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Key Takeaways
- What to do for a hit-and-run starts at the scene, and early steps protect what you recover.
- No-Fault benefits can pay medical bills and wage loss even when the driver is never found, depending on the coverages you selected.
- Uninsured motorist coverage can pay for pain and suffering if you carry it.
- Leaving the scene is a crime, and serious injury or death makes it a felony.
A driver who hits someone in Michigan has a legal duty to stop. When that driver leaves instead, you are the one left at the scene with injuries, a damaged vehicle, and no name to attach to a claim after a Michigan car accident.
The medical bills start arriving while the question of who pays them stays open, and an adjuster may already be calling. With no driver identified, it can look like there is no one left to hold responsible.
Michigan gives hit-and-run victims a recovery path that does not depend on catching the driver. No-Fault personal injury protection (PIP) pays medical bills and wage loss no matter who caused the crash, and uninsured motorist coverage can reach the pain and suffering a fleeing driver would otherwise owe. At Harris Altman, PC, we handle both the No-Fault claim and the third-party case, so both halves move together.
What Should You Do After a Hit-and-Run in Michigan?
Michigan requires every driver involved in a crash to stop and identify themselves. When one does not, the details you record at the scene become the record your claim is built from.
What to do in a hit-and-run breaks into seven steps.
- Move to safety.
- Report the crash to the police immediately or as soon as reasonably possible.
- Write down the fleeing vehicle’s plate, make, model, color, and direction of travel, plus any description of the driver.
- Collect the names and contact information of anyone who saw the crash.
- Get medical care the same day, even when the pain feels manageable.
- Report the crash to your insurer as soon as reasonably possible because some uninsured and underinsured motorist policies require a police report or written notice within a set time frame.
- Open your No-Fault claim for medical bills and wage loss.
The general steps for what to do after an auto accident still apply. What changes is that your description of the vehicle, written down before the details fade, may be the only lead police have.
What Counts as a Hit-and-Run Under Michigan Law?
A hit-and-run is a crash where a driver who knows or has reason to believe they were involved fails to stop and meet the duties Michigan sets at the scene. The law requires that driver to stop immediately and remain there.
MCL 257.619 sets out what the driver owes the person struck, the other driver or occupants, or a police officer.
- Give a name and address, along with the registration number of the vehicle and the owner’s name and address.
- Show an operator’s or chauffeur’s license.
- Render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging or providing transportation for medical care.
A driver who slows, looks, and then pulls away without providing that information has not met the requirement. Michigan allows one alternative: a driver with a reasonable and honest belief that staying will cause further harm may report the crash immediately to the nearest police agency instead.
Is a Hit-and-Run a Felony in Michigan?
A hit-and-run can be a felony in Michigan, and the charge depends on the harm the crash caused. Michigan sorts hit-and-run charges into four tiers.
- Damage to a vehicle is a misdemeanor under MCL 257.618, punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $100, or both.
- Injury to another person is a misdemeanor under MCL 257.617a, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
- Serious impairment of a body function or death is a felony under MCL 257.617, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
- A death in a crash the fleeing driver caused raises that felony to up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
These penalties belong to the criminal case the state brings against the driver. Your claim for compensation runs separately, and a conviction can support the civil case you bring.
How Do You Recover Compensation After a Michigan Hit-and-Run?
Insurance does cover a hit-and-run in Michigan through two routes that do not depend on the police finding the driver. No-Fault benefits cover your economic losses, and uninsured motorist coverage can cover pain and suffering.
No-Fault PIP Benefits
PIP pays regardless of who caused the crash, even when the driver is never identified. A driver or passenger normally claims through their own auto policy or that of a relative in the same household under MCL 500.3114(1).
When no No-Fault policy applies to the injured person, the claim goes to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan instead. A person hurt while walking or biking follows that same route under MCL 500.3115 when no household policy covers them.
Filing on time opens your No-Fault insurance benefits, which can cover four categories of loss.
- Medical expenses related to the crash
- Wage loss while you cannot work
- Replacement services for tasks you can no longer do at home
- Mileage to and from medical appointments
What your policy actually pays depends on the No-Fault coverages you selected. Since the 2019 No-Fault reform, Michigan drivers choose a level of PIP medical coverage, and some opt out of PIP medical entirely when they carry qualifying health coverage or Medicare under MCL 500.3107c and MCL 500.3107d.
Because medical bills and wage loss are not covered in every case, the coverages on your policy determine what you can claim. Check your declarations page to confirm what you carry, and contact Harris Altman, PC to review your options.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage is the route to pain and suffering when the at-fault driver is never identified. Some policies apply this coverage to a crash caused by a driver who fled and was never found, allowing it to cover losses the missing driver would otherwise owe.
Michigan does not require uninsured motorist coverage, so whether you carry it depends on the policy you bought. Confirming that it is there and what notice it requires is the first step.
When You Can Sue the Driver
If the police identify the driver, a third-party negligence claim may be available alongside your No-Fault benefits. That claim carries the pain-and-suffering damages that drive what a case is worth.
Michigan opens that claim only when the injury meets the serious impairment threshold, which MCL 500.3135 defines as death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function.
What Are the Deadlines for a Michigan Hit-and-Run Claim?
The first deadline in a hit-and-run claim can fall within a day of the crash, and the last one runs for three years.
- Your uninsured motorist policy may require a police report within 24 hours of the crash.
- Your policy may also require written notice to your insurer within 30 days for uninsured and underinsured motorist eligibility.
- MCL 500.3174 allows one year from the crash to notify the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility of an Assigned Claims Plan claim.
- MCL 500.3145 sets one year from the crash for a No-Fault action.
- MCL 600.5805 sets three years from the crash for a third-party negligence lawsuit.
The one-year No-Fault rule is not a flat bar. Under MCL 500.3145, a lawsuit for PIP benefits must begin within one year of the crash unless you gave your insurer written notice of the injury during that year or unless the insurer has already paid PIP benefits for that injury. The Assigned Claims Plan notice deadline carries no such exception.
Missing a deadline can cut off part of your recovery, and a Michigan hit-and-run attorney can confirm which ones apply to your claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michigan Hit-and-Run Claims
Will a Hit-and-Run Claim Raise My Insurance Rates?
It depends on your insurer and your policy. Michigan companies price coverage under their own filed rating plans, so two insurers can handle the same hit-and-run insurance claim differently. Your insurer or agent can tell you how this claim affects your rate.
Does Michigan No-Fault Cover the Damage to My Car After a Hit-and-Run?
No. Personal injury protection covers injuries and related losses, not repairs to your vehicle. Collision coverage is what pays for damage to your car, and it is the practical route to repairs when there is no driver to bill for the damage.
Can I Still Recover If I Did Not Have Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Yes, in part. No-Fault benefits are paid regardless of fault, so they can still cover medical bills and wage loss, depending on the coverages you selected. Pain and suffering needs either uninsured motorist coverage or an at-fault driver the police can identify, and your policy language determines which route is open to you.
Get Your Michigan Hit-and-Run Claim Reviewed Before the First Deadline Passes
A hit-and-run leaves you building a claim without the one person who could explain what happened. Our Michigan hit-and-run accident lawyers open the No-Fault claim, pursue uninsured motorist coverage, and bring the third-party case when the police identify the driver, all from our Bingham Farms office.
Because your first reporting deadline can fall within 24 hours, an early review of your policy and the crash report protects more of your claim. We review Michigan hit-and-run claims at no cost on a contingency fee, which means no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Call 248-540-3100 or reach us through our contact form.
