Short answer: If a semi or another large truck hit you in Lansing or anywhere in Ingham County, your own auto policy or a household policy pays your medical bills and lost wages first through Michigan no-fault (MCL 500.3114(1)). Pain and suffering, and losses above your PIP limits, are claimed from the driver and the motor carrier, whose federal minimum coverage for interstate general freight is $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9), a floor and not a measure of the claim. The carrier's hours-of-service records only have to be kept for six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)), so evidence should be secured in the first days. The lawsuit is due within three years (MCL 600.5805). Koussan Law handles Lansing truck accident claims on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Ingham County truck crash numbers
Large trucks are a small share of Ingham County traffic and a large share of its deaths. In 2025, trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds were 511 of the 15,443 vehicles in reported crashes, 3.3 percent, but 9 of the 50 vehicles in fatal crashes, 18 percent.
| Vehicles in reported crashes | 15,443 |
|---|---|
| Trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds | 511 (3.3%) |
| Vehicles in fatal crashes | 50 |
| Trucks and buses among them | 9 (18%) |
| Trucks and buses in crashes that injured someone | 71 |
| People injured, all crashes | 2,194 |
| People killed, all crashes | 27 |
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 Ingham County profile (Michigan State Police crash data, compiled by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute). Trucks and buses are vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, buses with 8 or more occupants and placarded hazardous-material vehicles.
| People killed | 10 in 7 crashes |
|---|---|
| Killed who were not in the truck | 8 of 10 |
| Crashes on an interstate | 2 of 7 |
| People killed by year, 2019 to 2024 | 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 4 |
NHTSA FARS, 2019 to 2024. Statewide comparisons are Michigan as a whole over the same years. A large truck is a medium or heavy truck over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating: a single-unit truck, a truck-tractor (semi) or another medium or heavy truck (FARS body types 60 to 64, 66, 71, 72 and 78).
Lansing is a freight crossroads
I-96, I-69, US-127 and I-496 all meet around Lansing, so many of the trucks on its roads are running between cities, and the fatal truck crashes in the federal data were on I-96, US-127 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as well as local roads. A carrier on an interstate run must follow the federal motor carrier safety rules, and Michigan adopts most of the same rules for trucks operating within the state (MCL 480.11a). That matters because the rules create the records that prove a case, and the records have short lives.
What a trucking company has to keep, and for how long
Federal rules set minimum retention periods for the records that usually decide a truck case:
- Hours of service (the electronic logs and supporting documents): at least six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)).
- Driver vehicle inspection reports and repair certifications: three months (49 CFR 396.11).
- Inspection, repair and maintenance records: one year, and six months after the truck leaves the carrier's control (49 CFR 396.3(c)).
- The driver qualification file: for as long as the driver works for the carrier and three years after (49 CFR 391.51).
- The accident register: three years after each crash (49 CFR 390.15).
- Post-crash alcohol and drug testing: required after a fatal crash, with alcohol testing attempts ending at 8 hours and drug testing attempts at 32 hours (49 CFR 382.303).
Dashcam footage and engine data have no federal minimum and may be overwritten. A preservation letter sent in the first days asks the carrier to keep all of it, and a Michigan court can let a jury infer that evidence a party failed to preserve would have been unfavorable to it (Brenner v. Kolk).
Who pays, and who can be responsible
Your own auto policy, or one in your household, pays PIP for medical care and lost wages whatever the truck's insurance; a pedestrian or cyclist with no household policy claims through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MCL 500.3115). The claim against the truck's side covers pain and suffering once the injury meets the threshold (MCL 500.3135(1)) and medical bills or wage loss above your PIP limits (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)). It can run against the driver, the motor carrier, the owner of the tractor or trailer (MCL 257.401) and, when a careless choice of carrier is the problem on an interstate load, a freight broker (Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, 2026). More on the parties in a truck case on our Michigan truck accident page.
If a state or city truck is involved
MDOT trucks, snowplows and city service vehicles share Lansing's roads. A government agency can be liable for its employee's negligent driving of a vehicle it owns (MCL 691.1405), but claims against government defendants have short notice rules, and a claim against the State of Michigan requires a written, verified notice filed with the Court of Claims within six months for a personal injury claim (MCL 600.6431). See our Lansing car accident page for how that notice works.
Talk to a lawyer about a Lansing truck crash
Koussan Law represents people hurt in Lansing and Ingham County truck crashes, and families who lost someone in one, 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 truck accident questions
Which records should be preserved after a truck crash?
The electronic logs and hours-of-service documents, the driver vehicle inspection reports, maintenance records, the driver qualification file, post-crash drug and alcohol test results, dashcam and engine data, and dispatch messages. Some have federal retention periods as short as three to six months; video and engine data have none.
Who pays my medical bills after a truck crash on I-96?
Your own auto insurer, or a household policy, through no-fault PIP, regardless of fault. The trucking company's liability coverage answers for pain and suffering and for medical bills and wage loss above your PIP limits.
Can I make a claim if a snowplow or MDOT truck hit me?
A government agency can be liable for its employee's negligent driving of a vehicle it owns (MCL 691.1405), but the notice rules are short. A claim against the State needs a written, verified notice with the Court of Claims within six months for a personal injury claim.
How long do I have after an Ingham County truck crash?
One year for written notice of a PIP claim and three years to sue the at-fault parties, with shorter notice periods for government defendants. Act within days on the evidence, because some records only have to be kept for months.
More for Lansing and Ingham County
- Lansing personal injury lawyer: the 30th Circuit Court and every case type
- Michigan truck accident lawyer
- Lansing car accident lawyer
- Why Michigan truck accident cases are different
- Grand Rapids truck accident lawyer
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.
- Michigan Compiled Laws, legislature.mi.gov: MCL 500.3114, 500.3115, 500.3135, 257.401, 480.11a, 600.5805, 600.6431, 691.1405.
- Code of Federal Regulations, title 49: 382.303, 387.9, 390.15, 391.51, 395.8, 396.3, 396.11 (eCFR).
- Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, No. 24-1238 (U.S. May 14, 2026); Brenner v. Kolk, 226 Mich App 149 (1997).
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.
