Michigan Personal Injury Statute of Limitations (2026)
A strong injury case is worth nothing the day after the deadline passes. Michigan gives most injury victims three years to sue, but that single number hides a field of exceptions, shorter notice rules, and traps that quietly close the courthouse door. This guide lays out the deadlines that actually control your claim, when the clock starts, when it pauses, and the separate no-fault deadlines that run on their own track regardless of the tort limitations period.
The Three-Year General Rule
The baseline deadline for most Michigan personal injury claims is three years from the date the injury occurs. That period comes from ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 600.5805(2), which sets a three-year limitations period for actions to recover damages for injury to a person or property. It governs the everyday injury cases: car and truck crashes, motorcycle wrecks, slip and falls, dog bites, defective product injuries, and ordinary negligence.
Three years sounds generous when the injury is fresh. In practice the time evaporates. Medical treatment runs for months, insurers stall, witnesses scatter, and surveillance footage gets overwritten. By the time many victims call a lawyer, a meaningful slice of the window is already gone. The deadline is jurisdictional in effect: a complaint filed even one day late is almost always dismissed, no matter how clear the liability.
The Deadlines That Differ
The three-year rule is the floor, not the whole structure. Several common claim types carry their own periods that are shorter, longer, or measured differently.
| Claim type | ਆਖਰੀ ਮਿਤੀ | ਸੰਵਿਧਾਨ |
|---|---|---|
| Auto, motorcycle, truck, slip and fall, dog bite, product liability | ਸੱਟ ਲੱਗਣ ਤੋਂ 3 ਸਾਲ | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 600.5805(2) |
| ਮੈਡੀਕਲ ਗਲਤੀ | 2 years from the act, or 6 months from discovery, whichever is later | MCL 600.5805(8); 600.5838a |
| No-fault PIP written notice | 1 year from the accident | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 500.3145(1) |
| No-fault PIP recovery (one-year-back) | 1 year look-back on benefits | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 500.3145(2) |
| ਗਲਤ ਮੌਤ | Underlying period, plus the saving provision | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 600.5852 |
| Highway defect against a government agency | 120-day written notice | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 691.1404 |
| Claim against the State (Court of Claims) | 1-year notice or filing | ਐਮਸੀਐਲ 600.6431 |
Medical malpractice runs on a different clock
Malpractice claims use a two-year period from the date of the negligent act or omission, with an alternate six-month-from-discovery window under MCL 600.5838a. A six-year statute of repose caps most claims regardless of discovery, subject to narrow exceptions for fraudulent concealment and a foreign object left in the body. Malpractice cases also require a pre-suit Notice of Intent and an affidavit of merit, which our guide on the NOI and affidavit of merit covers in detail.
No-fault deadlines are not the same as the tort deadline
This is the trap that catches the most people. Your right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering lasts three years, but your right to no-fault PIP medical and wage benefits is governed by the one-year notice rule and the one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145. A victim who waits two years to pursue benefits may still sue in tort yet lose most of the PIP recovery. The two tracks run independently. See our breakdown of the PIP deadlines and the one-year-back rule.
When the Clock Pauses: Tolling
Michigan law suspends the limitations period in a handful of defined situations. Tolling does not depend on whether a victim feels ready to sue. It applies only where a statute provides it.
Minors and legally incapacitated persons
Under MCL 600.5851, a person who is under 18 or legally insane when a claim accrues generally has one year after the disability is removed to bring suit. For a young child injured in a crash, that means the third-party tort claim is preserved until one year after the eighteenth birthday. The protection is real but narrower than parents assume. It applies to the tort claim, not to the no-fault PIP notice deadlines, which courts treat as running from the date of the accident. A parent should file a written PIP claim promptly even where the child’s lawsuit deadline is years away. Our guide to minor settlement approval under MCR 2.420 explains what happens once a minor’s case resolves.
Fraudulent concealment
If a defendant fraudulently conceals the existence of a claim, MCL 600.5855 gives the plaintiff two years from the date the claim is discovered or should have been discovered. The bar is high. A plaintiff must show affirmative acts of concealment, not mere silence, in most cases.
Government Defendants Demand Early Notice
When the at-fault party is a city, county, the State, or a public agency, the three-year limitations period still applies, but a much shorter notice requirement runs first. A highway or road defect claim requires written notice within 120 days under MCL 691.1404, and the notice must specify the exact location and nature of the defect. Strict compliance is required under ਰਾਉਲੈਂਡ ਬਨਾਮ ਵਾਸ਼ਟਨੌ ਕਾਉਂਟੀ ਰੋਡ ਕਮਿਸ਼ਨ, 477 Mich. 197 (2007). Claims against the State filed in the Court of Claims carry their own one-year notice and signature-and-verification requirements under MCL 600.6431. Missing the early notice can extinguish an otherwise timely case. Our analysis of governmental immunity and the 120-day notice trap walks through the requirements.
Wrongful Death and the Saving Provision
A wrongful death claim is derivative. It carries the limitations period that the deceased would have had for the underlying injury. The wrongful death saving provision in MCL 600.5852 lets the personal representative file within two years after letters of authority are issued, but no later than three years after the period of limitations has otherwise run. The interplay of probate appointment, letters of authority, and the underlying period is technical and unforgiving. Families should open the estate and consult counsel quickly. Our guide to the Wrongful Death Act, damages, and distribution covers the mechanics.
Why Waiting Costs More Than Time
Even when the deadline is comfortably distant, delay damages the case itself. Skid marks fade, vehicles get repaired or scrapped, electronic crash data is overwritten, commercial trucking logs cycle out under retention schedules, and witness memories blur. The strongest cases are built in the first weeks, when evidence can be preserved with a spoliation letter and the scene can still be documented. The limitations period sets the outer wall. Good practice fills the room long before that wall is reached.
ਅਕਸਰ ਪੁੱਛੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਸਵਾਲ
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Michigan?
For most injury claims, including car accidents, the deadline is three years from the date of the injury under MCL 600.5805(2). Some claims, such as medical malpractice and claims against government agencies, carry shorter or differently measured deadlines, so the three-year figure should never be assumed without checking the specific claim type.
Does the three-year deadline also apply to my no-fault medical benefits?
No. No-fault PIP benefits run on a separate track. You generally must give written notice within one year of the accident, and the one-year-back rule limits how far back benefits can be recovered, both under MCL 500.3145. You can still be within the three-year tort deadline while having lost a large share of PIP benefits by waiting.
My child was hurt in a crash. Do we have to rush?
The tort lawsuit for a minor is generally preserved until one year after the child turns 18 under MCL 600.5851. The no-fault PIP deadlines, however, are treated as running from the accident, so a written PIP claim should be filed promptly to protect medical and wage benefits even though the lawsuit deadline is years away.
What if I did not realize I was injured until months later?
Michigan does not apply a general discovery rule. Under Trentadue, the clock usually starts when the wrong occurs, not when you discover it, unless a specific statute provides otherwise, as the medical malpractice statute does. Delayed-symptom injuries should be evaluated by counsel quickly so the accrual date is not assumed incorrectly.
The driver who hit me was a city employee in a city vehicle. Anything different?
Yes. Government defendants are subject to immunity statutes and short notice requirements. A road defect claim requires written notice within 120 days under MCL 691.1404, and claims against the State require notice in the Court of Claims under MCL 600.6431. These run well before the three-year deadline and must be handled immediately.
Can a deadline ever be extended?
Sometimes. Tolling applies for minors and legally incapacitated persons under MCL 600.5851 and for fraudulent concealment under MCL 600.5855. These are narrow and fact-specific. No one should rely on an extension without legal confirmation that it applies to their situation.
Not sure how much time you have left? Ask before the clock runs out.
Attorney Manny Chahal reviews Michigan injury and no-fault cases statewide at no charge. No fee unless we recover.
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