Hit by a Car in Michigan? Your Rights and Next Steps

If a car hits you as a pedestrian, your first step should always be getting medical attention. After that, report the crash to the police and preserve any evidence that you can access.

Most pedestrians after a crash will have access to personal injury protection benefits to help pay for their medical bills and other economic damages, without having to prove that the driver was at fault for the crash. They might also pursue a third-party claim based on the evidence available.

What should you do after being hit by a car?

Don’t start worrying about evidence until you get yourself to safety and make sure that you don’t need medical attention. If you can’t do it yourself, ask for help from a friend, family member or attorney to start collecting and preserving evidence.

If you can, complete these steps, not necessarily in order:

• Save the crash details. Keep the driver's name, contact and insurance information, the vehicle's plate number, the police agency and the crash report number. Get witnesses' names and contact information.
• Photograph the scene. Include where you were struck, the crosswalk or crossing area, signals, sight obstructions, lighting and vehicle damage. Save photographs of visible injuries and damaged clothing, too.
• Identify possible video. Note nearby businesses, homes or other locations with cameras, along with the crash time and location. Tell Michigan Legal Center attorneys promptly so available footage can be sought.
• Keep medical records together. Save discharge instructions, bills, referrals, prescriptions and work restrictions. Tell treating providers about the crash and describe your symptoms and limitations accurately at follow-up visits.
• Document missed work and daily limitations. Keep pay records, employer communications and a dated record of tasks you need help doing, such as bathing, walking or household chores.

Keep original photos, messages and documents, with a backup copy. Michigan Legal Center attorneys can help you collect evidence held by others, including available video and vehicle records. You don’t need to collect everything yourself before seeking help.

Who pays medical bills and lost wages?

For eligible pedestrians, Michigan no-fault PIP could pay bills that result from the crash like medical care, lost income and replacement services for tasks around the house they can’t do anymore under the benefit rules in MCL 500.3107. The benefits are available without regard to whose fault the crash is due to the no-fault rule in MCL 500.3105, but proof, coverage choices, exclusions, coordination with other insurance and statutory limits still apply. Medical coverage limits and work-loss rules are different. PIP doesn’t automatically pay every bill or replace every wage dollar.

Which insurance should you check first?

Michigan's rule for household coverage in MCL 500.3114(1) generally makes your own auto policy, your spouse's policy and policies held by relatives in your household the first place to look for PIP benefits. Michigan Legal Center attorneys can review your family relationship, where you make your home and the policy's coverage choices to determine which coverage applies. The rule for pedestrian claims in MCL 500.3115 directs those without applicable household coverage to Assigned Claims. The driver who caused the crash is not automatically the source of your PIP benefits.

The policy declarations pages list coverage and limits, you will also need the full policies, PIP selection forms, health insurance information and insurer letters. These give an attorney concrete documents to use in identifying coverage. For more detail, see Michigan Legal Center's guide to medical bills and PIP priority after a Michigan car accident.

What if you have no car or applicable household policy?

You aren’t automatically disqualified from PIP benefits just because you don’t have a car or auto insurance for yourself. For a pedestrian without applicable household coverage, MCL 500.3115 directs the claim to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan to get PIP coverage. Eligibility must still be established, and the application rule in MCL 500.3172 requires a completed application and reasonable proof of loss. That statute also places a limit on medical benefits through the plan that does not set the limit for every PIP category.

Residency and statutory exclusions can change eligibility. Under the PIP exclusions in MCL 500.3113, if the car involved in the crash was uninsured, the person the vehicle is owned by or registered to could have PIP benefits blocked completely. The same statute generally bars PIP for nonresidents unless they own a motor vehicle registered and insured in Michigan.

What if you opted out of PIP medical coverage?

Do not assume Assigned Claims will replace medical coverage you declined. In Van Heusen v Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that a policyholder who validly opted out of PIP medical coverage and was injured outside a vehicle could not obtain those medical benefits through Assigned Claims. Other PIP benefit categories require separate consideration.

Michigan's opt-out provision, MCL 500.3107d, allows qualifying people to decline PIP medical coverage, while MCL 500.3109a permits exclusions tied to other health coverage. The election form, any medical exclusion and your health coverage, including any recent loss of that coverage, need review.

Can you bring an injury claim against the driver?

Yes, you may have a separate injury claim if the driver's negligence caused your injuries and recoverable losses. To recover pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages, Michigan's injury threshold law, MCL 500.3135, requires death, permanent serious disfigurement or serious impairment of body function. Proving an injury threshold does not, by itself, prove fault or the amount of damages.

What does serious impairment of body function mean?

The definition in MCL 500.3135(5) requires a serious impairment to meet all three statutory elements:

• Someone other than you can observe or perceive the impairment through actual symptoms or conditions. Your account of pain matters, but the legal test also requires evidence observable by another person.
• The impairment affects an important body function. The function must have great value, significance or consequence to you.
• It affects your general ability to lead your normal life. The comparison is your life before and after the crash. Has the impairment influenced some of your capacity to live in your usual way?

There is no minimum amount of time the impairment has to last. The analysis is specific to the person, and a diagnosis, fracture or painful injury does not automatically establish the legal result. Medical findings, work restrictions, mobility changes and evidence of everyday limitations help show what the injury has done to your life.

Can the claim include unpaid medical bills or future lost income?

Yes, if economic damages like medical bills end up costing more than PIP can cover, the injured person might be able to recover more through third-party claims. Michigan's provisions for excess losses in MCL 500.3135(3)(c)-(d) also preserve claims for allowable expenses when PIP medical opt-outs or exclusions apply. These economic-loss rules aren’t the same as the pain-and-suffering threshold and not every unpaid bill is automatically recoverable. A nonresident seeking economic damages faces a separate injury-threshold requirement. Future care and lost income should be evaluated before a settlement is signed.

Could someone besides the driver be responsible?

Yes, the driver may not be the only responsible party. Under Michigan's vehicle owner liability law, MCL 257.401, a vehicle owner could be liable, even if they weren’t driving, as long as the driver had their implied consent. Ownership alone does not establish liability in every case. For a government-owned vehicle, the liability rule in MCL 691.1405 may permit a claim for injuries caused by an agency employee's negligent operation. Company or government vehicles need separate review of who may be responsible and which rules apply.

What if the driver blames you for the crash?

You aren’t automatically liable just because the driver blamed you, or because you weren’t in a crosswalk. Where you crossed, the signals, visibility and both your conduct and the driver's conduct must be examined with the evidence.

For pain-and-suffering damages, Michigan's motor-vehicle comparative-fault rule in MCL 500.3135(1)-(2) reduces recovery by your share of fault and bars recovery if you are more than 50% at fault. That percentage doesn’t change just because the driver made a claim about where you crossed. The no-fault rule in MCL 500.3105 provides PIP benefits without regard to fault, so the pain-and-suffering rule does not decide PIP eligibility.

Signal timing can be important. Under the traffic signal rule in MCL 257.612, a green light does not eliminate a driver's duty to yield to pedestrians in the intersection or crosswalk. Pedestrians can’t start crossing during a “don't walk” interval, whether steady or flashing. Someone who began crossing during the walk interval should continue to a sidewalk or safety island when the signal changes. Unsignalized crossings and applicable local ordinances need their own review.

Save your account of where you were, which direction the vehicle traveled and what you saw before impact. Witnesses, footage, lighting, signal evidence or a crash report or citation can prove or disprove an insurer's version of events.

What if the driver fled or has no insurance?

Report the fleeing driver to police and give them as much of the vehicle description as you can remember. A partial plate number, witness details or camera locations could all help. The evidence could help identify the driver, but if they stay unidentified then the pedestrian could be forced to rely on uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage.

UM and UIM coverage is optional and addresses drivers who don’t have insurance or don’t have enough. Whether either applies to a pedestrian depends on the actual policy's definitions, exclusions, conditions and deadlines. General descriptions of these optional coverages do not establish coverage for your crash.

An unidentified hit-and-run driver raises an additional policy question. Does the applicable UM policy cover that event, and what proof or reporting conditions does it require? Don’t assume that buying UM coverage guarantees an unknown-driver claim. Save the full policy and insurer correspondence for review. In DeFrain v State Farm, the Michigan Supreme Court enforced the policy's 30-day hit-and-run notice requirement without requiring the insurer to prove prejudice from the late notice. The Michigan UM/UIM coverage guide from Michigan Legal Center explains the broader coverage issues.

How fast do you need to act on PIP benefits?

A PIP lawsuit, under Michigan's PIP filing rule, MCL 500.3145, generally must be filed within one year after the crash unless proper written notice of injury was given to the insurer within that year or the insurer previously paid PIP benefits for the injury. You can’t assume a phone call or police report meets that requirement. Michigan Legal Center attorneys can identify the correct insurer and notice requirements.

If timely notice was given or PIP payment made, the statute generally allows suit within one year after the most recent covered expense or loss was incurred.

The one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145 generally limits recovery to losses incurred within the year before suit. A specific claim for payment can pause these later lawsuit and loss-recovery periods until formal denial, provided the claimant pursues the claim with reasonable diligence.

What notice does Assigned Claims require?

The Assigned Claims notice rule in MCL 500.3174 requires a person claiming through the plan to notify the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility within one year after the accident. That notice is separate from the PIP lawsuit and recoverable-loss rules.

How long do you have to sue the driver or another responsible party?

The general period for an injury lawsuit under MCL 600.5805 is three years, with exceptions depending on the defendant, claim type, applicable notices and other facts. That general period does not preserve a PIP claim or satisfy policy conditions.

Government involvement, a crash at work or a fatal injury warrants prompt, specialized review rather than relying on these general periods.

How should you handle recorded statements and insurance papers?

Report the crash as soon as possible, give accurate information and keep copies of what you send and receive. Before giving a recorded statement, broad medical authorization or settlement release, ask Michigan Legal Center attorneys to review who is requesting it and what it covers. Ask them to explain any effect on injury and future-loss claims and any conditions in your UM/UIM policy that apply before another claim is settled. Keep track of response dates and policy cooperation requirements while getting advice. In Dawson v Farm Bureau, the Court of Appeals enforced a UIM policy provision that prevented the insured from binding the insurer to a judgment entered without its written consent.

If you were hit by a car, Michigan Legal Center's pedestrian accident attorneys can help protect your injury and future-loss claims by identifying the possible benefit source, seeking outside evidence and reviewing insurer paperwork before you sign a release. Contact Michigan Legal Center with the crash report number, available insurance documents and any request you have received to sign a release.