In Michigan, an injured party has three days from the date of the auto accident to bring their claim against the negligent driver who injured them. The proper party to this car accident claim would include the individual who suffered the damages or personal injury, the spouse or child of that person for loss of consortium (the loss of society and companionship) or the personal representative of the driver who would have had a claim had he or she lived.
Potential Defendants to your claim would include the driver of the at-fault motor vehicle and the owner of that motor vehicle under the owner liability statute in Michigan (MCL 257.41). The owner is also responsible for any damages caused by the Defendant driver as a result of the owner’s expressed or implied consent to that driver’s use of the vehicle. The cause of action for a person injured in an automobile accident will be controlled by the Michigan No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act (No-Fault Act) MCL 500.3101 et.seq. Courts in Michigan require you to prove:

• That conduct arising from the Defendant’s use, operation or maintenance of the motor vehicle caused the injures;
• That the Defendant was negligent in using, operating or maintaining the vehicle;
• That there was proximate causation (a connection) between the negligence and the damages which resulted;
• That a “threshold injury” occurred and,
• The damages as limited by the No-Fault Act were sustained.

No Fault Threshold:
An injured party who seeks non-economic damages (pain and suffering damage) in a motor vehicle negligence case must have sustained injures that meet the no-fault threshold of death, serious impairment of body function, or serious disfigurement. The phrase “serious impairment of body function” was statutory to find in 1996 as “an objectably manifested impairment of an important body function that effects the persons general ability to lead his or her normal life.” MCL 500.3135(7).

In 2004, the Supreme Court here in Michigan addressed the Michigan No-Fault Threshold in the case of Kreiner v Fisher, 471 Mich. 109 (2004). The Kreiner decision stated that the threshold statute in the serious impairment of body function requirement contained three components which any Plaintiff in a car crash or auto accident claim must prove:

1. An objectibly manifested impairment;
2. Of an important body function;
3. That affects the general ability of the person to lead his or her normal life.

The court stated that if the impairment of the Plaintiff’s life as a result of the accident does not affect the “course or trajectory” of the Plaintiff’s life, then that Plaintiff has not met the threshold for third party recovery and their claim must be thrown out of Court as a matter of law.
On the “general ability to lead one’s life”, the Kreiner Court provided a non-exhaustive list of factors to consider, including:

1. The nature and extent of impairment;
2. The time and length of treatment required;
3. The duration of the impairment;
4. The extent of any residual impairment; and,
5. The prognosis for eventual recovery.

The No-Fault statute does contain special rules for persons alleging a closed head or traumatic brain injury. For individuals who are involved in an auto accident or a car crash here in Michigan who suffered some type of traumatic brain injury, closed head injury, or suffers from a “post-concussive syndrome”, that party can meet the injury threshold by providing an affidavit by a physician who specializes in closed head injuries which states that the injured person “may have sustained a serious neurological injury”.

Even if an individual is successful in meeting the injury threshold as defined by the No-Fault statute, they may be barred at trial from recovering non-economic damages [pain and suffering] under MCL 500.2135(2)(b) if they are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident. Further, under that same statutory section, an individual who is operating an uninsured motor vehicle that was required to have no-fault insurance, is barred from any third party recovery for non-economic damages for driving as an uninsured motorist.

Lastly, if a potential Plaintiff was driving and their abilities were impaired due to the influence of alcohol or controlled substance and that person was 50% or more at fault in the accident, they are entitled to no compensation whatsoever and their entire claim will be denied. If someone was driving under the influence of liquor or controlled substance and was not at fault in the accident or only partially at fault (less than 50%) then his or her damages will be reduced by that same percentage.

The damages available to a Plaintiff under Michigan No-Fault law would include non-economic and economic damages. To recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering damages in a third party no fault case, you must plead and prove a statutory threshold injury as defined above. Medical damages (medical bills) are not recoverable in a third party action against the at-fault driver. Wage loss and replacement services beyond the three year anniversary of your accident are recoverable from the at-fault driver. You do not have to meet any injury threshold to recover economic losses in excess of the monthly or yearly wage, survivor’s losses and/or replacement services available under MLC 500.3135(2)(c). What this means is if you sustain an injury in an auto accident that prevents you from working, the first three years of work loss will be paid by your own auto insurer regardless of fault. After that three year anniversary date, the insurer for the at-fault driver is responsible for those damages should you prove your case.