Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135 (2026)

Tort liability for noneconomic loss; exceptions; cause of action for damages; "serious impairment of body function" defined.

✓ current as of July 2026

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THE INSURANCE CODE OF 1956

Act 218 of 1956

500.3135 Tort liability for noneconomic loss; exceptions; cause of action for damages; "serious impairment of body function" defined.

Sec. 3135.

(1) A person remains subject to tort liability for noneconomic loss caused by his or her ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle only if the injured person has suffered death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.

(2) For a cause of action for damages under subsection (1) or (3)(d), all of the following apply:

(a) The issues of whether the injured person has suffered serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement are questions of law for the court if the court finds either of the following:

(i) There is no factual dispute concerning the nature and extent of the person's injuries.

(ii) There is a factual dispute concerning the nature and extent of the person's injuries, but the dispute is not material to the determination whether the person has suffered a serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement. However, for a closed-head injury, a question of fact for the jury is created if a licensed allopathic or osteopathic physician who regularly diagnoses or treats closed-head injuries testifies under oath that there may be a serious neurological injury.

(b) Damages must be assessed on the basis of comparative fault, except that damages must not be assessed in favor of a party who is more than 50% at fault.

(c) Damages must not be assessed in favor of a party who was operating his or her own vehicle at the time the injury occurred and did not have in effect for that motor vehicle the security required by section 3101(1) at the time the injury occurred.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, tort liability arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use within this state of a motor vehicle with respect to which the security required by section 3101(1) was in effect is abolished except as to:

(a) Intentionally caused harm to persons or property. Even though a person knows that harm to persons or property is substantially certain to be caused by his or her act or omission, the person does not cause or suffer that harm intentionally if he or she acts or refrains from acting for the purpose of averting injury to any person, including himself or herself, or for the purpose of averting damage to tangible property.

(b) Damages for noneconomic loss as provided and limited in subsections (1) and (2).

(c) Damages for allowable expenses, work loss, and survivor's loss as defined in sections 3107 to 3110, including all future allowable expenses and work loss, in excess of any applicable limit under section 3107c or the daily, monthly, and 3-year limitations contained in those sections, or without limit for allowable expenses if an election to not maintain that coverage was made under section 3107d or if an exclusion under section 3109a(2) applies. The party liable for damages is entitled to an exemption reducing his or her liability by the amount of taxes that would have been payable on account of income the injured person would have received if he or she had not been injured.

(d) Damages for economic loss by a nonresident. However, to recover under this subdivision, the nonresident must have suffered death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.

(e) Damages up to $1,000.00 to a motor vehicle or, for motor vehicle accidents that occur after July 1, 2020, up to $3,000.00 to a motor vehicle, to the extent that the damages are not covered by insurance. An action for damages under this subdivision must be conducted as provided in subsection (4).

(4) All of the following apply to an action for damages under subsection (3)(e):

(a) Damages must be assessed on the basis of comparative fault, except that damages must not be assessed in favor of a party who is more than 50% at fault.

(b) Liability is not a component of residual liability, as prescribed in section 3131, for which maintenance of security is required by this act.

(c) The action must be commenced, whenever legally possible, in the small claims division of the district court or the municipal court. If the defendant or plaintiff removes the action to a higher court and does not prevail, the judge may assess costs.

(d) A decision of the court is not res judicata in any proceeding to determine any other liability arising from the same circumstances that gave rise to the action.

(e) Damages must not be assessed if the damaged motor vehicle was being operated at the time of the damage without the security required by section 3101(1).

(5) As used in this section, "serious impairment of body function" means an impairment that satisfies all of the following requirements:

(a) It is objectively manifested, meaning it is observable or perceivable from actual symptoms or conditions by someone other than the injured person.

(b) It is an impairment of an important body function, which is a body function of great value, significance, or consequence to the injured person.

(c) It affects the injured person's general ability to lead his or her normal life, meaning it has had an influence on some of the person's capacity to live in his or her normal manner of living. Although temporal considerations may be relevant, there is no temporal requirement for how long an impairment must last. This examination is inherently fact and circumstance specific to each injured person, must be conducted on a case-by-case basis, and requires comparison of the injured person's life before and after the incident.

History: Add. 1972, Act 294, Eff. Mar. 30, 1973 ;-- Am. 1979, Act 145, Imd. Eff. Nov. 13, 1979 ;-- Am. 1979, Act 147, Imd. Eff. Nov. 13, 1979 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 222, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 697, Eff. Mar. 31, 2003 ;-- Am. 2012, Act 158, Eff. Oct. 1, 2012 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 21, Imd. Eff. June 11, 2019 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 22, Imd. Eff. June 11, 2019

Compiler's Notes:

Act 143 of 1993, which amended this section, was submitted to the people by referendum petition (as Proposal C) and rejected by a majority of the votes cast at the November 8, 1994, general election.

Enacting section 2 of Act 21 of 2019 provides:

"Enacting section 2. Section 3135 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.3135, as amended by this amendatory act, is intended to codify and give full effect to the opinion of the Michigan supreme court in McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010)."

Enacting section 1 of Act 22 of 2019 provides:

"Enacting section 1. Section 3135 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.3135, as amended by this amendatory act, is intended to codify and give full effect to the opinion of the Michigan supreme court in McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010)."

PopularName Notes:

Act 218

PopularName Notes:

Essential Insurance

PopularName Notes:

No-Fault Insurance

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 748 cases (187 in the last 5 years), 1973–2026 · leading case: Mccormick v. Carrier, 795 N.W.2d 517 (Mich. 2010).

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Mccormick v. Carrier, 795 N.W.2d 517 (Mich. 2010). · cites it 194× “The issue in this case is the proper interpretation of the “serious impairment of body function” threshold for non-economic tort liability under MCL 500.3135. We hold that Kreiner v Fischer, 471 Mich 109 ; 683 NW2d 611 (2004), was wrongly decided because it departed from the…”

Johnson v. Recca, 821 N.W.2d 520 (Mich. 2012). · cites it 134× “1 We note that on June 7, 2012, the Governor signed 2012 PA 158 , which, effective October 1, 2012, amends MCL 500.3135 to increase the amount of motor vehicle damage not covered by insurance for which a person may sue the responsible party.”

Fisher v. Blankenship, 777 N.W.2d 469 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 28× “[5] We acknowledge that Kosack, Nelson, and Owens were all decided before the Legislature amended MCL 500.3135 in 1995. See 1995 PA 222 . However, with 1995 PA 222 , the Legislature did not effect a change in the definition of a permanent serious disfigurement, and we find the…”

Diallo v. Larochelle, 310 Mich. App. 411 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 45× “3135(3); see also American Alternative Ins Co, Inc v York, 470 Mich 28, 30 ; 679 NW2d 306 (2004) (“As part of the automobile no-fault insurance system enacted in 1972, our Legislature at MCL 500.3135 abolished tort liability for harm caused while owning, maintaining, or using a…”

Allen v. Bloomfield Hills Sch. Dist., 760 N.W.2d 811 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 20× “[1] MCL 500.3135. But the trial court concluded that Allen did not suffer a "bodily injury" within the meaning of the motor vehicle exception to governmental immunity, MCL 691.”

Heather Lynn Hannay v. Dep't of Transp., 497 Mich. 45 (Mich. 2014). · cites it 13× “Moreover, the restrictions on damages recoverable in third-party tort actions involving motor vehicle accidents set forth in MCL 500.3135 of the no-fault act, MCL 500.”

Lindsey Patrick v. Virginia B Turkelson, 913 N.W.2d 369 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 6× “2d 517 , our Supreme Court instructed courts applying MCL 500.3135 to begin by determining "whether there is a factual dispute regarding the nature and the extent of the person's injuries and, if so, whether the dispute is material to determining whether the serious impairment…”

Tracy C Brickey v. Vincent Lavon McCarver, 919 N.W.2d 412 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 21× “The trial court held that, under MCL 500.3135, the defendant *645 was not shielded from tort liability because the plaintiff was operating a motorcycle-not a "motor vehicle"-at the time of the accident.”

Rory v. Cont'l Ins., 703 N.W.2d 23 (Mich. 2005). · cites it 6× “While death may be ascertainable at the time of the accident, the other two injuries are less readily identifiable.”

Gray v. Chrostowski, 828 N.W.2d 435 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 28× “3101(1) and MCL 500.3135, provisions of the no-fault act, MCL 500.”

Great Am. Ins. v. Queen, 300 N.W.2d 895 (Mich. 1980). · cites it 20× “The specific issue is whether the employer's workers' compensation insurer is entitled to reimbursement from the employee's tort recovery against the third-party tortfeasor for "noneconomic loss", which recovery is sanctioned by the no-fault act, MCL 500.3135, subds (1), (2)(b);…”

Kern v. Blethen-Coluni, 612 N.W.2d 838 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 13× “Consistent with the above standards, the no-fault act now defines serious impairment of body function as follows: As used in this section, "serious impairment of body function" means an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's…”

Show all 748 citing cases →

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(1) — 349 cases

Mccormick v. Carrier, 795 N.W.2d 517 (Mich. 2010). “The issue in this case is the proper interpretation of the “serious impairment of body function” threshold for non-economic tort liability under MCL 500.3135. We hold that Kreiner v Fischer, 471 Mich 109 ; 683 NW2d 611 (2004), was wrongly decided because it departed from the…”

Rory v. Cont'l Ins., 703 N.W.2d 23 (Mich. 2005). “While death may be ascertainable at the time of the accident, the other two injuries are less readily identifiable.”

Fisher v. Blankenship, 777 N.W.2d 469 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009). “[5] We acknowledge that Kosack, Nelson, and Owens were all decided before the Legislature amended MCL 500.3135 in 1995. See 1995 PA 222 . However, with 1995 PA 222 , the Legislature did not effect a change in the definition of a permanent serious disfigurement, and we find the…”

Johnson v. Recca, 821 N.W.2d 520 (Mich. 2012). “1 We note that on June 7, 2012, the Governor signed 2012 PA 158 , which, effective October 1, 2012, amends MCL 500.3135 to increase the amount of motor vehicle damage not covered by insurance for which a person may sue the responsible party.”

Garrett v. Washington, 886 N.W.2d 762 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(1)(2)(c) — 1 case

Donna Davis v. Ronald Scott Baldini (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(1)(a)(ii) — 1 case

Myrtle Flossie Moore v. William Thomas Swafford (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2) — 72 cases

Shavers v. Attorney Gen., 267 N.W.2d 72 (Mich. 1978).

Universal Underwriters Ins. v. Kneeland, 628 N.W.2d 491 (Mich. 2001).

Tebo v. Havlik, 343 N.W.2d 181 (Mich. 1984).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(C) — 1 case

John Goings Sr v. Bobbie Jean Giacomantonio-Snow (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(a) — 73 cases

Lindsey Patrick v. Virginia B Turkelson, 913 N.W.2d 369 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “2d 517 , our Supreme Court instructed courts applying MCL 500.3135 to begin by determining "whether there is a factual dispute regarding the nature and the extent of the person's injuries and, if so, whether the dispute is material to determining whether the serious impairment…”

Minter v. City of Grand Rapids, 739 N.W.2d 108 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Kern v. Blethen-Coluni, 612 N.W.2d 838 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000). “Consistent with the above standards, the no-fault act now defines serious impairment of body function as follows: As used in this section, "serious impairment of body function" means an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's…”

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(a)(i) — 39 cases

Churchman v. Richerson, 611 N.W.2d 333 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Miller v. Purcell, 631 N.W.2d 760 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

May v. Sommerfield, 607 N.W.2d 422 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Netter v. Bowman, 725 N.W.2d 353 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(a)(i)(ii) — 1 case

Michelle Orvis v. Thomas Allen Moore (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(a)(ii) — 35 cases

Churchman v. Richerson, 611 N.W.2d 333 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Minter v. City of Grand Rapids, 739 N.W.2d 108 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Kreiner v. Fischer, 683 N.W.2d 611 (Mich. 2004).

Sarah Sanders v. Allstate Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(b) — 70 cases

Auto Club Ins. Ass'n v. Hill, 430 N.W.2d 636 (Mich. 1988).

Cotton v. Minter, 469 F. Supp. 199 (E.D. Mich. 1979).

McKendrick v. Petrucci, 247 N.W.2d 349 (Mich. Ct. App. 1976).

Darcy Weidman v. Home-Owners Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

Bradford v. Wurm, 610 F. Supp. 2d 835 (E.D. Mich. 2009).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(c) — 73 cases

Tracy C Brickey v. Vincent Lavon McCarver, 919 N.W.2d 412 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “The trial court held that, under MCL 500.3135, the defendant *645 was not shielded from tort liability because the plaintiff was operating a motorcycle-not a "motor vehicle"-at the time of the accident.”

Stevenson v. Reese, 609 N.W.2d 195 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Gray v. Chrostowski, 828 N.W.2d 435 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012). “3101(1) and MCL 500.3135, provisions of the no-fault act, MCL 500.”

Phillips v. Mirac, Inc, 685 N.W.2d 174 (Mich. 2004).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(d) — 7 cases

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. v. Ruuska, 314 N.W.2d 184 (Mich. 1982).

Heard v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins., 324 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. 1982).

Nerat v. Swacker, 388 N.W.2d 305 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986).

Matti Awdish, Inc v. Williams, 323 N.W.2d 666 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982).

Kanaziz v. Rounds, 395 N.W.2d 278 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(2)(ii) — 2 cases

Willie Van Dyke v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Angell Cyars-Williams v. Thomas Skender (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3) — 50 cases

Allen v. Bloomfield Hills Sch. Dist., 760 N.W.2d 811 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008). “[1] MCL 500.3135. But the trial court concluded that Allen did not suffer a "bodily injury" within the meaning of the motor vehicle exception to governmental immunity, MCL 691.”

Heather Lynn Hannay v. Dep't of Transp., 497 Mich. 45 (Mich. 2014). “Moreover, the restrictions on damages recoverable in third-party tort actions involving motor vehicle accidents set forth in MCL 500.3135 of the no-fault act, MCL 500.”

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(C) — 1 case

Sanderson v. Wright (E.D. Mich. 2019).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(a) — 17 cases

Gray v. Chrostowski, 828 N.W.2d 435 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012). “3101(1) and MCL 500.3135, provisions of the no-fault act, MCL 500.”

Diallo v. Larochelle, 310 Mich. App. 411 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015). “3135(3); see also American Alternative Ins Co, Inc v York, 470 Mich 28, 30 ; 679 NW2d 306 (2004) (“As part of the automobile no-fault insurance system enacted in 1972, our Legislature at MCL 500.3135 abolished tort liability for harm caused while owning, maintaining, or using a…”

Allstate Ins. v. McCarn, 683 N.W.2d 656 (Mich. 2004).

Am. Alt. Ins. Co., Inc. v. York, 679 N.W.2d 306 (Mich. 2004).

Stevenson v. Reese, 609 N.W.2d 195 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(b) — 2 cases

Jerika Jones v. David T Hammons (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

Niki S Nelson v. John Carl Wittkowski (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(c) — 37 cases

In re Carroll, 832 N.W.2d 276 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Hannay v. Dep't of Transp., 299 Mich. App. 261 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(d) — 2 cases

Sentry Ins. v. Claimsco Int'l, Inc, 608 N.W.2d 519 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3)(e) — 4 cases

Shield Global Partners - Gi LLC v. Progressive Cas. Ins Co (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).

Dustin Rowland v. City of Detroit (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).

Markham Gen. Ins. Co. v. Evans, 723 N.W.2d 208 (Mich. 2006).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3X5) — 1 case

Nerat v. Swacker, 388 N.W.2d 305 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(3Xc) — 1 case

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(4) — 1 case

Shield Global Partners - Gi LLC v. Progressive Cas. Ins Co (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(4)(a) — 1 case

Katrina White v. Domenico Pace (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(4)(c) — 1 case

Shield Global Partners - Gi LLC v. Progressive Cas. Ins Co (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(5) — 146 cases

Gavino R Piccione v. Lyle a Gillette, 932 N.W.2d 197 (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).

Lopez-Garcia v. United States, 207 F. Supp. 3d 753 (E.D. Mich. 2016).

Jeffrey M Beurkens v. Jessica Marie Bouman (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Sarah Sanders v. Allstate Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(5)(a) — 27 cases

Jerika Jones v. David T Hammons (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

Caleb James Dean v. Louis William Stallworth-Hunter (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

Christopher Yarber v. Home-Owners Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).

Angell Cyars-Williams v. Thomas Skender (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

Dereck Scheppelmann v. Progressive Marathon Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(5)(b) — 8 cases

Caleb James Dean v. Louis William Stallworth-Hunter (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

Angell Cyars-Williams v. Thomas Skender (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

Jamal Al-Rahimi v. Allstate Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

Rachel Wilson v. Laura Duron (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

20231109_C364047_29_364047D.Opn.Pdf (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(5)(c) — 21 cases

Est. of Willie May Turnage v. Quincy Hall (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

Sgm v. James Robert David Whiteford (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).

James Stevenson v. Sarah Neubar (Mich. Ct. App. 2021).

Jonathan Johnson v. Liberty Mut. Gen. Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).

Caleb James Dean v. Louis William Stallworth-Hunter (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(7) — 71 cases

Kreiner v. Fischer, 671 N.W.2d 95 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003).

People of Michigan v. Selesa Arrosieur Likine, 492 Mich. 367 (Mich. 2012).

Kreiner v. Fischer, 683 N.W.2d 611 (Mich. 2004).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(a) — 1 case

Swantek v. Auto. Club of Michigan Ins. Grp., 325 N.W.2d 588 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(a)(2) — 2 cases

Ricky Jones v. Ashley Smith (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).

Wanda Seabolt v. Carl Caparaotta (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.3135(b)(2) — 1 case

Mazen Sayegh v. Citizens Ins. Co. of the Midwest (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).

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