Hit by a Truck Making a Wide Turn in Michigan: Who Is at Fault?

The truck driver may be at fault if an unsafe wide turn caused the crash. Both drivers can share fault if the other driver’s unsafe pass also contributed.

Semi-trucks need extra room to turn, but the driver still has to check that the turn can be made safely. Vehicle positions, signals and the sequence of events help show who was responsible.

How do vehicle positions affect fault?

If your car was already beside the truck, the driver needed to check that it was safe before moving into your lane. On a road with clearly marked lanes, failing to do so may be evidence of fault under MCL 257.642.

Sometimes these crashes happen because a smaller car moved into the lane beside the semi as it was turning.

Open space beside a truck does not make passing on the right lawful. The pass must meet Michigan’s legal requirements and be safe, without leaving the pavement or main traveled roadway. An unsafe or unlawful pass can contribute to your share of fault.

Both drivers can share fault in a crash. In Estate of McDuffie-Connor v Neal, a car was passing a right-turning truck in a parking lane. Disputed evidence about the truck’s signals and the crash sequence left questions about both drivers’ fault. The truck had passed the car seconds earlier. The Michigan Supreme Court sent the case back for further proceedings in 2025. It did not decide either driver’s final share of fault.

Drivers aren’t expected to anticipate every unknown hazard, but they must account for hazards reasonably apparent in the circumstances. The question is whether negligent driving caused the crash, not simply whether the truck made contact.

What rules must a truck driver follow when turning?

Under MCL 257.648, before turning, drivers need to be sure the turn can be made safely and give the required signal. A turn signal warns others but doesn’t establish that the space beside the truck is clear.

On roads with clearly marked lanes, MCL 257.642 requires drivers to stay within one lane as nearly as practicable. They must check that a lane movement is safe and follow official lane directions.

At an intersection, MCL 257.647 requires the approach and right turn to be as close as practicable to the right curb or roadway edge, unless official signs or markings direct a different course.

A trailer’s rear wheels follow a tighter path through a turn than the truck’s front wheels, as the Michigan CDL Manual explains. Your car can be clear of the cab but still be in the trailer’s path.

What evidence helps establish fault?

Evidence from before the turn can show whether your car was already beside the truck or entered a gap after the turn began.

If you can do so safely and legally:

• Keep the original dashcam recording and note nearby cameras that may have captured the approach, signal and turn.
• Photograph lane lines, turn arrows, signs and vehicle damage to help show the available turning space.
• Save witness contact information and note what witnesses saw before impact, including whether a turn signal was blinking.

Keep the crash report or report number, too.

Ask an attorney promptly about preserving truck camera footage and records relevant to the turn, including signal inspection records. Recordings may be overwritten, and repairs can change the evidence. Our guide to evidence preservation after a Michigan truck accident explains which records may need to be requested from others.

How does shared fault affect compensation?

Your share of fault reduces a pain-and-suffering award by that percentage. If you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover those damages. At exactly 50%, that bar does not apply, but your damages are still reduced. MCL 500.3135(2)(b).

Pain-and-suffering recovery also requires death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement. Other restrictions apply, including when an injured owner was driving their own vehicle without the required insurance.

Being at fault does not automatically prevent you from receiving Michigan no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefits under MCL 500.3105. If you qualify, PIP can cover eligible medical expenses and part of your lost income, subject to coverage limits.

If a turning truck injured you, Michigan Legal Center’s Michigan truck accident attorneys can seek relevant footage and records before they disappear and help you understand which claims may apply.