The Gatekeeper to Pain and Suffering Compensation in Michigan
Michigan is one of the only states where you cannot automatically sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering after a car accident. Under MCL § 500.3135, you must first prove that your injuries constitute a "serious impairment of body function" — a legal standard that acts as a threshold you must cross before a jury can even consider your non-economic damages. If you do not meet this threshold, your claim for pain and suffering is dismissed. Your PIP medical benefits are unaffected, but the large compensation for pain, suffering, and lost quality of life — which is often the majority of a case's value — goes to zero.
The Three-Part Legal Test
Michigan courts apply a three-part test to determine if your injuries meet the serious impairment threshold. First, the impairment must be objectively manifested — meaning a doctor can point to it on an MRI, X-ray, or through clinical examination. Subjective complaints of pain alone are not enough. Second, the impairment must affect an important body function — which courts have interpreted broadly to include virtually any body function that is significant to the person's life. Third, the impairment must affect your general ability to lead your normal life — meaning your daily activities, work capacity, recreational activities, or relationships have been materially affected.
What Injuries Typically Meet the Threshold
Fractures requiring treatment (even without surgery) almost always meet the threshold. Herniated discs confirmed by MRI, especially if they require injections or surgery, meet the threshold in the vast majority of cases. Traumatic brain injuries with documented cognitive deficits clearly qualify. Ligament tears (ACL, rotator cuff) requiring surgery qualify. Any injury requiring hospitalization of more than a day is a strong indicator. The gray area is soft tissue injuries (whiplash, sprains, strains) that resolve within a few months without objective findings beyond the initial treatment — these are the cases insurance companies fight hardest on the threshold question.
How Insurance Companies Weaponize the Threshold
The serious impairment threshold is the insurance company's favorite tool for denying pain and suffering claims. Their playbook is predictable. They hire defense medical examiners (doctors paid by the insurer) who will testify that your injuries are not objectively manifested or do not affect your general ability to lead your normal life. They will argue that if you returned to work, your injuries cannot be that serious. They will point to social media posts showing you at a family event as evidence you are not impaired. Koussan Law knows these tactics because we fight them in every auto accident case. We counter with your treating physicians, independent medical examinations, functional capacity evaluations, and documentation of exactly how your injuries have changed your life.
The McCormick Standard
The Michigan Supreme Court clarified the serious impairment standard in McCormick v. Carrier (2010), holding that courts should consider the totality of the circumstances — the nature and extent of the injuries, the treatment required, the duration of the disability, the extent of residual impairment, and the prognosis for recovery. This more holistic approach replaced the prior rigid bone-fracture-only framework and expanded access to pain and suffering claims for soft tissue injuries that produce lasting functional limitations.
If you are unsure whether your injuries meet Michigan's serious impairment threshold, call Koussan Law at (313) 800-0000. We evaluate threshold cases every day and we will give you an honest answer about where your case stands.
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