Short answer: If you were hurt in a car crash in Lansing or anywhere in Ingham County, your own auto insurer pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages through Michigan no-fault (PIP) whoever caused the crash (MCL 500.3107), and it must receive written notice within one year (MCL 500.3145). The at-fault driver answers separately for pain and suffering if the injury meets Michigan's threshold (MCL 500.3135); that lawsuit is due within three years (MCL 600.5805). A crash with a State of Michigan vehicle adds a six-month notice requirement (MCL 600.6431). Koussan Law handles Lansing car accident claims on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Lansing and Ingham County crash numbers
In 2025 the City of Lansing reported 3,552 crashes that injured 991 people and killed 13. The city's fatal crashes carry a pattern the statewide numbers do not: a driver was speeding in 27 of the 63 fatal crashes inside Lansing from 2019 to 2024, 43 percent, against 26 percent across Michigan.
| Reported crashes | 3,552 |
|---|---|
| Crashes with injuries | 706 |
| People injured | 991 |
| Fatal crashes | 12 |
| People killed | 13 |
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 Traffic Crash Summary for County/Communities.
| People killed | 67 in 63 crashes |
|---|---|
| Crashes in which a driver was speeding | 27 of 63, 43% (statewide 26%) |
| Angle crashes, one vehicle crossing or turning into another | 24 of 63 |
| At or near an intersection | 26 of 63 |
| After dark | 32 of 63, 51% (statewide 46%) |
| People killed by year, 2019 to 2024 | 6, 13, 15, 16, 9, 8 |
| Ingham County as a whole, deaths a year per 100,000 residents | 8.3 (statewide 10.7) |
NHTSA FARS, 2019 to 2024. Statewide comparisons are Michigan as a whole over the same years. Speeding means the police coded at least one driver as racing, exceeding the limit or driving too fast for conditions.
The Lansing roads with the most fatal crashes
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard had 16 of the 63 fatal crashes inside the city from 2019 to 2024, about one in four. Cedar Street and the M-43 corridor follow, and only 4 of the city's fatal crashes were on an interstate.
| Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (M-99) | 16 |
|---|---|
| Cedar Street | 9 |
| M-43 (Saginaw Street, Oakland and Grand River avenues) | 8 |
| Jolly Road | 3 |
| Washington Avenue | 2 |
NHTSA FARS, by the road recorded for each crash inside the City of Lansing, ramps excluded.
These are the city's long north-south and east-west arterials: multi-lane roads with signals, left-turn lanes and business driveways, where a fast car meets a turning one. Our Lansing page covers the 30th Circuit Court, claims against government defendants and every type of case we handle in Ingham County.
When speed is part of the case
Speed cuts both ways in a Michigan claim. If the other driver was speeding, it is evidence of negligence. If the insurer says you were, it will argue for a share of fault, because your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault and pain and suffering is barred if you were more than 50 percent at fault (MCL 500.3135(2)(b)). The Michigan Court of Appeals has held that an injured driver's own traffic violation creates only an inference of negligence that a jury weighs against the other driver's conduct (White v. Pace, Docket No. 371878, published November 3, 2025). Neither driver's ticket is evidence in the civil case (MCL 257.731). Speed is proved with the cars' event data recorders, video, skid and crush measurements and a reconstruction.
When the other car belongs to the State of Michigan
Lansing is the capital, so state vehicles are part of everyday traffic. A government agency can be liable when its employee negligently drives a vehicle it owns (MCL 691.1405), but a claim against the State itself has its own procedure. The claimant must file a written claim or notice with the clerk of the Court of Claims, signed and verified before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and for a personal injury claim it must be filed within six months of the crash (MCL 600.6431). The Michigan Supreme Court has held that this notice rule applies to any claim against the State, wherever the case is filed (Christie v. Wayne State University, 2023). A late or unverified notice can end the claim, so the clock matters more than the facts in the first weeks. City of Lansing, Ingham County and CATA vehicles follow different rules; our Lansing page and the injury deadline calculator cover them.
What PIP pays, and the two one-year rules
PIP pays medical and rehabilitation charges up to the limit chosen on the policy, wage loss for up to three years subject to a monthly maximum, and up to $20 a day for household services (MCL 500.3107, MCL 500.3107c). Two one-year rules decide whether you collect it (MCL 500.3145). First, the insurer must receive written notice of the injury within one year of the crash, unless it has already paid benefits. Second, a lawsuit for unpaid benefits can recover only the losses incurred in the year before it was filed. That year is tolled from a specific claim for payment until the insurer formally denies it, if you pursue the claim with reasonable diligence, so an unpaid bill cannot be left to wait. Medical bills above your PIP limit can be claimed from the at-fault driver (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)).
Talk to a lawyer about your Lansing crash
Koussan Law represents people hurt in Lansing and Ingham 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.
Lansing car accident questions
The other driver was speeding. How is that proven?
With the vehicles' event data recorders, intersection and business video, skid and crush measurements and an accident reconstruction. A speeding ticket, if one was written, cannot be used as evidence in the civil case under MCL 257.731.
A state employee hit me in a state car. What is different?
A claim against the State of Michigan requires a written, verified notice filed with the Court of Claims within six months of the crash for a personal injury claim (MCL 600.6431). Your own PIP benefits are unaffected and still come from your auto insurer.
Who pays my medical bills after a Lansing crash?
Your own auto insurer, or the insurer of a spouse or relative you live with, through no-fault PIP, regardless of fault. With no policy in the household, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
How long do I have after an Ingham County crash?
One year to give written notice of a PIP claim, three years to sue the at-fault driver, six months for a claim against the State, and 120 days for a road-defect claim.
More for Lansing and Ingham County
- Lansing personal injury lawyer: the 30th Circuit Court, government claims and every case type
- Lansing truck accident lawyer
- Lansing motorcycle accident lawyer
- Michigan car accident lawyer
- Government vehicle accident claims
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 rate).
- Michigan Compiled Laws, legislature.mi.gov: MCL 500.3107, 500.3107c, 500.3135, 500.3145, 257.731, 600.5805, 600.6431, 691.1405.
- Christie v. Wayne State University, Michigan Supreme Court, Docket No. 162706 (May 2, 2023); White v. Pace, Michigan Court of Appeals, Docket No. 371878 (November 3, 2025, published).
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.
