Short answer: If you were hurt in a car crash in Grand Rapids or anywhere in Kent County, your own auto insurer pays your medical bills, part of your lost wages and help around the house through Michigan no-fault (PIP), no matter who caused the crash (MCL 500.3107). Give that insurer written notice within one year (MCL 500.3145). Pain and suffering is a separate claim against the at-fault driver, available for death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (MCL 500.3135), and it must be filed within three years (MCL 600.5805). Koussan Law handles Grand Rapids car accident claims on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Grand Rapids and Kent County crash numbers
In 2025 the City of Grand Rapids reported 5,569 crashes that injured 1,519 people, and Kent County as a whole reported 19,214. Deaths on Kent County roads climbed from 49 in 2019 to 63 in 2024, although the county's death rate, 8.7 a year per 100,000 residents, stays below the statewide 10.7.
| Reported crashes | 5,569 |
|---|---|
| Crashes with injuries | 1,176 |
| People injured | 1,519 |
| Fatal crashes | 11 |
| People killed | 11 |
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 Traffic Crash Summary for County/Communities.
| People killed | 352 in 334 crashes |
|---|---|
| Deaths a year per 100,000 residents | 8.7 (statewide 10.7) |
| Killed inside the City of Grand Rapids | 92 in 88 crashes |
| Pedestrians among those killed in Grand Rapids | 28 of 92, 30% (statewide 15%) |
| Angle crashes, one vehicle crossing or turning into another | 91 of 334 |
| Fatal crashes after dark | 156 of 334, 47% (statewide 46%) |
| People killed by year, 2019 to 2024 | 49, 55, 66, 55, 64, 63 |
NHTSA FARS, 2019 to 2024. Statewide comparisons are Michigan as a whole over the same years. Rates use the 2024 Census county population estimate.
The Kent County roads with the most fatal crashes
US-131 runs through the middle of Grand Rapids and had more of the city's fatal crashes than any other road, 15 of 88 from 2019 to 2024. Countywide, two surface roads come close to it: 28th Street and Division Avenue.
| US-131 | 26 |
|---|---|
| 28th Street | 25 |
| Division Avenue | 22 |
| M-37 | 13 |
| Lincoln Lake Avenue | 9 |
| 14 Mile Road (M-57) | 8 |
| East Beltline Avenue (M-44) | 6 |
| Eastern Avenue | 6 |
| I-96 | 6 |
| M-6 (Paul B. Henry Freeway) | 6 |
| Wilson Avenue | 6 |
NHTSA FARS, by the road recorded for each crash; each count covers the whole road within the county, ramps excluded.
28th Street and Division Avenue are lined with driveways, signals and turning traffic, which is where angle crashes happen: a driver turning left or pulling out across the path of another car. Angle crashes were the most common fatal collision between two moving vehicles in Kent County (91 of 334). Only 13 of the county's 334 fatal crashes were on an interstate. Our Grand Rapids page covers the US-131 S-curve, the Kent County courts and every type of case we handle.
Hit while walking in Grand Rapids
Pedestrians were 28 of the 92 people killed in crashes inside the City of Grand Rapids from 2019 to 2024, close to one in three and about twice the statewide share. A person on foot claims PIP from their own auto policy or a household policy, not from the car that hit them; with no policy in the household, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan pays (MCL 500.3115, MCL 500.3172). Crossing outside a crosswalk does not end a claim. Michigan compares fault: a pedestrian's share reduces the damages, and pain and suffering is barred only above 50 percent (MCL 500.3135(2)(b)). More on pedestrian accident claims.
What no-fault covers, and where it stops
PIP pays reasonable charges for medical care and rehabilitation, wage loss for up to three years (reduced 15 percent for taxes and capped at a monthly maximum) and up to $20 a day for household services you can no longer do (MCL 500.3107). The medical part stops at the limit chosen on the policy: unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, or $50,000 for some drivers enrolled in Medicaid (MCL 500.3107c). Bills above that limit, and wage loss beyond the three years or the monthly cap, can be claimed from the at-fault driver as excess economic loss (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)). Vehicle damage your own coverage did not pay, such as your collision deductible, can be recovered from the at-fault driver up to $3,000, reduced by any share of fault that was yours, if you were not more than half at fault (MCL 500.3135(3)(e)). Section-by-section text is in our Michigan no-fault law explorer.
Will not wearing a seat belt hurt my claim?
Insurers ask, because the numbers give them a reason to: 65 of the 216 people killed inside a car, truck or van in Kent County from 2019 to 2024 were recorded as unbelted. Michigan limits what that argument can do. Failure to wear a belt may be treated as evidence of negligence, but it cannot reduce your recovery by more than 5 percent (MCL 257.710e(8)), and the insurer still has to show the belt would have prevented or reduced the injury. It does not affect your PIP benefits, and it does not decide who caused the crash.
Talk to a lawyer about your Grand Rapids crash
Koussan Law represents people hurt in Grand Rapids and Kent County crashes on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win. Our main office is in Detroit at 821 W Milwaukee St. Call (313) 800-0000 or request a free consultation. For a rough sense of value first, the case value calculator takes about a minute.
Grand Rapids car accident questions
Who pays my medical bills after a Grand Rapids car accident?
Your own auto insurer, through no-fault PIP, regardless of who caused the crash. If you have no policy, a policy of a spouse or relative you live with usually applies, and with no policy in the household, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
I was hit while walking downtown. Am I covered?
Yes. A pedestrian claims PIP from their own or a household auto policy, and from the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan when there is none. Crossing outside a crosswalk reduces a claim only by your share of fault and bars pain and suffering only above 50 percent.
Can I sue the other driver for pain and suffering?
Yes, when the injury meets Michigan's threshold: death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function, meaning an objectively shown impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life (MCL 500.3135(5)). Whether an injury qualifies depends on the medical record.
How long do I have after a Kent County crash?
One year to give your insurer written notice of a PIP claim and three years to sue the at-fault driver. Claims against a government vehicle or for a road defect carry much shorter notice periods, some as short as 120 days.
More for Grand Rapids and Kent County
- Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer: Kent County courts, hospitals and every case type
- Grand Rapids truck accident lawyer
- Grand Rapids motorcycle accident lawyer
- Michigan car accident lawyer
- Michigan traffic crash data by county
Sources
- NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national data files for 2019 to 2024; the 2024 file is the most recent release and may be revised. County and city figures computed by Koussan Law from the crash, vehicle and person files.
- Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 county profiles and the 2025 Traffic Crash Summary for County/Communities.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 county population estimates (used for the per-100,000 rates).
- Michigan Compiled Laws, legislature.mi.gov: MCL 500.3107, 500.3107c, 500.3115, 500.3135, 500.3145, 500.3172, 257.710e, 600.5805.
Updated October 18, 2026. General information about Michigan law, not legal advice for your situation; the deadlines and coverage rules that apply to you depend on your facts and your policy.
