Short answer: If you were hurt in a car crash in Southfield, your own auto insurer pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages through Michigan no-fault (PIP), no matter who caused the crash (MCL 500.3107); give it written notice within one year (MCL 500.3145). Pain and suffering is a separate claim against the at-fault driver when the injury meets Michigan's threshold (MCL 500.3135), and if you were rear-ended the law presumes the driver behind you was negligent (MCL 257.402). That lawsuit must be filed within three years (MCL 600.5805). Koussan Law handles Southfield car accident claims on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Southfield crash numbers
Southfield had more fatal crashes from 2019 through 2024 than any other city in Oakland County: 45, which killed 50 people. Pontiac was next with 34. In 2025 the city reported 3,024 crashes, and 733 of them injured someone, 24 percent, against 19 percent for the county as a whole.
| Reported crashes | 3,024 |
|---|---|
| Crashes with injuries | 733 |
| People injured | 998 |
| Fatal crashes | 6 |
| People killed | 6 |
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 Traffic Crash Summary for County/Communities.
| People killed | 50 in 45 crashes |
|---|---|
| Fatal crashes after dark | 28 of 45, 62% (statewide 46%) |
| Pedestrians among those killed | 13 of 50, 26% (statewide 15%) |
| Crashes in which a driver was speeding | 14 of 45 |
| Crashes with a hit-and-run driver | 5 of 45 |
| People killed by year, 2019 to 2024 | 8, 6, 15, 7, 5, 9 |
| Oakland County as a whole, people killed | 397 in 372 crashes |
NHTSA FARS, 2019 to 2024. Statewide comparisons are Michigan as a whole over the same years.
The Southfield roads with the most fatal crashes
Telegraph Road, M-10 (the Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway), 8 Mile Road and the Southfield Freeway together carried 26 of the city's 45 fatal crashes from 2019 to 2024.
| M-10 (Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway) | 8 |
|---|---|
| Telegraph Road (US-24) | 8 |
| 8 Mile Road (M-102) | 7 |
| Greenfield Road | 4 |
| M-39 (Southfield Freeway) | 3 |
| 9 Mile Road | 2 |
NHTSA FARS, by the road recorded for each crash inside the City of Southfield, ramps excluded.
8 Mile Road is the border with Detroit and Wayne County, so a crash on it may be handled by Southfield police, Detroit police or the Michigan State Police; check which agency responded before requesting the UD-10 report, because the report is what identifies the vehicles' owners and insurers. Our Southfield page covers the Oakland County courts and every type of case we handle in the city.
After dark, and on foot
Most of Southfield's deadly crashes happen at night: 28 of 45 from 2019 to 2024, well above the statewide share. And 13 of the 50 people killed were on foot. A pedestrian hit by a car claims PIP from their own auto policy or a household policy, not the driver's; with no policy in the household, the claim goes to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MCL 500.3115), which must be notified within one year of the crash (MCL 500.3174). In a night crash, lighting, visibility and the driver's speed are usually what the fault question turns on, and a pedestrian's own share of fault reduces, but does not erase, the claim unless it is over 50 percent (MCL 500.3135(2)(b)).
Rear-ended on the Lodge or Telegraph
Stop-and-go traffic on M-10, Telegraph and I-696 produces rear-end crashes. Michigan presumes that a driver who strikes the rear of a vehicle going the same direction, or one lawfully stopped, was negligent (MCL 257.402). The presumption can be rebutted, for example with proof of a sudden emergency, but it puts the burden of explaining the crash on the driver behind. The police report and the other driver's ticket are not proof of fault in the civil case (MCL 257.731); the presumption, the vehicles' damage, any dashcam or traffic video and the event data recorders are.
What no-fault pays, and what the at-fault claim adds
PIP covers medical and rehabilitation charges up to the limit on the policy (MCL 500.3107c), wage loss for up to three years subject to a monthly maximum, and up to $20 a day for household services (MCL 500.3107). From the at-fault driver you can claim pain and suffering for death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (MCL 500.3135(1)), medical bills and wage loss above your PIP limits (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)), and up to $3,000 of vehicle damage your own insurance did not pay, reduced by any share of fault that was yours (MCL 500.3135(3)(e)).
Talk to a lawyer about your Southfield crash
Koussan Law represents people hurt in Southfield crashes on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win. Our main office is in Detroit at 821 W Milwaukee St. That is a short drive down the Lodge Freeway (M-10) from Southfield. Call (313) 800-0000 or request a free consultation. For a rough sense of value first, the case value calculator takes about a minute.
Southfield car accident questions
I was hit on Telegraph Road. Who pays my medical bills?
Your own auto insurer, through no-fault PIP, regardless of fault. If you have no policy, a policy of a spouse or relative you live with usually applies, and with none in the household, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
I was walking when a car hit me in Southfield. Am I covered?
Yes. A pedestrian claims PIP from their own or a household auto policy, or through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which must be notified within one year. You can also claim pain and suffering from the driver if the injury meets the threshold.
I was rear-ended on the Lodge Freeway. Is fault automatic?
Michigan presumes the driver who struck the rear of your vehicle was negligent (MCL 257.402). The presumption can be rebutted with evidence, so it helps the claim but does not end the fault question.
How long do I have after a Southfield crash?
One year to give 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.
More for Southfield and Oakland County
- Southfield personal injury lawyer: Oakland County courts and every case type
- Michigan car accident lawyer
- Michigan pedestrian accident claims
- Detroit car accident lawyer
- Oakland County personal injury 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 500.3107, 500.3107c, 500.3115, 500.3135, 500.3145, 500.3174, 257.402, 257.731, 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.
