How long do you have to sue after an injury in Michigan? The answer depends on the claim
I am Mitchell Bisson, a Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer. I have litigated for over 15 years. This page explains the time limits for injury claims in Michigan: the general three year period, the shorter and longer periods for particular claims, when the clock starts, and the rules that pause it or extend it. I represent injured people. When someone calls about an injury, I identify the type of claim and the defendant, find the date the claim accrued, and count forward from there before I talk about the value of the case. I do not promise outcomes.
The short answer. For most Michigan personal injury and wrongful death claims, the statute provides “3 years after the time of the death or injury.” Several claims have different periods: two years for medical malpractice, assault, battery and false imprisonment, a one year rule for no-fault benefits, and short notice periods against governmental agencies. A claim usually accrues when the wrong was done, not when the injured person learns how serious it is. Minors and some incapacitated people get extra time, but only in limited ways. Nothing here predicts how your case will end.
A limitation period is a deadline for filing the lawsuit. If it passes, the defendant can ask the court to dismiss the case without reaching what happened, and a court will do so even where the injury is real and the defendant was at fault. The statute is written in those terms: “A person shall not bring or maintain an action to recover damages for injuries to persons or property unless, after the claim first accrued to the plaintiff or to someone through whom the plaintiff claims, the action is commenced within the periods of time prescribed by this section.” MCL 600.5805(1).
People lose claims on deadlines for ordinary reasons. They wait to see whether the injury heals. They negotiate with an insurer who never says no. They assume the date of diagnosis starts the clock. They do not know that the claim against a city or a bar or a doctor follows a different rule from a car crash. The sections below set out the periods I check, with the statute text and the trigger for each. If you have a possible claim and are unsure of the date, treat it as urgent.
When the clock starts: accrual
The accrual statute says that “the period of limitations runs from the time the claim accrues,” and that “in cases not covered by these sections the claim accrues at the time the wrong upon which the claim is based was done regardless of the time when damage results.” MCL 600.5827. The general injury period then runs “3 years after the time of the death or injury.” MCL 600.5805(2).
That means the date of the wrong is usually the important date, even when the full extent of the harm shows up later. The Michigan Supreme Court has held that “courts may not employ an extrastatutory discovery rule to toll accrual in avoidance of the plain language of MCL 600.5827.” Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 479 Mich 378 (2007). The Legislature has written discovery-based periods for particular claims, such as medical malpractice and fraudulent concealment, discussed below. Outside those, I do not plan a case around a hope that the court will find a later start date.
For a claim that accrued outside Michigan, the statute provides that an action “shall not be commenced after the expiration of the statute of limitations of either this state or the place without this state where the cause of action accrued, except that where the cause of action accrued in favor of a resident of this state the statute of limitations of this state shall apply.” MCL 600.5861. And in general, “all actions and rights shall be governed and determined according to the law under which the right accrued, in respect to the limitations of such actions or right of entry.” MCL 600.5869.
Limitation periods for Michigan injury claims at a glance
| Claim | Period and trigger | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury or wrongful death, general | 3 years after the time of the death or injury | MCL 600.5805(2) |
| Assault, battery, false imprisonment | 2 years; 5 years for assault or battery by a spouse or former spouse, an individual with whom the plaintiff has had a child in common, a person with whom the plaintiff resides or formerly resided, or a dating partner; 10 years for criminal sexual conduct | MCL 600.5805(3) to (6) |
| Medical malpractice | 2 years under section 5805(8); the claim accrues at the time of the act or omission; suit allowed within 6 months after discovery if later, but not later than 6 years after the act or omission, subject to stated exceptions | MCL 600.5805(8); MCL 600.5838a |
| Products liability | 3 years | MCL 600.5805(12) |
| Dram shop | Action within 2 years after the injury or death; written notice to all defendants within 120 days after entering an attorney-client relationship for the claim | MCL 436.1801(3) |
| No-fault personal protection benefits | Suit within 1 year after the accident unless written notice of injury is given to the insurer within that year or a payment has been made; no recovery of benefits for any portion of loss incurred more than 1 year before suit | MCL 500.3145 |
| Minor or insane person at accrual | 1 year after the disability is removed, even though the limitation period has run | MCL 600.5851(1) |
| Defective improvement to real property, against a contractor or a licensed architect or engineer | 6 years after occupancy, use or acceptance of the improvement, or in cases of gross negligence, 1 year after the defect is discovered or should have been, with a 10 year outside limit | MCL 600.5839(1) |
Other periods in the same statute include 2 years for malicious prosecution, 1 year for libel or slander, and 2 years for an action against a sheriff charging misconduct or neglect of office. MCL 600.5805(7), (9), (11). Actions not given a shorter period are governed by the 6 year default for “all other personal actions.” MCL 600.5813.
What I check to find your deadline
The deadline is never found by looking at one number. I work through the same questions with each new case.
- What is the claim? Negligence, assault, a defective product, malpractice, a dram shop claim, a no-fault benefits claim or a wrongful death case each follows a different section of the statute.
- Who is the defendant? A governmental agency adds written notice requirements, and a licensed professional or architect adds special periods.
- When did the claim accrue? I use the date the wrong was done unless a statute says otherwise, and for malpractice the date of the act or omission.
- Was the injured person a minor or insane when the claim accrued? That disability has to exist at the time of accrual to count.
- Has anything tolled or extended the period? Filing and service, a notice of intent in a malpractice case, fraudulent concealment or the death of a party can change the count.
- What is the earliest date on which something is due? A notice or a one year no-fault deadline can come long before the lawsuit deadline, and I calendar that date first.
Tolling, extensions and special rules
Filing and serving the complaint
The statutes of limitation are tolled “at the time the complaint is filed, if a copy of the summons and complaint are served on the defendant within the time set forth in the supreme court rules,” or “at the time jurisdiction over the defendant is otherwise acquired.” MCL 600.5856(a), (b). The court rule on service says a summons “expires 91 days after the date the summons is issued,” with a limited process for a second summons on a showing of due diligence. MCR 2.102(D). A complaint filed on the last day does not protect a claim if service on the defendant is neglected. I file well before the deadline and track service as closely as the filing.
Children and people who lack capacity
If the person first entitled to bring the action “is under 18 years of age or insane at the time the claim accrues, the person or those claiming under the person shall have 1 year after the disability is removed through death or otherwise, to make the entry or bring the action although the period of limitations has run.” MCL 600.5851(1). The statute defines insane as “a condition of mental derangement such as to prevent the sufferer from comprehending rights he or she is otherwise bound to know,” and it does not depend on a judicial declaration. MCL 600.5851(2).
The limits matter as much as the extension. To count as a disability, the infancy or insanity “must exist at the time the claim accrues,” and a person “shall not tack successive disabilities.” MCL 600.5851(3), (4). For a child injured by malpractice, a person who has not reached his or her eighth birthday when the claim accrues may bring the action on or before the tenth birthday or within the period in section 5838a, whichever is later. MCL 600.5851(7). Minors who were victims of criminal sexual conduct can sue at any time before the later of age 28 or three years after discovering both the injury and its causal relationship to the conduct. MCL 600.5851b(1).
The tolling for minority and insanity does not reach every deadline. The Michigan Supreme Court held that the minority or insanity tolling provision affects the timing of an action but does not extend the one-year-back rule limiting recoverable no-fault benefits. Joseph v Auto Club Insurance Ass’n, 491 Mich 200 (2012).
Fraudulent concealment
If a person who is or may be liable “fraudulently conceals the existence of the claim or the identity of any person who is liable for the claim,” the action may be commenced “at any time within 2 years after the person who is entitled to bring the action discovers, or should have discovered, the existence of the claim or the identity of the person who is liable for the claim, although the action would otherwise be barred.” MCL 600.5855. This is a narrow rule. It requires fraudulent concealment, which is more than a defendant failing to volunteer information.
Death of the injured person or the defendant
If a person dies before the period of limitations has run or within 30 days after, “an action that survives by law may be commenced by the personal representative of the deceased person at any time within 2 years after letters of authority are issued although the period of limitations has run.” There is an outer limit: the action may not be commenced “later than 3 years after the period of limitations has run.” MCL 600.5852(1), (4). Because the period runs from letters of authority, an estate that is not opened promptly cannot count on this provision for long.
Wrongful death claims
A wrongful death claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate, and the limitation period is set by the underlying claim. The general rule is three years after the death or injury under MCL 600.5805(2). In an older decision the lead opinion held that “in all actions brought under the wrongful death statute, the limitations period will be governed by the provision applicable to the liability theory of the underlying wrongful act,” and that such actions accrue under the underlying theory “and not at the date of death.” Hawkins v Regional Medical Laboratories, PC, 415 Mich 420 (1982). For a wrongful death caused by a car crash, I count from the crash, which is the earlier date, and not from a later death. For a death caused by malpractice, the two year period applies.
The saving provision in MCL 600.5852 can add time, and the Michigan Supreme Court changed how it works in July 2026 with a malpractice notice of intent. In Ernest v Brown, No. 168462 (Mich July 29, 2026), the Court overruled Waltz v Wyse, 469 Mich 642 (2004), and held that MCL 600.5856 tolls the additional period for wrongful death actions in section 5852. The plaintiff there had received letters of authority, sent a notice of intent, and filed the complaint within the period as tolled. The decision concerned a medical malpractice wrongful death claim, so I read it for what it decides and not further.
Medical malpractice deadlines
Malpractice claims follow their own timeline. The claim “accrues at the time of the act or omission that is the basis for the claim of medical malpractice, regardless of the time the plaintiff discovers or otherwise has knowledge of the claim.” MCL 600.5838a(1). The plaintiff may sue within the applicable period in section 5805 or “within 6 months after the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the existence of the claim, whichever is later,” but “shall not” commence the claim “later than 6 years after the date of the act or omission,” except in the circumstances the statute lists, which include fraudulent concealment by the provider and permanent loss or damage to a reproductive organ resulting in the inability to procreate. MCL 600.5838a(2). The plaintiff carries the burden of proving that he or she neither discovered nor should have discovered the claim at least 6 months before the ordinary period expired.
Before filing, the plaintiff must give written notice to each health professional or facility “not less than 182 days before the action is commenced.” MCL 600.2912b(1). If the limitation period would otherwise end during the notice period, the statute is tolled “not longer than the number of days equal to the number of days remaining in the applicable notice period after the date notice is given.” MCL 600.5856(c). I send the notice of intent early because the 182 days is a fixed wait that cannot be skipped.
Government claims, dram shop claims and no-fault benefits
Three kinds of claims carry deadlines that arrive far ahead of the general three years.
- Governmental agencies. A defective highway claim requires written notice within 120 days of the injury under MCL 691.1404(1), a public building claim has the same period under MCL 691.1406, and a personal injury claim against the State requires a claim or notice filed with the Court of Claims clerk within 6 months under MCL 600.6431(4). The suit period for highway claims is 2 years, not 3. MCL 691.1411(2).
- Dram shop. The action must be filed within 2 years, and “a plaintiff seeking damages under this section shall give written notice to all defendants within 120 days after entering an attorney-client relationship” for the claim. Failure to give the notice “is grounds for dismissal of a claim as to any defendants that did not receive that notice unless sufficient information for determining that a retail licensee might be liable under this section was not known and could not reasonably have been known within the 120 days.” MCL 436.1801(3).
- No-fault benefits. A suit for personal protection insurance benefits “may not be commenced later than 1 year after the date of the accident that caused the injury” unless written notice of injury has been given to the insurer within that year or the insurer has previously paid benefits. After that, “the claimant may not recover benefits for any portion of the loss incurred more than 1 year before the date on which the action was commenced.” The period is tolled from the date of a specific claim for payment until the insurer formally denies the claim, if the claimant pursues the claim with reasonable diligence. MCL 500.3145(1) to (3).
Because the notice deadlines are shorter than the lawsuit deadlines, a case that looks to have plenty of time can already be in trouble on notice.
How a deadline defense works, and what it costs
A limitation period is an affirmative defense. Under the court rules, affirmative defenses, including “statute of limitations,” must be stated in the party’s responsive pleading under a separate heading, with the facts that constitute the defense. MCR 2.111(F)(3). The defendant can then move for summary disposition on the ground that “dismissal of the action, or other relief is appropriate because of” the statute of limitations, among other grounds. MCR 2.116(C)(7). A motion on this ground can be filed early in a case.
The consequence is complete. A claim filed after the period has run, with no tolling or extension that applies, is barred, however strong the liability and damages evidence is. This is also why the damages evidence is secondary at the first consultation. I need the date of the injury, the type of claim and the defendant, because those decide whether the case can be brought at all.
If the period may have run, I do not give up on the first count. I check whether the claim accrued later than assumed, whether a disability existed at accrual, whether a different defendant or theory carries a longer period, and whether a notice was already served. I also tell clients when the answer is that the deadline has passed.
How I handle an injury deadline
- I ask for the date and place of the injury and write down every date that follows from it: the 120 day, 60 day and six month notices, the one year no-fault dates, and the two and three year filing dates.
- I identify the claim type and every possible defendant, because the shortest deadline in the case sets the working calendar.
- I put a protective notice in the mail first, where one applies, and I keep proof of how it was served.
- I gather the medical records and the incident evidence in parallel, so that the filing is not delayed by the investigation.
- I file well before the last day and track service of the summons and complaint against the 91 day life of the summons.
- I send a notice of intent early in a malpractice case and calendar the 182 days.
- I update the calendar when facts change, such as a death, a new defendant, a denial letter or a claim made on an insurer.
Ways an injury dispute may end without a trial
Most injury claims resolve by settlement, through negotiation or mediation, and some end when the court decides a motion. A deadline question can be one of the motions. I do not rely on settlement talks to pause a limitation period, so I do not let negotiation run past a filing date. I explain the options as they develop and you make the decisions. I do not promise outcomes.
What I need from you
- The date of the injury or the death, and the date you first learned the injury might have been caused by someone else’s conduct.
- The name of every person, business or agency who may be responsible.
- Medical records and bills, and the dates of treatment.
- The insurer’s name, claim number and any letter you received, particularly a denial.
- The birth date of the injured person, if a child or a person with a cognitive impairment is involved.
- For a death, the date letters of authority were issued, or a statement that no estate has been opened.
- Any notices, claims or lawsuits already sent or filed for this injury.
Where your Kent County injury case will be heard
I represent clients in Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Grandville, Wyoming and across Kent County. Under MCL 600.8301(1), the district court has exclusive jurisdiction in civil actions when the amount in controversy does not exceed $25,000. Kent County district courts include the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids, the 59th in Walker and Grandville, the 62A in Wyoming, the 62B in Kentwood and the 63rd for Rockford, Lowell, Cedar Springs, East Grand Rapids and the surrounding townships. Larger claims are filed in the Kent County Circuit Court, the 17th Judicial Circuit.
Why people hire me for a Michigan injury deadline matter
You work directly with me, the lawyer handling your case. I give you the strengths and weaknesses of your position straight, including whether a deadline may already have passed. I represent injured people, and I start by protecting the dates.
Fees depend on the type of case, its complexity and whether it is likely to go to trial. I explain my fee arrangement at the consultation, before you decide whether to hire me.
Questions I hear about injury deadlines
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Michigan?
The general period is three years. MCL 600.5805(2) says the period of limitations is 3 years after the time of the death or injury for all actions to recover damages for the death of a person or for injury to a person or property, except as otherwise provided. Several claims have shorter or special deadlines, so the type of claim and the defendant matter.
Are there injury claims with a deadline other than three years in Michigan?
Yes. MCL 600.5805 sets 2 years for assault, battery and false imprisonment, 5 years for assault or battery by a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, household member or dating partner, 10 years for criminal sexual conduct (longer for victims who were minors, under MCL 600.5851b), 3 years for products liability, 2 years for malpractice and malicious prosecution, and 1 year for libel and slander.
If a child is injured, does the Michigan deadline to sue wait until the child turns 18?
In part. Under MCL 600.5851(1), a person who is under 18 when the claim accrues has one year after the disability is removed, which is turning 18, to bring the action even though the normal limitations period has run (a child whose regular period lasts longer keeps the longer period), except that certain medical malpractice claims accruing before a child’s eighth or thirteenth birthday are governed by MCL 600.5851(7) and (8). Claims against governmental agencies have their own notice rules, and the tolling does not extend the no-fault one-year-back rule.
Does the deadline to sue stop running if the injured person was mentally incapacitated?
Possibly. MCL 600.5851 gives a person who is insane at the time the claim accrues one year after the disability is removed to bring the action. The statute defines insane as a condition of mental derangement that prevents the person from comprehending rights he or she is otherwise bound to know, and it does not depend on a court declaration.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death case in Michigan?
The general period is 3 years after the death or injury (MCL 600.5805(2)), usually counted from the wrongful act or injury, which can be earlier than a later death, and 2 years for malpractice. If the person died before that claim’s period ran or within 30 days after, MCL 600.5852 gives the representative 2 years from letters of authority, capped at 3 years after the period ran. In malpractice cases, a notice of intent can toll that saving period under MCL 600.5856(c) if the claim would otherwise be barred during the notice period. Ernest v Brown, No. 168462 (Mich July 29, 2026), overruling Waltz v Wyse, 469 Mich 642 (2004).
What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Michigan?
The general period is 2 years under MCL 600.5805(8). A malpractice claim accrues at the time of the act or omission, not when it is discovered, but MCL 600.5838a(2) allows suit within 6 months after the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the claim if later, with an outer limit of 6 years from the act or omission, subject to exceptions.
How long must I wait after the notice of intent, and does the waiting time count against the deadline?
The waiting period is 182 days, and the provider has 154 days to respond in writing. If no response arrives in 154 days, the claimant may sue when that period ends. If the limitations period would otherwise run during the notice period, the notice tolls it for no longer than the number of days remaining in the notice period after the notice is given, under MCL 600.5856(c). The notice period can be shortened to 91 days in limited situations.
What is the Michigan no-fault one-year-back rule?
Under MCL 500.3145, you generally cannot recover PIP benefits for any part of a loss incurred more than one year before the date you filed suit. If you filed a lawsuit two years after the crash, for example, benefits incurred in the first year would be cut off, subject to the 2019 tolling provision, which can pause the clock after a specific claim but only for expenses incurred on or after June 11, 2019.
Related Michigan pages
- Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer
- Government claims and notice deadlines
- Wrongful death
- Negligence claims
- Injury settlements, fees and taxes
- Civil litigation in Michigan
- Michigan legal FAQs
I represent injured people in Michigan injury and wrongful death cases. Contact me 24/7 by phone or email. Your Rights, My Fight! Call for a free initial consultation.
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Law Offices of Mitchell S. Bisson, 2828 Kraft Ave SE, Suite 295, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, serving Kent County and West Michigan.
This page provides general information about Michigan law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.