no-fault insurance system, the path to getting your bills paid looks different here than it does in most places. Here's what actually applies.
What Michigan requires you to do after any crash
Michigan doesn't have a single "hit-and-run" statute. The duty to stop is spread across a handful of sections in the Michigan Vehicle Code, and the charge depends on what the crash damaged.
The core duty sits in MCL 257.619. Any driver who knows or has reason to believe they were in a crash with a person or another vehicle has to give their name, address, and vehicle registration number to the other driver, any injured person, or a police officer, show their license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone hurt, which means helping arrange medical care or transportation.1 These duties apply on public roads and on private property that's open to public travel, so a grocery store parking lot counts.1
Hit a parked or unattended car and a separate rule kicks in. Under MCL 257.621 you have to stop and either find and notify the owner, leave a note with your name and address, or report it to the nearest police officer if you can't locate them. Skipping that step is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine.2
The penalties climb with the harm
Michigan grades leaving the scene by what the crash caused, and the jump from property damage to injury is steep.
Property damage only. If the crash damaged a vehicle and you took off, MCL 257.618 makes it a misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $100, or both.34
Personal injury. If someone was injured, short of the most serious injuries, and you left, MCL 257.617a raises it to a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The Secretary of State also adds six points to your record and suspends your license for 90 days.56
Serious impairment or death. This is the felony tier. Under MCL 257.617, leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious impairment of a body function or death is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.7 If you caused the crash and someone died, the ceiling rises to 15 years and a $10,000 fine. Michigan courts treat those as distinct crimes, not just a sentencing bump.8
One point trips people up: you can be charged with leaving the scene even when the crash wasn't your fault. The duty to stop and identify yourself doesn't depend on who caused the collision.
You also have to tell the police
Separate from stopping, MCL 257.622 requires the driver to immediately report a crash to the nearest police station or officer when it injures or kills someone or does at least $1,000 in apparent property damage. Failing to report is itself a misdemeanor, up to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine.9
That reporting duty matters to you as the victim too. Calling the police right away is what creates the official crash report, and in a hit-and-run that report is often the only formal record of what happened. Michigan crash reports are held by the Michigan State Police, and you can pull yours through the state's system; the details are on the Michigan crash reports page.
How a no-fault state pays a hit-and-run victim
Here's where Michigan diverges from most of the country. Because it's a no-fault state, your own auto policy pays your medical bills and a share of your lost wages through Personal Injury Protection (PIP), no matter who hit you or whether that driver is ever found.10 A hit-and-run doesn't leave you without medical coverage, which is the fear a lot of people have in the first hour after a crash.
Two deadlines control PIP, both under MCL 500.3145. You have to give written notice of the injury to the insurer within one year of the crash, and a claim can only reach back to recover expenses from the year before the lawsuit was filed, the "one-year-back" rule.11 Miss the notice window and the claim can be lost entirely, so this isn't a formality to sit on.
Some victims have no PIP of their own. A pedestrian or bicyclist with no car, no policy, and no resident relative who carries one can turn to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which assigns an insurer to cover benefits. Since the 2019 no-fault reform, benefits paid through the Assigned Claims Plan are capped at $250,000 in medical under MCL 500.3172.1213 You generally have to apply within a year, so the same clock is running.
Getting your medical paid is one thing. Money for pain and suffering is another, and in Michigan that's a separate claim against the at-fault driver, allowed only if the injury meets the "serious impairment of body function," permanent serious disfigurement, or death threshold in MCL 500.3135.14 When the driver is never identified, the practical route to a pain-and-suffering recovery is uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own policy. Michigan doesn't require UM coverage; the Department of Insurance and Financial Services lists it as optional protection you can add, not something the law makes you buy.15 Whether it reaches a phantom hit-and-run driver, and whether physical contact is required, comes down to your policy language, so read it or ask your agent.
For the car itself, a vehicle that's now worth less on resale even after a clean repair can support a diminished value claim; how that works in Michigan is covered on the diminished value page. And the deadline to sue over the crash, for injuries and for property damage alike, is three years from the date of the collision under MCL 600.5805(2).16
What to do after a hit-and-run in Michigan
Call 911 first. Reporting satisfies your own duty under MCL 257.622 and starts the police record you'll need later.9 If you can do it safely, write down or photograph anything about the other vehicle: the plate, make, color, the direction it fled, plus the location and time. Look for witnesses and nearby cameras. A gas station or doorbell camera has cracked more than one of these cases.
Then get the crash report, notify your own insurer promptly to protect the one-year PIP notice deadline, and keep every medical and repair record. If you're hurt or the other driver is never found, talking to a lawyer who handles Michigan no-fault claims can help you sort out PIP, the Assigned Claims Plan, and any UM claim before the deadlines close. You can start with the legal directory.
A hit-and-run feels like the other driver got away with it. Between the criminal statutes, your PIP coverage, and the three-year civil window, Michigan gives you more than one way to make it right, even when they're never caught.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.619 (accidents; duties of driver). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-619
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Michigan Courts, Traffic Benchbook, Leaving the Scene of or Failing to Report an Accident With an Attended or Unattended Vehicle (MCL 257.621). https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4add69/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/tbb/tbbresponsivehtml5.zip/TBB/Ch_5_Misdemeanor_Nonmoving_Violations/Leaving_the_Scene_of_or_Failing_to_Report_an_Accident_With_an_Attended_or_Unattended_Vehicle.htm
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.618 (leaving the scene; vehicle damage). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-618
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Michigan Courts, Traffic Benchbook, Leaving the Scene of or Failing to Report an Accident Resulting in Vehicle Damage Only. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4add69/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/tbb/tbbresponsivehtml5.zip/TBB/Ch_5_Misdemeanor_Nonmoving_Violations/Leaving_the_Scene_of_or_Failing_to_Report_an_Accident_Resulting_in_Vehicle_Damage_Only.htm
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.617a (leaving the scene; personal injury). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-617a
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Michigan Courts, Traffic Benchbook, Leaving the Scene of or Failing to Report an Accident Resulting in Personal Injury. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4add69/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/tbb/tbbresponsivehtml5.zip/TBB/Ch_5_Misdemeanor_Nonmoving_Violations/Leaving_the_Scene_of_or_Failing_to_Report_an_Accident_Resulting_in_Personal_Injury.htm
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.617 (leaving the scene; serious impairment or death). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-617
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Michigan Courts, Traffic Benchbook, Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Serious Impairment of a Body Function or Death. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4add69/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/tbb/tbbresponsivehtml5.zip/TBB/Ch_8_Felony_Moving_Violations/Leaving_the_Scene_of_an_Accident_Resulting_in_Serious_Impairment_of_a_Body_Function_or_Death.htm
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.622 (report of accidents resulting in death, personal injury, or property damage). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-622
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Michigan Legislature, Michigan No-Fault Act, MCL 500.3101 et seq. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-500-3101
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3145 (one-year notice and one-year-back rule). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-500-3145
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3172 (assigned claims plan; benefits payable). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3172
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Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Effective Date of the Cap on PIP Benefits Provided Under the Assigned Claims Plan (Order 19-049-M). https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/difs/DO/2019_2nd/Cap_on_PIP_Benefits_19-049-M.pdf
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3135 (tort liability; serious impairment threshold). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135
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Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Information on Purchasing Auto Insurance (FAQ). https://www.michigan.gov/difs/news-and-outreach/faq/insurance/info-purchasing-auto-insurance
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Michigan Legislature, MCL 600.5805(2) (three-year limitations period). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5805