Rights of people injured by impaired drivers in Michigan

If you or a family member were hurt by an impaired driver in Michigan, you may have rights in three places: the criminal case against the driver, the state's crime victim compensation program, and a civil claim for damages. In the criminal case, victims can give an impact statement and the court must order full restitution.^[3][4] A crime victim compensation claim must be filed within 5 years of the crime, and a civil suit for pain and suffering is available only above Michigan's no-fault threshold.^[6][7]

This page is the map. Each section points to a page that goes deeper. If someone was killed, family members can exercise many of these rights, as explained below.

1. Your rights in the criminal case

Michigan's William Van Regenmorter Crime Victim's Rights Act gives victims enforceable notice and participation rights. Whether they apply depends on the charge:

Charge	Victims' rights?
Felony OWI, such as OWI causing death or serious impairment, or a third offense	Yes, under the Act's felony article, which covers offenses punishable by more than one year[2]
Misdemeanor OWI involving a crash that damaged another person's property or injured or killed someone	Yes, as a "serious misdemeanor"[1]
Misdemeanor OWI with no crash affecting another person	Not as a serious misdemeanor under this provision[1]
Charge reduced or pleaded down from a listed serious misdemeanor	Still counts[10]

OWI causing death carries up to 15 years and OWI causing serious impairment up to 5 years, so both are felonies.^[11][12] Within those cases, victims' main rights include:^[13][14][3]

• Written information from the police within 24 hours about medical services, compensation and whom to contact at the prosecutor's office.^[13][15]
• A plain-English notice from the prosecutor of the case steps and your rights.^[14][16]
• A chance to consult with the prosecutor before a plea deal, dismissal or diversion is finalized. Consultation is a chance to be heard, not a veto.^[14][16]
• The right to be present throughout the trial; if you will be called as a witness, the court may for good cause keep you out of the courtroom until you first testify.^[17]
• A written and oral impact statement at sentencing.^[3]

The full list, with deadlines, is on crime victims' rights in OWI cases. In a serious-misdemeanor case where the victim died, the rights pass in order to the spouse, then an adult child, then a parent, then the guardian of a minor child, then a sibling, then a grandparent.^[18]

2. Restitution ordered in the criminal case

When sentencing for a misdemeanor or a felony, the court must order the defendant to make full restitution to any victim of the conduct underlying the conviction.^[4] For an injury, restitution covers, as applicable:^[19]

• Medical and related professional services and devices, including psychological care.^[19]
• Physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation.^[19]
• The victim's after-tax lost income.^[19]
• Medical and psychological treatment for family members.^[19]
• Homemaking and child care, and funeral costs.^[19]

If the crime caused death or serious impairment of a body function, the court may order up to 3 times the restitution otherwise allowed.^[20] In a misdemeanor case, the prosecutor bears the burden of proving the amount of the loss, and disputes are resolved by a preponderance of the evidence.^[21] Restitution paid to you is set off against damages you later recover in a civil case.^[22]

3. Crime victim compensation

Michigan's Crime Victim Compensation program can pay people who suffer personal injury as a direct result of a crime causing bodily harm or death, which includes an OWI crash that injures or kills someone, and their eligible relatives.^[5] Key rules:

• File within 5 years after the crime; the commission may extend that for good cause.^[6]
• The crash must have been reported to police.^[23]
• A claim can be decided even if no one is convicted.^[24]
• Compensation is the payer of last resort, after insurance and other sources.^[25]
• The total award is capped at $45,000 per claimant.^[26]

Details, including how to apply, are on crime victim compensation for crash victims.

4. Civil claims for damages

Michigan's no-fault system shapes what an injured person can recover from an at-fault driver. The main points:

• Pain and suffering. A driver remains liable for noneconomic loss only if the injured person suffered death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.^[7] Serious impairment means an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's general ability to lead a normal life, with no minimum duration.^[27]
• Economic losses above no-fault limits. Allowable expenses, work loss and survivor's loss beyond the applicable no-fault limits can be recovered from the at-fault driver.^[28]
• Vehicle damage. For crashes after 1 July 2020, up to $3,000 for vehicle damage not covered by insurance, in small claims court whenever possible.^[29]
• The vehicle owner. An owner is liable when the car is driven with the owner's express or implied consent or knowledge, and consent is presumed for close family members.^[30]
• Deadline. Generally 3 years after the injury or death.^[8]

The statute that sets the no-fault threshold has no exception for an intoxicated driver.^[31] See suing an impaired driver and, for benefits from your own insurer, no-fault benefits.

Bars, stores and party hosts

A person injured by a visibly intoxicated person or a minor may sue the retail licensee that unlawfully sold or served the alcohol, if the sale was a proximate cause of the injury.^[32] That suit must be filed within 2 years, with written notice to all defendants within 120 days after hiring a lawyer for the claim.^[9] A 2012 unpublished Court of Appeals opinion, quoting earlier published case law, states that social host liability in Michigan cannot be based on serving alcohol to an adult, and notes that the Michigan Supreme Court in Longstreth v Gensel recognized that furnishing alcohol to a minor creates a rebuttable presumption of negligence.^[33] See Michigan's dram shop law and social host liability.

Deadlines side by side

What	Deadline
Crime victim compensation claim	5 years after the crime (extendable for good cause)[6]
Appeal of a compensation decision to the commission	30 days after the decision[34]
Civil injury or death suit against the driver	Generally 3 years[8]
Dram shop suit against a bar or store	2 years, plus 120-day written notice[9]

Where to get help

• The prosecutor's office handling the case has a victim rights contact; the police must give you that information in writing.^[13][15]
• Michigan's crime victim compensation helpline is 877-251-7373.^[35]
• MADD victim advocates: 1-877-MADD-HELP (1-877-623-3435), 24 hours a day.^[36]

Practical tip: keep a folder with the police report number, the court case number, every medical bill and insurance statement, and a log of missed work. Those records support restitution, compensation and civil claims alike.