Car Accidents

Last updated June 22, 2026

Michigan no-fault: two claims, not one

A Michigan car accident usually produces two separate claims, and confusing them is where injured people lose money.

The first is your no-fault PIP claim against your own insurer. Regardless of who caused the crash, PIP pays your accident-related medical bills, a portion of lost wages, and certain replacement-service and attendant-care costs. This is first-party coverage, and it is the backbone of recovery after most Michigan crashes.

The second is the third-party claim against the at-fault driver, for the things PIP does not cover, most importantly pain and suffering. That claim is only available if your injury clears Michigan’s legal threshold.

The serious-impairment threshold

Under MCL 500.3135, you can recover pain-and-suffering damages from the at-fault driver only for a serious impairment of body function, an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. Insurers fight hard on this point, because if they can argue the injury does not meet the threshold, the third-party claim goes away. Documenting the injury properly from the start is what protects it.

Vehicle damage and the mini-tort

Property damage to your vehicle is handled outside the injury claim. Your own collision coverage, if you have it, repairs the car, and Michigan’s mini-tort lets you recover a limited amount, currently up to $3,000, from the at-fault driver for damage your insurance did not cover.

The deadlines that quietly kill claims

Two clocks run from the day of the crash. A third-party injury lawsuit generally must be filed within three years. PIP benefits carry a one-year notice requirement and a one-year-back rule limiting how far back benefits reach. These are unforgiving, and the gap between “I’ll deal with it later” and a barred claim is exactly one of these deadlines.

How we handle it

We build the file from day one as if the case will be tried, even though most settle: securing the police report, the medical records, and the policy declarations, dealing with the adjusters so you do not have to, and pursuing both the PIP benefits and the third-party claim. Serious cases for Wayne County clients are filed in the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit. The consultation is free, and we work in English and Arabic.

This is a focused part of our personal injury practice. Call (313) 425-5555 to talk through your situation.