Suing an impaired driver after a crash in Michigan

A person hurt by an impaired driver in Michigan can sue the driver, but Michigan's no-fault law limits what that lawsuit can recover. Pain-and-suffering damages are available only if the injured person died or suffered a serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement, while medical bills, lost wages and survivor's loss above the no-fault limits can be claimed regardless of that threshold.^[1][2] The general deadline to file is 3 years after the injury or death.^[3]

This page covers the lawsuit against the driver and the vehicle's owner. Claims against a bar or store are on the dram shop law page, and the criminal-case rights of crash victims are on crime victims' rights in OWI cases.

How no-fault insurance comes first

Michigan's no-fault system pays personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits for accidental bodily injury arising out of the use of a motor vehicle, and those benefits are due without regard to fault.^[7] The intoxicated driver's own PIP rights are a separate question: the statute that lists who cannot collect PIP does not include drivers who were intoxicated.^[8] That point is explained on no-fault benefits when the driver was intoxicated.

PIP claims have their own clock. A suit for PIP benefits may not be filed more than 1 year after the accident unless written notice of injury was given to the insurer within that year or the insurer already paid benefits.^[9] If notice was given or benefits were paid, the suit may be filed within 1 year after the most recent expense or loss was incurred, but benefits cannot be recovered for any part of the loss incurred more than 1 year before the suit was filed.^[9] The notice must give the claimant's name and address and describe, in ordinary language, the injured person and the time, place and nature of the injury.^[9]

The tort threshold: when pain and suffering can be claimed

"Noneconomic loss" means harms like pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Under MCL 500.3135(1), a person remains subject to tort liability for noneconomic loss caused by his or her ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle only if the injured person has suffered one of three things:^[1]

• death;^[1]
• serious impairment of body function; or^[1]
• permanent serious disfigurement.^[1]

A "serious impairment of body function" is an impairment that is objectively manifested (observable by someone other than the injured person), affects an important body function, and affects the person's general ability to lead his or her normal life; the statute sets no minimum length of time the impairment must last.^[10] The threshold subsection contains no separate rule for drivers who were intoxicated.^[1]

What an injured person can recover from the driver

Type of loss	Rule
Pain and suffering (noneconomic loss)	Only if the injury meets the death, serious impairment or permanent serious disfigurement threshold[1]
Medical and other allowable expenses, work loss, survivor's loss	Recoverable in excess of the applicable PIP limits, or without limit for allowable expenses if the injured person opted out of PIP medical coverage or an exclusion applies[2]
Damage to a vehicle	Up to $3,000 for crashes after July 1, 2020, to the extent not covered by insurance, brought in small claims court whenever legally possible[11]

In a claim for noneconomic loss, damages are assessed on comparative fault, and none are awarded to a party who is more than 50% at fault.^[12] A person driving his or her own vehicle without the required insurance cannot recover noneconomic damages.^[12]

When the injured person had also been drinking

MCL 600.2955a makes it an absolute defense to an injury or death claim that the injured person had an impaired ability to function because of alcohol or a controlled substance and, as a result, was 50% or more the cause of the accident.^[6] If that person was less than 50% the cause, the award is reduced by that percentage.^[6] The statute is worded in terms of "the individual upon whose death or injury the action is based," not only the driver of a vehicle.^[6] Whether it applies in a particular case, and how fault is divided, is decided by the court or jury on the evidence.

Suing the vehicle's owner

Michigan's owner-liability statute makes the owner of a motor vehicle liable for injury caused by negligent operation of the vehicle, whether the negligence is a statutory violation or a failure of ordinary care, if the vehicle was driven with the owner's express or implied consent or knowledge.^[5] Consent is presumed when the driver is the owner's spouse, parent, sibling, child or another immediate family member.^[5]

Insurance can change the picture. With the insured's authorization, a policy can exclude a named driver; when that excluded person drives, all liability coverage is void and the owners remain fully personally liable.^[13] For policies after July 1, 2020, minimum bodily-injury liability limits are $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident, subject to exceptions in the statute.^[14] Separately from civil liability, knowingly letting an intoxicated person drive is a crime, covered in letting an impaired person drive your vehicle.^[15]

When the crash killed someone

Michigan's wrongful-death act makes the person who would have been liable to the injured person liable for damages after a death, even when the death was caused under circumstances that amount to a felony, such as OWI causing death.^[16] The action must be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate.^[16] Survivors who may share in damages include the spouse, children, descendants, parents, grandparents and siblings, among others the statute lists.^[17] If the person died before the limitations period ran, the personal representative may sue within 2 years after letters of authority are issued, but never later than 3 years after the limitations period ran.^[18]

Deadlines at a glance

Claim	Time limit
Injury or death lawsuit against the driver or owner	3 years after the death or injury (general rule)[3]
Suit for PIP benefits	1 year after the accident, unless written notice was given within 1 year or benefits were paid; then 1 year after the most recent loss, with no recovery for losses more than 1 year before suit[9]
Dram shop suit against a bar or store	2 years after the injury or death; written notice within 120 days after hiring a lawyer for the claim[4]
Action by a personal representative after a death	2 years after letters of authority, capped at 3 years after the limitations period ran[18]
Crime victim compensation claim	5 years after the crime, extendable for good cause[19]

More time limits from both the criminal and civil sides are collected on the OWI deadlines calendar.

How the criminal case and the civil suit interact

The criminal case and the lawsuit run separately. At sentencing, the criminal court must order the defendant to pay full restitution to any victim of the conduct underlying the conviction, in misdemeanor and felony cases.^[20] For injuries, felony restitution covers items such as medical and psychological care, after-tax lost income and homemaking or child-care costs.^[21] If the conviction is later set aside, that does not affect the victim's right to bring a civil action for damages or relieve the restitution obligation.^[22]

The state's Crime Victim Compensation program pays only after insurance and other public funds, and an impaired driver who caused the crash is not eligible for an award.^[23][24] See crime victim compensation for crash victims.

Common misunderstandings

• "Because the driver was drunk, I can sue for anything." The noneconomic-loss threshold still applies under the statute's words.^[1]
• "Only the driver can be sued." The owner may be liable when the vehicle was driven with consent, and a bar may be liable under the dram shop act.^[5][25]
• "The party host is liable too." Michigan courts have held social host liability does not extend to serving an adult; see social host liability.^[26]
• "Every claim has 3 years." PIP and dram shop claims have shorter limits.^[9][4]

For an overview of every civil and criminal-case route open to people hurt by an impaired driver, see rights of people injured by impaired drivers.