Hit by a DoorDash Driver in Michigan: Who Pays?
DoorDash and other common delivery and driver services often use independent contractors instead of employees, meaning the legal questions after an accident can get complicated. If you get injured by a DoorDash driver in Michigan, collect whatever evidence and information you have access to and ask a Michigan Legal Center attorney for help with your next steps.
What was the driver doing when the crash happened?
Determine whether the driver was actively delivering an order, which is more useful than knowing only that the driver worked for DoorDash. Under DoorDash's auto-insurance description, the delivery period begins when a request is accepted and ends when the order is marked delivered, unassigned or canceled.
Record what you know about the driver's activity and how you learned it. Useful details include:
- whether the driver was waiting for an offer, traveling to a pickup, carrying an order or had finished or canceled it
- the crash time and location and any known order-acceptance or completion times
- whether the driver was using another delivery app or making a personal trip
- the driver's name, vehicle and insurance information, witness details and statements about the delivery
Other important evidence could include the crash report, scene photographs, messages and any order information or app screenshots you already have. You may not have access to the other driver's account records, but a Michigan Legal Center attorney can help you assess what additional records should be requested and preserved.
When might DoorDash's insurance apply?
DoorDash's auto-insurance description identifies potential third-party liability coverage when a driver is responsible for injury or damage to someone else during the delivery period. In Michigan, that is just a starting point for investigation, not a guarantee for how the case will proceed.
If the driver was online but had not accepted an order, DoorDash's auto-insurance description says the driver's own auto insurance is primary, meaning it is the first policy to check. That doesn’t necessarily establish that the personal policy covers every delivery-related claim.
Even during an accepted delivery, coverage depends on the policy's terms, conditions, exclusions and applicable law. In DoorDash's insurance basics, DoorDash also distinguishes liability coverage for harm to others from coverage for damage to the delivery driver's own vehicle.
Who pays your injury bills in Michigan?
Personal injury protection (PIP) can pay covered medical expenses and certain lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. Under MCL 500.3114, the first place to look is your own auto policy and applicable coverage through your spouse or a relative who lives in your household. Special priority rules and coverage exclusions can change which insurer pays.
Your policy and household insurance information, the vehicle you occupied and whether an employment or other statutory exception under MCL 500.3114 applies can change the answer. Selected medical coverage and exclusions also matter. The Michigan guide to medical bills and PIP priority explains how to identify the insurer to approach.
A claim for pain and suffering is a separate question. Under MCL 500.3135, Michigan requires a qualifying injury (death, permanent serious disfigurement or serious impairment of body function), and fault also affects recovery. Those pain-and-suffering requirements should not be treated as the test for every PIP benefit or every type of economic loss.
What should you do if an insurer denies coverage?
If an insurer tries to deny coverage, your first step should be to confirm their denial in writing and ask for the specific policy language and facts they used to justify the denial. A denial may depend on whether an order had been accepted, when it ended, policy exclusions or other coverage issues. A written explanation can identify what needs to be checked but isn’t a universal prerequisite to reporting a claim to another potentially responsible insurer.
If you don’t know where to report the crash to DoorDash, the DoorDash insurance form can be found on their official auto-insurance help page. Keep a copy of the report and ask which insurer and policy will handle it.
Notify the relevant insurers accurately and keep copies of every submission and response. If you do not know the driver's delivery status, say so and identify the evidence you have. Preserve that evidence while the coverage question is investigated. The commercial-crash evidence guide explains the broader preservation issue; the delivery and app records here need attention even when the vehicle is a personal car.
If liability insurance is unavailable or insufficient, ask whether your own policy includes applicable uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM). The Michigan UM/UIM guide addresses that separate policy review. Do not assume a liability denial resolves every available claim.
For help identifying the policies and preserving delivery-status evidence, contact Michigan Legal Center with the crash report, driver and insurance information, available app records and any denial letters.