Motorcycle accident claims in Michigan

If a car or truck was involved in your motorcycle crash, you get Michigan no-fault benefits, and the car’s insurer usually pays them before your own. If no motor vehicle was involved, PIP generally does not apply. Separately, you can sue the driver who caused the crash for pain and suffering if your injuries meet the threshold, and helmet use does not bar that claim.

A motorcycle is not a motor vehicle

The no-fault act defines a “motor vehicle” as a vehicle with more than two wheels and expressly excludes motorcycles (MCL 500.3101). A motorcycle has a seat for the rider, no more than three wheels on the ground and an engine over 50 cubic centimeters. That one definition explains most of the special rules for riders:

• You get PIP only when a motor vehicle is involved.
• A different priority order decides which insurer pays.
• The mini-tort for vehicle damage does not cover your bike.
• The bar on damages for people driving their own uninsured vehicle does not apply to motorcycles.

Michigan motorcycle owners must carry liability insurance, and insurers must offer first-party medical coverage for the rider in $5,000 increments (MCL 500.3103). Motorcycle policies do not include full PIP.

When PIP applies

You can claim PIP for a motorcycle crash only if it “shows evidence of the involvement of a motor vehicle.” The car does not have to hit you. The Court of Appeals held in Detroit Medical Center v Progressive (2013) that physical contact is not required, but the vehicle must actively, rather than passively, contribute to the crash. If you laid the bike down without a collision, the car must have created an actual need to take evasive action. Your own mistaken reaction to a car that posed no real threat is not enough. Witnesses and video matter in these cases.

Which insurer pays: MCL 500.3114(5)

When a motor vehicle is involved, MCL 500.3114(5) sets this order of priority:

1. The insurer of the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle involved in the accident.
2. The insurer of the operator of the motor vehicle involved in the accident.
3. The motor vehicle insurer of the operator of the motorcycle involved in the accident.
4. The motor vehicle insurer of the owner or registrant of the motorcycle involved in the accident.

So the car’s insurers usually pay before your own auto policy. If a policy in a level opted out of PIP or excludes the person, you move to other policies at that level, then to the next level, and finally to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MCL 500.3114(6)). Where two policies at the same level apply, total benefits are capped at the highest single limit among them (MCL 500.3114(7)).

The PIP limit you receive is the one on the policy that pays, not necessarily your own. If the car’s owner chose a low coverage level, you can sue the at-fault driver for medical costs above it (see excess medical and wage claims). PIP also pays 85% of lost wages up to $7,455 a month for accidents from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, household help up to $20 a day, and medical mileage. More on the order: which insurer pays.

Single-bike crashes and crashes with another motorcycle

If you hit a pothole, deer or gravel with no car involved, or collided with another motorcycle, there is generally no PIP claim. The money for your care comes from the medical coverage on your motorcycle policy, if you bought it, and your health insurance. A pothole on a public road may support a claim against the road agency, but the notice deadlines are short. See government vehicles and road defects.

Michigan’s helmet law

Every motorcycle operator and rider must wear a crash helmet unless the exception in MCL 257.658(5) applies. A person 21 or older may ride without one if:

• The operator has had a motorcycle endorsement for at least 2 years, or has passed a motorcycle safety course; and
• Medical coverage of at least $20,000 in first-party medical benefits is in place for the operator, and for a passenger, $20,000 per person.

A passenger 21 or older may ride without a helmet if the passenger or the operator carries that $20,000 coverage. Anyone under 21 must wear one.

Does riding without a helmet reduce your claim?

It does not bar the claim, and it has nothing to do with your PIP benefits. In a lawsuit, the at-fault driver’s insurer may argue that not wearing a helmet made a head injury worse and that your damages should be reduced under comparative fault. We have not found a published Michigan appellate decision settling how far that argument goes, so we treat it as a defense insurers raise rather than a rule. It has no logical bearing on a broken leg or a spinal injury.

The claim against the driver

Drivers who turn left across a rider’s path or change lanes without seeing a motorcycle cause a large share of serious motorcycle crashes. The same threshold applies as in car cases: death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (MCL 500.3135). Because riders have no protection, most serious motorcycle crashes meet it. See the serious impairment threshold.

Your damages are reduced by your share of fault, and you lose pain and suffering if you were more than 50% at fault (see comparative fault). The driver’s bodily injury limits can be as low as $50,000 per person, so your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters. See uninsured and underinsured drivers.

Uninsured riders

The no-fault act bars damages for a person operating their own vehicle without required insurance (MCL 500.3135(2)(c)). In Brickey v McCarver (2018), the Court of Appeals held that bar does not reach motorcycles. A rider who owned an uninsured motorcycle can still be excluded from PIP under MCL 500.3113, which names motorcycles specifically. The lawsuit and the PIP claim come out differently, so get advice before deciding what to file.

Damage to your bike

The $3,000 mini-tort covers damage to a “motor vehicle,” so it does not cover a motorcycle. Collision coverage on your motorcycle policy is usually the way to get the bike repaired or replaced. Check your declarations page for it before you need it.

Bias against riders

Adjusters and some jurors assume a rider was speeding or reckless. We answer that with evidence: crash reconstruction, sight lines, the bike’s condition and witness accounts. Helmet camera footage, if you have it, should be saved right away.

What to do now

• Get the police report number and the name, plate and insurer of every car involved, including one that caused you to swerve without hitting you.
• Photograph the bike, the road surface, skid marks and the sight lines from the driver’s position.
• Save helmet camera or phone video and the names of witnesses.
• Apply for PIP in writing to the insurer of the car’s owner, and to your own auto insurer, so a priority dispute does not cost you benefits.
• Do not let the bike be scrapped or repaired until it has been photographed and inspected.

By city

We handle motorcycle crash claims across metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan. Motorcycle crash data is published by county, not city. These city pages cover local courts, police agencies and 2024 crash numbers:

• Detroit
• Warren
• Sterling Heights
• Ann Arbor
• Dearborn
• Livonia
• Clinton Township
• Canton Township
• Troy
• Westland
• Farmington Hills
• Southfield

See all locations we serve, or contact us for a free review.

Sources: MCL 500.3101; MCL 500.3103; MCL 500.3113; MCL 500.3114(5), (6) and (7); MCL 500.3135; MCL 257.658; MCL 600.2959; MCL 600.5805; Detroit Medical Center v Progressive Michigan Ins Co (Mich App, July 23, 2013); Brickey v McCarver (Mich App, April 17, 2018).