Michigan's modified comparative fault
MCL 600.2959 provides that a plaintiff's damages are reduced by their proportionate share of fault. A jury (or a judge in a bench trial) assigns percentages of fault after hearing all the evidence — driver conduct, road conditions, rider actions, and any third-party contribution. The plaintiff's recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share.
MCL 500.3135(2)(b) adds Michigan's 51% rule: a plaintiff more than 50% at fault is barred from recovering noneconomic damages against a motor vehicle owner or operator. Economic damages remain recoverable in proportion.
A worked example
Total damages found by jury: $500,000 (of which $300,000 is noneconomic and $200,000 is economic). Rider assessed at 20% fault, driver 80%.
- Reduced total: $500,000 × 80% = $400,000.
- Rider recovers $400,000 (all categories reduced by fault %).
Same case, rider 55% at fault:
- Noneconomic damages: barred entirely.
- Economic recovery: $200,000 × 45% = $90,000.
- Plus PIP benefits regardless of fault.
How adjusters try to shift fault to the rider
- Speed. "The rider must have been going too fast." Every reconstruction we do quantifies actual speed from skid distances, ABS event data, and post-impact travel.
- Visibility. "The car didn't see the bike." Michigan drivers have a statutory duty to make a "proper observation" before turning across traffic (MCL 257.402).
- No helmet. Only relevant to injuries a helmet would have prevented — and never relevant when the rider was legally helmet-optional under MCL 257.658(4).
- Lane splitting or filtering. Not permitted in Michigan, so adjusters overplay it. We show what the actual position of the bike was at impact and whether it caused the crash at all.
- Alcohol. A BAC over 0.08 can bar recovery entirely under MCL 600.2955a — but only if the intoxication was more than 50% of the cause. We fight causation vigorously.
PIP benefits are still available
Michigan's no-fault Personal Injury Protection scheme pays medical, wage loss, replacement services, and attendant care regardless of fault when a motor vehicle is involved in the crash. The narrow exceptions in MCL 500.3113 — intentional injury, taking a vehicle unlawfully, and (in limited pre-2019 cases) uninsured owner status — do not apply merely because the rider was partly responsible for the collision.
How we minimize the fault percentage
- Crash reconstruction. Skid marks, gouge marks, event data recorders, drone photogrammetry, dashcam and helmet-cam footage.
- Statutory duty analysis. Michigan Vehicle Code violations by the other driver (MCL 257.402 turning duties, MCL 257.627 speed, MCL 257.649 right-of-way) are strong evidence of fault.
- Expert testimony. Human factors, motorcycle dynamics, biomechanical analysis, and traffic engineering when road design is a factor.
- Anti-bias trial strategy. Motion practice, voir dire, and evidence presentation designed to defeat rider stereotypes.
Told you're "at fault"? Get a second opinion.
Adjusters flag fault to lower offers. Call Jay Trucks & Associates. We'll pull the crash report, reconstruct the scene, and give you a candid read on the real allocation — free of charge.