Michigan Fatal Car Crash Compensation: What Families Need to Know

Losing somebody close to you is catastrophic to your mental health. Many things must be done in the aftermath of a loved one’s death, such as notifying family members and friends, making funeral arrangements, and dealing with their belongings. At some point, you must make time to mourn. Pursuing a wrongful death claim with the insurance company will probably not be high on your list of priorities.

At Matz Injury Law, we understand that you and your family are going through one of the most difficult ordeals anyone can experience. Let us help ease your burden. We can deal with your wrongful death case so you can get compensation for you and your family.

Latest Statistics On Car Accident Fatalities in Michigan

The latest official numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projected that 39,345 people died in traffic accidents in 2024. This marked a 3.8% decrease from 2023. Based on 2025 statistics, 10,127,884 people live in Michigan. One in every 8,887 people passed away in a traffic crash, and one out of 141 suffered a personal injury. One person passes away in a fatal car accident every eight hours.

• Speeding: Speeding-related traffic fatalities represented about 28% of all U.S. traffic deaths in 2024
• Failure to Yield: 116 accidents, or 7% of all accidents with fatalities, occurred due to some failure to yield.
• Reckless Driving: 103 accidents, or 6% of all fatal accidents, resulted from reckless driving.

Additional causes of fatal car accidents in Michigan include disregarding traffic controls (signs, signals, or road markings), driving left of center, careless driving, and other negligent actions. Many of these will be obvious at the scene of an accident, and the report compiled by the law enforcement officer will often include the cause in its content.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death in Michigan?

Two deadlines apply in wrongful death cases involving car accidents. You must file an insurance claim within a year of the accident. You have three years to sue for wrongful death.

Michigan law sets time limits to file various types of lawsuits, known as the statute of limitations. A person with the legal authority to act on behalf of a deceased person, or decedent, may file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover damages. They must do so within three years of the date of the incident that caused the decedent’s death. If the decedent died in a car accident, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the accident. This applies even if their injuries were not immediately fatal.

A wrongful death suit is usually the last resort after trying to negotiate a settlement with an insurance company. Under Michigan’s no-fault law, a driver’s insurance will pay certain damages, including funeral expenses, no matter who was at fault. In order to receive no-fault insurance benefits, the decedent’s surviving family member must file a claim within a year of the accident.

What Happens After a Fatal Car Accident in Michigan?

As soon as possible after a fatal car accident, the decedent’s family members should contact a wrongful death lawyer who can guide them through the process of making a claim for compensation. They will need to contact the decedent’s insurance company to claim no-fault benefits for medical expenses, funeral costs, and other damages. Insurance adjusters will almost certainly try to settle for less than what you are owed for the death of a loved one. Legal representation is important to avoid getting pressured into a lowball settlement.

Who is Entitled to Make a Claim on Behalf of the Deceased Family Member or Spouse After a Car Accident?

Michigan law identifies the individuals ​​who can sue for wrongful death or make insurance claims on behalf of a decedent, known as the decedent’s personal representative. The following people may act as a personal representative:

• The decedent’s surviving spouse.
• Adult children or other descendants of the decedent, excluding minor children.
• Parents or grandparents of the decedent.
• Siblings of the decedent.

If the decedent has no surviving immediate family members, Michigan probate law may help determine who can serve as a personal representative. A person designated as a beneficiary in the decedent’s will may qualify. If the decedent died without a will, the rules of intestate succession would provide a way to identify the beneficiaries of the decedent’s estate. The line of succession begins with the close family members described above. It continues to more distant family members until it finds someone, such as cousins, uncles and aunts, and so on.

Who is Allowed to Recover the Damages in a Wrongful Death Car Accident Lawsuit?

When filing a lawsuit, not just anyone can initiate it or recover damages once resolved. Michigan law defines those eligible to recover damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. These include the deceased’s surviving spouse, children, other descendants, parents, grandparents, or siblings.

If all these individuals do not survive the deceased, damages may go to the recipient or recipients of the deceased’s estate as outlined by intestate succession. Others who may receive damages include the children of the surviving spouse and specific individuals who legally qualify as heirs or devisees under the deceased person’s will.

What Types of Claims Can be Made for Compensation?

If the decedent had a no-fault insurance policy, the surviving family members or the estate could file a claim. Damages you may recover include medical bills, funeral expenses, and survivor’s loss benefits.

Survivor’s Loss Benefits Due to Wrongful Death Caused By Car Accidents

Michigan law defines survivor’s loss benefits as the support that the decedent’s dependents would have received from the decedent, had the decedent not died. “Dependents” include the decedent’s surviving spouse, minor children, and adult children who are incapacitated. Benefits are available for up to three years after the accident. The statute, as amended in 1978, identifies a maximum daily benefit of $20, up to a maximum of $1,475 per month, with adjustments based on the cost of living. For the twelve-month period beginning on October 1, 2022, the maximum monthly benefit is $6,615.

Wrongful Death Action Lawsuit

You may also be able to file a lawsuit against the negligent third party. A wrongful death action is a type of personal injury lawsuit. The victim’s death is the main injury that you are claiming resulted from the defendant’s negligence. For personal injury cases involving car accidents, Michigan’s no-fault law only allows lawsuits in cases that meet a minimum threshold for damages. Wrongful death meets this requirement.

Economic and Non-economic Damage Compensation for Car Accident-Related Wrongful Death

A legal action based on wrongful death allows you to recover damages that would not be available from a no-fault insurance claim. In addition to economic damages for medical bills and other losses, a civil court can award non-economic damages that compensate you for the impact of the loss of your loved one on your quality of life. For example, you may be able to recover some of the financial support that your family member would have provided had they not died.

Understanding Survivor’s Loss Benefits in Michigan

“Survivor’s loss” benefits or death benefits allow family members who relied upon the financial support (wages and other items of “tangible value”) of a loved one to apply to the insured’s no-fault policy for reimbursement for up to three years after the accident. The survivors can also claim up to $20 a day for three years for having to pay someone else to do chores that the deceased family member customarily handled.

Family members may be entitled to no-fault reimbursement if they depended financially on an insured person fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident, even if the deceased person was at fault.

There are formulas for figuring out how much the family members can receive. A knowledgeable Michigan auto insurance lawyer can help you calculate the value you ought to receive.

What is Covered by Michigan Survivor’s Loss Benefits?

Car insurance death benefits cover the loss of economic contributions that the deceased policyholder would have made to the dependents, including:

• Lost wages
• Disability coverage, including insurance and social security
• Annuity and investment income
• Loss of workers’ compensation
• Lost retirement benefits
• Other work-loss benefits
• PIP medical benefits, such as health insurance premiums for medical coverage, medical bills, attendant care, and other healthcare and medical expenses.
• Fringe benefits
• Replacement services

If the deceased person has any dependents and was employed, those dependents should qualify for survivor’s loss benefits. These benefits amount to 85% of what the deceased person would have earned in wages for the first three years following the car crash, plus $20 per day for that same period.

A provision also exists to cover funeral expenses and burial expenses. The no-fault insurance policy will specify the amount allowable, but it should not exceed $5,000 according to Michigan law.

How Long Do Survivor’s Loss Benefits Last in Michigan?

You cannot collect survivor’s benefits indefinitely. Michigan state law limits how long these benefits may be paid. This limit is three years from the date of the accident, which caused the decedent’s death, which may differ from the date of the accident victim’s death.

How Do I File a Claim for Survivor’s Loss Benefits?

You must file your claim within one year of the accident to be eligible for no-fault benefits. You must complete a no-fault application for benefits, which should be available through the insurance provider. If the victim was uninsured, you may be able to file with the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which assigns insurance providers to handle uninsured PIP benefits.

You must include your name and address on the form and provide, in plain language, the time, place, and nature of the accident and injuries that led to the death of the injury victim. This must, under state law, include a description of symptoms, but does not require a precise medical diagnosis of the bodily injury, which is beyond the bounds of ‘ordinary language.’

Who Pays for Survivor’s Loss Benefits?

Survivor’s loss benefits are paid by the deceased’s auto insurance policy if they had one. If they did not have coverage, priority rules determine which insurer is responsible for making payments. The first priority is the spouse’s insurance. Next is the insurer of a live-in relative. If neither of these exists, the claim is filed through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which assigns an insurer to pay the benefits.

What Damages Can I Recover in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Following the death of your loved one, benefits and payouts from the deceased’s insurance policy are often not enough to compensate for the loss. Seeking certain damages in your lawsuit can help. Specific damages you can recover in wrongful death lawsuits include the following.

Medical Bills

If your spouse was rushed to the hospital for medical care in an attempt to save their life, you may owe medical bills. These medical expenses will be part of your lawsuit and the damages you seek.

Funeral and Burial Expenses

Following the death of a family member in a car accident, you can seek damages to pay for reasonable funeral and burial expenses.

Pain and Suffering

Damages for pain and suffering are meant to compensate family members for non-economic losses, which include mental anguish, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Loss of Financial Support

With the loss of your loved one, you may also lose the financial support they once provided to you or your family, which you relied on fully or in some capacity. Thus, you can seek loss of financial support in your lawsuit.

Loss of Companionship

Loss of companionship relates to the emotional and psychological aspects of losing a loved one. These damages are complicated to calculate, so seeking the advice of an experienced fatal car accident attorney will be beneficial.

Proving Wrongful Death in Michigan

To prove wrongful death and recover economic and non-economic damages in Michigan, you must first prove that someone was negligent. In a motor vehicle accident, negligence occurs when a driver does something that a reasonably careful individual would not do or fails to do something that a reasonably careful individual would do in such circumstances.

More specifically, negligence can mean that the at-fault driver did one or more of the following:

• Violated the state, city, or local traffic laws or ordinances with such violation occurring before the accident or at the time of that accident.
• Violated state regulations where the traffic accident occurred.
• Failed to exercise ordinary care, that is, act as a reasonably careful individual in the safety interests of others.
  Struck another vehicle from behind, making the driver prima facie guilty of negligence per Michigan law.

In your lawsuit, you will need to show how the other driver was negligent, and this can be by traveling at high speeds, failing to legally yield, driving recklessly or carelessly, or other such cause. Your car accident lawsuit attorney will review and evaluate all factors of your claim and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to determine and prove that negligence did indeed occur.

Hiring a Michigan Attorney for Fatal Car Accidents

Hiring a personal injury attorney with knowledge of Michigan’s wrongful death statute will give you the best chance of recovering all of the compensation owed to you. Making an insurance claim can be difficult under the best circumstances. You need to take time to grieve without worrying about dealing with insurance adjusters. Personal injury lawyers have extensive experience dealing with insurance companies. They know the tricks adjusters may use to minimize the amount they have to pay.

If you plan to sue for wrongful death, you might benefit from having an attorney by your side. Litigation can be even more stressful than the insurance claims process. Legal advice from an experienced wrongful death lawyer can help you avoid pitfalls in the court system. A lawyer can gather the evidence needed for your claim or lawsuit and prepare a legal case for the full amount of damages that you deserve.

Pursue Justice and Compensation for Your Loved One’s Wrongful Death With Matz Injury Laws Car Accident Lawyers

If you have lost a loved one in an accident or another negligent act, recovering compensation for your losses might be the furthest thing from your mind right now. You need legal representation from an experienced wrongful death attorney who understands Michigan’s wrongful death law and what it requires. With a skilled lawyer on your side, you can focus your attention on mourning the loss of a family member. Matz Injury Law understands how painful this kind of loss can be. We will work tirelessly to get you the compensation you deserve. To speak to someone about your case, call the firm at 866-226-6833 or use our online contact form.