What to do after a car accident in Michigan

The minutes after a crash are loud and confusing, and Michigan's rules are not the ones most people expect. This is a no-fault state, which changes who pays your medical bills, how you recover lost wages, and whether you can sue the driver who hit you.¹ Here is what Michigan law actually requires, with the numbers and deadlines that apply in 2026.

At the scene

Check for injuries and call 911. Michigan law requires you to report a crash that injures or kills someone, or that causes property damage, to the nearest police agency. The officer files a UD-10 crash report, and the Michigan State Police keep those reports through the Traffic Crash Reporting Unit; a copy costs $15.²³ If you need one later, here is how Michigan crash reports work.

Trade names, license, registration, and insurance details with the other driver. Photograph the vehicles, the plates, the intersection, and any skid marks or debris while they're still there. One detail worth capturing: whether the other driver was holding a phone. Michigan's hands-free law, rewritten by 2023 PA 33 and in force since June 30, 2023, bars holding or supporting a phone in your hand, arm, or shoulder while driving, even while stopped at a red light, and an officer can pull a driver over for that alone.⁴ A citation there can matter later when fault gets sorted out.

Open your PIP claim, and do it within a year

Because Michigan is no-fault, your own auto insurer pays your medical bills and wage loss after a crash regardless of who caused it. That coverage is Personal Injury Protection, or PIP.¹

There is a hard deadline. Under MCL 500.3145 you must give your insurer written notice of the injury within one year of the crash, or file suit within that year.⁵ A second part of the same statute, the one-year-back rule, limits you to expenses from the year before you file. Wait too long and older bills fall off even if the claim itself is still alive.⁵ So report the crash to your insurer quickly, and in writing.

Since the 2020 reform, drivers pick their PIP medical level: unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, $50,000 if you're on Medicaid, or an opt-out if everyone on the policy has Medicare plus other qualifying coverage.⁶ Check which level you chose, because it caps what's available for your treatment. PIP also pays wage loss at 85% of your lost gross income for up to three years, subject to a monthly maximum that DIFS raises every October. For crashes between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, that cap is $7,201 per month.⁷

When you can sue the driver who hit you

No-fault does not mean no lawsuit. You can still sue the at-fault driver, but for pain and suffering (noneconomic damages) Michigan sets a threshold. Under MCL 500.3135 you can recover those damages only if the crash caused death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a "serious impairment of body function."⁸ The Michigan Supreme Court defined that last phrase in McCormick v. Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010): an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. The Legislature wrote that test into the statute in 2019.⁸

Your own share of the blame matters too. Michigan uses modified comparative fault under MCL 600.2959: your damages shrink by your percentage of fault, and if you're found more than 50% at fault you recover no noneconomic damages at all.⁹

There is no dollar cap on economic or noneconomic damages in an ordinary at-fault suit. The limits here are the injury threshold and the comparative-fault bar, not a ceiling on the award.⁸

Your car, and the mini-tort

PIP covers your body, not your vehicle. For the car, Michigan's "mini-tort" lets you recover up to $3,000 from the at-fault driver for damage your own insurance didn't pay, a figure raised from $1,000 for crashes on or after July 1, 2020.¹⁰ That $3,000 is the cap on vehicle damage you paid out of pocket. It does not stack on top of a collision payout. If your car lost market value even after a proper repair, that's a separate question: see diminished value claims in Michigan.

The deadlines that can end your case

Two clocks run at once. The PIP notice clock is one year, above.⁵ The lawsuit clock is longer: you have three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury suit under MCL 600.5805(2), and Michigan uses that same three-year window for vehicle-damage suits.¹¹ Miss it and the court dismisses the case no matter how strong it is.

If a bar or store served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, or to a minor, who then caused your crash, Michigan's dram shop act (MCL 436.1801) can let you sue that seller. The rules are strict: written notice to the establishment within 120 days of retaining a lawyer, and a two-year deadline to sue.¹²

Coverage you may not know you have

Every Michigan liability policy issued since July 1, 2020 carries default limits of $250,000 per person, $500,000 per crash, and $10,000 for property, written 250/500/10. A driver can choose lower 50/100/10 limits, but only by signing a specific disclosure form; without that signature, the default applies.¹³ Those numbers govern what the at-fault driver's insurer can pay you.

One coverage Michigan does not require is uninsured and underinsured motorist protection. DIFS lists UM and UIM as optional add-ons, not mandatory coverage.¹⁴ If the driver who hit you had no insurance or too little, that optional coverage on your own policy may be the only pocket left, so it's worth pulling your declarations page now to see whether you carry it.

Getting help

You don't need a lawyer to open a PIP claim, and for a minor fender-bender you may not need one at all. But if you're up against the injury threshold, a fault dispute, or a serious injury, the deadlines above are unforgiving. You can find a Michigan attorney here.

This is general information about Michigan law, not legal advice for your specific situation.

Sources

Michigan Legislature, Michigan No-Fault Act, MCL 500.3101 et seq. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-500-3101
Michigan State Police, Traffic Crash Reporting Unit. https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/cjic/traffic-crash-reporting-unit
Michigan State Police, Traffic Crash Reporting Unit, Frequently Asked Questions (Traffic Crash Purchasing System, $15 per report). https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/cjic/traffic-crash-reporting-unit/tcru---frequently-asked-questions
Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.602b (2023 PA 33, hands-free law). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-602b
Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3145 (one-year notice and one-year-back rule). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-500-3145
Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3107c (PIP medical coverage levels). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107c
Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, 2025 Bulletins (Bulletin 2025-18-INS, maximum work loss benefit for 10/1/2025-9/30/2026). https://www.michigan.gov/difs/legal/bulletins/2025-bulletins ; work-loss benefit authorized under MCL 500.3107(1)(b), https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107
Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3135 (tort threshold and mini-tort); McCormick v. Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135
Michigan Legislature, MCL 600.2959 (comparative fault). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2959
Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3135(3)(e) (mini-tort, $3,000 limit). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135
Michigan Legislature, MCL 600.5805(2) (three-year period of limitations). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5805
Michigan Legislature, MCL 436.1801 (dram shop act). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-436-1801
Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3009 (residual liability limits). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3009
Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Purchasing Auto Insurance FAQ (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage optional). https://www.michigan.gov/difs/news-and-outreach/faq/insurance/info-purchasing-auto-insurance

What to Do After a Car Accident in Michigan