Truck Accident Statute of Limitations in Michigan (2026)

Your deadlines in Michigan, calculated

Enter the date of your crash and the tool below will work out both clocks — the legal filing deadline and the much shorter window before the proof can be destroyed. Michigan is already selected. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

What makes Michigan different

Michigan's no-fault system creates a second, much shorter clock that runs in parallel: a claim for personal injury protection benefits generally has to be brought within one year, even though the liability claim has three. Michigan also enforces governmental immunity aggressively, and a highway-defect claim against a road authority can require notice within 120 days. Tolling for a minor gives one year past their 18th birthday, not a fresh period.

The four Michigan deadlines that matter

On the injury period: Michigan's no-fault system runs on a separate and much shorter clock: a claim for PIP benefits generally must be brought within one year under MCL § 500.3145. Missing that does not end the liability claim, but it can end the benefits.

Claims against a government entity in Michigan

The shortest government notice window found for Michigan — 120 days (highway defect) (MCL § 691.1404). This is the deadline that quietly ends claims: it comes due long before the ordinary filing deadline, it is a precondition to suing rather than a suggestion, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely no matter how strong the case is.

Notice of a highway-defect claim within 120 days for some entities — confirm which provision governs the road authority involved. Michigan enforces governmental immunity aggressively under MCL § 691.1407. A claim against a county road commission or transit authority needs immediate attention.

Public fleets you could realistically be hit by in Michigan: MDOT maintenance trucks, county road commission equipment, DDOT and SMART buses, City of Detroit fleets, and school district buses. If you are not certain whether the vehicle that hit you was one of these, work to the shorter deadline until somebody confirms otherwise. The downside is not symmetrical.

If the injured person was a minor

Tolled, then 1 year in Michigan under MCL § 600.5851 — the clock generally does not start until the injured person turns 18. A minor generally gets one year after turning 18, not a fresh full period.

That pause applies to the court deadline. It does not apply to the evidence. A carrier is entitled to destroy a driver's logs six months after the crash whether the injured person is 8 or 38, and in many states a government notice deadline is not tolled for a child either. A tolled filing deadline and an untouched evidence deadline is the most dangerous combination on this page.

When the Michigan clock starts

Limited. Michigan largely abolished the common-law discovery rule outside specific statutory categories.

Why the evidence clock in Michigan is much shorter

Michigan's filing deadline is 3 years. The federal retention rules that govern the trucking company are measured in weeks and months:

• Dashcam and telematics video — often 30 days or less. No federal retention requirement — vendor and carrier policy only.
• ECM / black box data — overwritten as the tractor keeps running, and routinely lost when it is repaired or resold.
• Driver logs and records of duty status — six months (49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1)).
• Maintenance and repair records — one year while the vehicle is in the carrier's control (49 CFR § 396.3(c)).
• Annual inspection report — 14 months (49 CFR § 396.21(b)(1)).

The way to stop those clocks is a preservation letter to the carrier — a written demand that specific evidence be kept. Until it arrives, destroying records at the end of a retention period is routine and lawful. Our FMCSA regulations and evidence guide explains what each of these records contains.

Truck traffic in Michigan

The Detroit–Windsor crossings handle more truck-borne trade than any other US–Canada gateway, and the automotive supply chain runs just-in-time parts trucks continuously on I-94 and I-75. A high proportion of Michigan truck traffic is cross-border, which complicates service and discovery.

The corridors where these crashes concentrate: I-94 (Detroit–Kalamazoo–Chicago), I-75 (Detroit–Flint–Mackinac), I-96 and I-696, The Ambassador Bridge and Detroit–Windsor crossings and US-131 and US-127.

Neighbouring states have different clocks

A crash a few miles across a state line can be governed by a completely different deadline. If you are not certain which state your crash happened in — near a border, on a bridge, or on an interstate you were travelling at speed — check both.

Or use the filing deadline calculator to compare any state, and the full state index for all 50 states and D.C.

What to do next in Michigan

1. Get a preservation letter to the carrier. This is the most time-critical step and the one almost nobody hears about.
2. Confirm whether a government entity was involved. That answer can replace your 3 years deadline with a far shorter notice window — 120 days (highway defect).
3. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurer.
4. Request the Michigan crash report, which identifies the carrier, the DOT number and the insurer.
5. Have a lawyer licensed in Michigan confirm the dates above against the current statute.