Whiplash settlements
in Michigan.
Michigan applies modified-51 comparative fault and runs the United States' most comprehensive PIP no-fault auto scheme, restructured by PA 21 of 2019 with driver-elected coverage tiers. For whiplash claims specifically, the band is built from the state-by-state tort law · jury verdict reporters · statutory caps framework and then adjusted for Michigan's modified comparative — 51% bar and any applicable statutory cap.
Michigan applies modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. A whiplash claimant who is 50% at fault still recovers 50% of damages; one assigned 51% recovers nothing. This is slightly more claimant-friendly than the 50% bar applied in some neighbouring states, and it leaves room for negotiation in mixed-liability whiplash cases where the comparative-fault split is close to even.
Michigan's caps (medical malpractice non-economic cap) apply to the non-economic component of whiplash damages and can compress upper-tier verdicts. The exact application depends on the cause of action and the head of damage; the caps section on this page sets out each ceiling and the conditions under which it bites.
Because Michigan is a no-fault auto insurance state, whiplash claims arising from motor-vehicle accidents are first routed through Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. Tort recovery against the at-fault driver is gated by the state's serious-injury threshold, which materially limits the lower end of the whiplash settlement band. Michigan operates the most comprehensive no-fault auto scheme in the US under PA 1972, restructured by PA 21 of 2019 with PIP coverage tier choice (capped at $50k, $250k, $500k, or unlimited). Tort recovery for non-economic damages requires meeting the serious-injury threshold under § 500.3135.
The US band is the starting point. Michigan's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.