Hit-and-Run in Michigan: Who Pays Your Medical Bills?
The driver who hit you took off, or stayed but had no insurance. You are hurt, the bills are starting, and it feels like there is no one to collect from. Here is the good news most people never hear: in Michigan, you can still be paid. Your medical care and lost wages do not depend on catching the other driver. Michigan law created a safety net called the Assigned Claims Plan (MCL 500.3172) for exactly this situation. But it comes with a hard 1-year deadline, so do not sit on it.
The short answer: your benefits follow you, not the other driver
Michigan is a no-fault state. That means your medical bills, a portion of your lost wages, and help around the house are paid by no-fault insurance no matter who caused the crash, and no matter whether the other driver was ever identified or insured. The money comes through one of three doors:
- Door 1: your own auto policy, or a policy in your household. If you have auto insurance, or a spouse or relative domiciled in your household does, that policy generally pays your no-fault benefits first.
- Door 2: the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MACP). If there is no policy anywhere in your household and no other coverage applies, the state’s assigned claims system takes the claim and assigns an insurance company to pay you.
- Door 3: the at-fault driver, if they are found. Pain and suffering compensation comes from a separate claim against the driver who hit you. If the driver is caught, or was never insured but is identified, this claim is still available. If they are never found, uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy can stand in, if you bought it.
What is the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan?
The Assigned Claims Plan is run by the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility (MAIPF). Under MCL 500.3172, you can claim no-fault benefits through the plan when no insurance applies to your injury or none can be identified. That covers the classic hit-and-run where the driver is never found, and it covers crashes where the only driver involved carried no insurance at all.
Typical people who qualify include pedestrians and bicyclists hit by uninsured or unknown drivers, passengers in uninsured cars who have no auto policy in their own household, and people struck by a vehicle that fled the scene. You file a completed application with the MAIPF with reasonable proof of your loss, and the facility assigns your claim to an insurance company that must handle it like a normal no-fault claim.
What the Assigned Claims Plan pays, and what it does not
Benefits through the plan mirror regular Michigan no-fault benefits, with one big difference: the medical cap. For most claims, medical benefits through the MACP are capped at $250,000, the level set by MCL 500.3107c(1)(b) and applied to assigned claims by MCL 500.3172(7). A narrow exception can raise the cap to $2,000,000 for certain people who were within a short lapse window of qualified health coverage.
You can also claim wage loss and replacement services, the same categories a regular no-fault policy covers. One catch to know: under MCL 500.3172(5), assigned claims benefits are reduced by other sources that cover the same loss, such as private health insurance that pays some of the bills. The statute specifically says Medicaid and Medicare do not count against you as offsets.
| Your situation | Who pays your injury benefits | Key limit or note |
|---|---|---|
| You have your own auto policy, or a resident relative in your household does | That insurer, first in line | Your PIP medical level applies ($50,000 to unlimited, whatever was chosen) |
| No auto policy anywhere in your household | Michigan Assigned Claims Plan | $250,000 medical cap; 1-year notice deadline |
| Hit-and-run driver is later identified and insured | Their insurer, for the pain and suffering claim | Serious impairment threshold under MCL 500.3135 applies |
| Driver never found | Your uninsured motorist coverage, if purchased | Optional coverage; policies impose short reporting deadlines, check yours fast |
| Your vehicle damage | Your collision coverage, or the at-fault driver via mini-tort | Mini-tort recovery capped at $3,000 under MCL 500.3135(3)(e) |
Can you still sue the driver who hit you?
Yes, if the driver is identified. Driving without insurance does not protect them from a lawsuit. For pain and suffering, Michigan requires a serious impairment of body function under MCL 500.3135, the threshold the Michigan Supreme Court explained in McCormick v Carrier. You generally have 3 years from the crash to file that suit under MCL 600.5805(2).
If the driver is never found, look at your own policy for uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. UM coverage is optional in Michigan, it is a contract benefit rather than a statutory one, and insurers write short notice and reporting requirements into these policies, with hit-and-run claims often carrying the tightest windows, so read your policy immediately. A police report filed right away is usually essential proof.
The driver who fled committed a crime
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious impairment of a body function or death is a felony in Michigan. Under MCL 257.617, the fleeing driver faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. If the fleeing driver caused a fatal crash, the maximum rises to 15 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Report the crash to police immediately. The criminal case is the state’s job, but the police report, witness statements, and any camera footage the police gather often become the backbone of your injury claim.
What to do right now
- Call the police and get a report. An immediate report documents the hit-and-run and protects both your MACP claim and any UM claim.
- Get medical care and follow through. Gaps in treatment are the first thing insurers use against you.
- Preserve evidence. Photos of the scene and your vehicle, witness names, and nearby doorbell or business cameras. Footage gets erased in days.
- Notify your own insurer promptly. Your policy and any UM coverage carry their own notice rules.
- Calendar the 1-year MACP deadline. If no household policy exists, the MAIPF application must be in within 1 year of the crash.
- Talk to a lawyer before you give statements. Priority disputes between insurers are common in these cases, and the wrong statement can cost you.
One warning: if you owned the car you were driving and it was uninsured, Michigan law generally disqualifies you from no-fault benefits under MCL 500.3113. That rule punishes uninsured owners, not their passengers, and not pedestrians or bicyclists. And the bar turns on whether the vehicle itself was insured, not on who bought the policy: the Michigan Supreme Court held in Dye v Esurance that an owner is not barred just because someone else purchased the coverage. If someone told you that you have no case, get a second opinion before you give up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Assigned Claims Plan in Michigan?
It is the state safety net for crash victims who have no no-fault insurance to claim from, run by the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility. If no policy applies to your injury or none can be identified, the MAIPF assigns an insurance company to pay your no-fault benefits, with medical coverage capped at $250,000 in most cases. You must notify the MAIPF within 1 year of the accident.
What can I do if I was hit by an uninsured driver?
Claim your no-fault benefits first, from your own or a household member’s policy, or through the Assigned Claims Plan if there is none. Then look at a pain and suffering claim: the uninsured driver can still be sued personally if your injuries meet Michigan’s serious impairment threshold, and your own uninsured motorist coverage can pay if you bought it.
What is the penalty for a hit-and-run in Michigan?
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious impairment of a body function or death is a felony under MCL 257.617, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. If the fleeing driver caused a death, the maximum rises to 15 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Who pays for my car damage in a no-fault state?
Your own collision coverage is the main source. If you were 50% or less at fault and the other driver is identified, Michigan’s mini-tort law lets you recover up to $3,000 of your vehicle damage from the at-fault driver under MCL 500.3135(3)(e).
What if I had no insurance but the other driver was at fault?
It depends on whether you owned the uninsured vehicle. Uninsured owners driving their own cars are generally barred from no-fault benefits and from pain and suffering recovery. Passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists without auto insurance are treated differently and usually still qualify through a household policy or the Assigned Claims Plan. This is exactly the situation where a free case review is worth 15 minutes of your time.
Is Michigan still a no-fault state in 2026?
Yes. The 2019 reforms changed PIP coverage levels and fee schedules, but Michigan remains a no-fault state: your own insurance pays your injury benefits regardless of fault, and lawsuits against at-fault drivers are limited to serious injuries and excess losses.
Hit-and-run or uninsured driver? You may still have a claim.
Attorney Manny Chahal will review your crash for free, find every source of coverage you qualify for, and protect the 1-year assigned claims deadline. Free statewide consultation. No fee unless we recover.
Call 1-844-624-2425