Michigan’s no-fault insurance pays many of your economic losses. But it doesn’t pay for pain, suffering, or the ways an injury changes your life. For that, you bring a claim against the at-fault driver — and Michigan sets a threshold you must meet.
The injury threshold
To recover pain and suffering (called “noneconomic damages”) from an at-fault driver in Michigan, your injury must result in one of the following:
- Serious impairment of body function — an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life;
- Permanent serious disfigurement; or
- Death.
“Objectively manifested” generally means the injury can be observed or measured — for example, through imaging, medical testing, or a doctor’s findings. The injury doesn’t have to be permanent. The key question is how it has affected your ability to live your normal life: work, family, hobbies, sleep and daily activities.
Excess economic damages
Even if you don’t meet the threshold, you may recover economic losses that no-fault doesn’t cover from the at-fault driver, such as:
- Medical bills beyond your PIP coverage level
- Wage loss beyond PIP’s three-year limit and monthly cap
- Vehicle damage your insurance doesn’t pay, through a “mini-tort” claim of up to $3,000
Building a strong pain and suffering claim
- Get consistent medical care and follow your doctors’ advice.
- Describe every symptom to your doctors so it’s documented.
- Keep a journal of what you can no longer do, or can only do with pain.
- Ask family, friends and coworkers who have seen the changes to remember them.
We recently recovered the full policy limits for a client severely injured by a negligent driver. (Every case is different, and prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.)
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a “serious impairment of body function”?
Michigan law defines it as an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. It doesn’t have to be permanent, and the question is how the injury affected your life — not just how severe it sounds on paper.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you were more than 50% at fault, you can’t recover pain and suffering damages from the other driver, though you may still recover some economic losses and your PIP benefits.