Michigan’s Tort Threshold Is the Insurance Industry’s Favorite Defense Know What It Takes to Beat It

Michigan’s no-fault system provides medical benefits and wage loss regardless of fault. But recovering for pain, suffering, and the broader impact an injury has on your life requires clearing an additional legal hurdle: the “serious impairment of body function” threshold. Insurance companies spend enormous resources arguing that injured people haven’t cleared this bar, even when those people are in genuine, documented pain and cannot live the life they had before. Scott Reizen knows this argument from the inside. He used to make it. Now he defeats it.

What Michigan Law Says About Pain and Suffering

Under MCL 500.3135, an injured person can bring a tort claim for noneconomic damages, pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, only if the injury constitutes a “serious impairment of body function,” a “permanent serious disfigurement,” or causes death.

The serious impairment standard is defined in MCL 500.3135(5) as an impairment of a body function that meets three criteria simultaneously:

1. Objectively manifested: the impairment must be demonstrated by actual evidence, not solely by the plaintiff’s subjective complaint

2. Important body function: it must affect a body function that is important to the individual

3. Affects general ability to lead normal life: the impairment must affect the person’s overall ability to live as they did before the crash

All three elements must be established. Insurance companies attack each one. They argue that MRI and X-ray results don’t show objective findings. They argue that the affected function isn’t “important.” They argue that the plaintiff’s daily life hasn’t materially changed. These are not frivolous arguments, they win cases when the injured person isn’t properly represented.

To reach trial on noneconomic damages at all, the at-fault driver must also be found 50% or more responsible under Michigan’s modified comparative negligence statute, MCL 600.2959. And there is no damages cap on noneconomic recoveries in auto accident cases,caps apply only in medical malpractice, not here.

The statute of limitations for bringing a pain and suffering claim is three years from the date of the accident under MCL 600.5805.

How Pain and Suffering Claims Work in Michigan

A pain and suffering claim in Michigan is a third-party tort claim, you bring it against the at-fault driver (and their insurer), separate from your own PIP first-party claim.

The liability insurer’s job is to evaluate whether you meet the serious impairment threshold and, if so, what those damages are worth. Both questions are vigorously contested. On threshold, insurers retain medical experts to review your records and testify that your injury doesn’t meet the standard. On damages, they argue that your injuries have resolved, that your symptoms are explained by pre-existing conditions, or that you’ve returned to a functional life that approximates your pre-accident baseline.

Building a winning pain and suffering case requires more than medical records. It requires evidence of how the injury has specifically changed your daily life, what you can no longer do, what you can do only with difficulty or pain, what you’ve given up, and what the injury has cost you over time. That evidence often includes medical expert testimony, records from treating physicians, testimony from family members and colleagues, and your own detailed account.

Documented, consistent medical treatment matters enormously. Gaps in treatment are used against claimants. So is inconsistency between symptoms described to doctors and activities the claimant is observed performing. Insurance companies investigate. They review social media. They hire investigators for surveillance.

What The Reizen Law Group Does Differently

Scott spent years defending serious impairment cases for insurance companies. He knows exactly which facts insurers focus on when building a threshold defense, which medical experts they use, and what arguments resonate with judges and juries.

That means Scott knows how to build a pain and suffering case that anticipates and defeats those defenses, from the first medical visit through trial if necessary. He advises clients on the importance of consistent, documented treatment. He helps frame the impact of an injury in ways that connect the legal standard to what’s actually happening in a real person’s life. He identifies the expert testimony that will be most persuasive.

He also knows when a case is strong enough to reject a low offer and take to trial. Insurance company settlement offers on noneconomic claims are frequently based on the hope that the claimant will accept less than the case is worth. Over two decades and thousands of cases, Scott has seen how that plays out, and he doesn’t let insurers set the price.

The Insurance Insider on Your Side.

Common Pain and Suffering Claim Scenarios

  • Soft-tissue injuries: Whiplash, herniated discs, nerve damage; frequently challenged on the “objective” prong
  • Orthopedic injuries: Fractures, torn ligaments, joint damage requiring surgery
  • Traumatic brain injury: Can be difficult to establish objectively but has profound life impact
  • Chronic pain conditions: Long-lasting symptoms with real functional limitations that insurers dismiss
  • Psychological injuries: PTSD, anxiety, and depression following a severe crash
  • Loss of normal life activities: Inability to work a prior job, play sports, care for family members
  • Permanent disfigurement: Scarring and permanent physical changes meet a separate threshold under MCL 500.3135

Frequently Asked Questions

My doctor says I have soft-tissue injuries. Is that enough to meet the serious impairment threshold?

It can be, but it isn’t automatic. Soft-tissue injuries are the category insurers fight hardest because they rely heavily on subjective pain reports. To meet the MCL 500.3135(5) standard, you need objective evidence, imaging, clinical findings, functional tests, along with clear documentation of how the injury affects your ability to live your normal life. The stronger the documentation, the stronger the case.

Can the insurance company use my social media against me?

Yes, and they do. Insurers regularly monitor the social media accounts of claimants, looking for photos or posts that appear inconsistent with the claimed injury. A single photo from a family event can be used to argue that your limitations aren’t real. This doesn’t mean you need to disappear from the internet, but it’s something to be thoughtful about.

Is there a cap on how much I can recover for pain and suffering?

No. Michigan’s noneconomic damages caps apply only to medical malpractice cases. In auto accident cases, there is no statutory cap. The amount is determined by the evidence presented and, if the case goes to trial, by the jury.

What if I had a pre-existing injury to the same part of my body?

Pre-existing conditions complicate but don’t eliminate a claim. Michigan law recognizes the “eggshell plaintiff” principle, a defendant takes the victim as they find them. If the crash aggravated or accelerated a pre-existing condition, that aggravation is still compensable. The key is demonstrating the change in your condition caused by the crash itself.

How is the value of a pain and suffering claim calculated?

There is no formula. Juries and negotiating parties consider the nature and severity of the injury, the permanence of the impairment, the specific activities and life functions affected, the duration of treatment, the credibility of the evidence, and the strength of the liability case. Cases with well-documented, consistent medical histories and clear functional limitations command higher values.

How long do I have to bring a pain and suffering claim?

Three years from the date of the accident under MCL 600.5805. This is a hard deadline, courts almost never grant exceptions. Don’t wait.

Talk to Scott

Pain and suffering claims in Michigan require understanding a legal standard that insurance companies have spent decades shaping and contesting. Scott Reizen knows that standard from both sides of the case. He has spent over two decades building and winning these claims for injured Michiganders, with a defense attorney’s inside knowledge of exactly what it takes. Free consultation, no fee unless we win. Call (248) 554-3440.

Pain & Suffering Claims

Michigan’s Tort Threshold Is the Insurance Industry’s Favorite Defense Know What It Takes to Beat It

Michigan’s no-fault system provides medical benefits and wage loss regardless of fault. But recovering for pain, suffering, and the broader impact an injury has on your life requires clearing an additional legal hurdle: the “serious impairment of body function” threshold. Insurance companies spend enormous resources arguing that injured people haven’t cleared this bar, even when those people are in genuine, documented pain and cannot live the life they had before. Scott Reizen knows this argument from the inside. He used to make it. Now he defeats it.

What Michigan Law Says About Pain and Suffering

Under MCL 500.3135, an injured person can bring a tort claim for noneconomic damages, pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, only if the injury constitutes a “serious impairment of body function,” a “permanent serious disfigurement,” or causes death.

The serious impairment standard is defined in MCL 500.3135(5) as an impairment of a body function that meets three criteria simultaneously:

1. Objectively manifested: the impairment must be demonstrated by actual evidence, not solely by the plaintiff’s subjective complaint

2. Important body function: it must affect a body function that is important to the individual

3. Affects general ability to lead normal life: the impairment must affect the person’s overall ability to live as they did before the crash

All three elements must be established. Insurance companies attack each one. They argue that MRI and X-ray results don’t show objective findings. They argue that the affected function isn’t “important.” They argue that the plaintiff’s daily life hasn’t materially changed. These are not frivolous arguments, they win cases when the injured person isn’t properly represented.

To reach trial on noneconomic damages at all, the at-fault driver must also be found 50% or more responsible under Michigan’s modified comparative negligence statute, MCL 600.2959. And there is no damages cap on noneconomic recoveries in auto accident cases,caps apply only in medical malpractice, not here.

The statute of limitations for bringing a pain and suffering claim is three years from the date of the accident under MCL 600.5805.

How Pain and Suffering Claims Work in Michigan

A pain and suffering claim in Michigan is a third-party tort claim, you bring it against the at-fault driver (and their insurer), separate from your own PIP first-party claim.

The liability insurer’s job is to evaluate whether you meet the serious impairment threshold and, if so, what those damages are worth. Both questions are vigorously contested. On threshold, insurers retain medical experts to review your records and testify that your injury doesn’t meet the standard. On damages, they argue that your injuries have resolved, that your symptoms are explained by pre-existing conditions, or that you’ve returned to a functional life that approximates your pre-accident baseline.

Building a winning pain and suffering case requires more than medical records. It requires evidence of how the injury has specifically changed your daily life, what you can no longer do, what you can do only with difficulty or pain, what you’ve given up, and what the injury has cost you over time. That evidence often includes medical expert testimony, records from treating physicians, testimony from family members and colleagues, and your own detailed account.

Documented, consistent medical treatment matters enormously. Gaps in treatment are used against claimants. So is inconsistency between symptoms described to doctors and activities the claimant is observed performing. Insurance companies investigate. They review social media. They hire investigators for surveillance.

What The Reizen Law Group Does Differently

Scott spent years defending serious impairment cases for insurance companies. He knows exactly which facts insurers focus on when building a threshold defense, which medical experts they use, and what arguments resonate with judges and juries.

That means Scott knows how to build a pain and suffering case that anticipates and defeats those defenses, from the first medical visit through trial if necessary. He advises clients on the importance of consistent, documented treatment. He helps frame the impact of an injury in ways that connect the legal standard to what’s actually happening in a real person’s life. He identifies the expert testimony that will be most persuasive.

He also knows when a case is strong enough to reject a low offer and take to trial. Insurance company settlement offers on noneconomic claims are frequently based on the hope that the claimant will accept less than the case is worth. Over two decades and thousands of cases, Scott has seen how that plays out, and he doesn’t let insurers set the price.

The Insurance Insider on Your Side.

Common Pain and Suffering Claim Scenarios

  • Soft-tissue injuries: Whiplash, herniated discs, nerve damage; frequently challenged on the “objective” prong
  • Orthopedic injuries: Fractures, torn ligaments, joint damage requiring surgery
  • Traumatic brain injury: Can be difficult to establish objectively but has profound life impact
  • Chronic pain conditions: Long-lasting symptoms with real functional limitations that insurers dismiss
  • Psychological injuries: PTSD, anxiety, and depression following a severe crash
  • Loss of normal life activities: Inability to work a prior job, play sports, care for family members
  • Permanent disfigurement: Scarring and permanent physical changes meet a separate threshold under MCL 500.3135

Frequently Asked Questions

My doctor says I have soft-tissue injuries. Is that enough to meet the serious impairment threshold?

It can be, but it isn’t automatic. Soft-tissue injuries are the category insurers fight hardest because they rely heavily on subjective pain reports. To meet the MCL 500.3135(5) standard, you need objective evidence, imaging, clinical findings, functional tests, along with clear documentation of how the injury affects your ability to live your normal life. The stronger the documentation, the stronger the case.

Can the insurance company use my social media against me?

Yes, and they do. Insurers regularly monitor the social media accounts of claimants, looking for photos or posts that appear inconsistent with the claimed injury. A single photo from a family event can be used to argue that your limitations aren’t real. This doesn’t mean you need to disappear from the internet, but it’s something to be thoughtful about.

Is there a cap on how much I can recover for pain and suffering?

No. Michigan’s noneconomic damages caps apply only to medical malpractice cases. In auto accident cases, there is no statutory cap. The amount is determined by the evidence presented and, if the case goes to trial, by the jury.

What if I had a pre-existing injury to the same part of my body?

Pre-existing conditions complicate but don’t eliminate a claim. Michigan law recognizes the “eggshell plaintiff” principle, a defendant takes the victim as they find them. If the crash aggravated or accelerated a pre-existing condition, that aggravation is still compensable. The key is demonstrating the change in your condition caused by the crash itself.

How is the value of a pain and suffering claim calculated?

There is no formula. Juries and negotiating parties consider the nature and severity of the injury, the permanence of the impairment, the specific activities and life functions affected, the duration of treatment, the credibility of the evidence, and the strength of the liability case. Cases with well-documented, consistent medical histories and clear functional limitations command higher values.

How long do I have to bring a pain and suffering claim?

Three years from the date of the accident under MCL 600.5805. This is a hard deadline, courts almost never grant exceptions. Don’t wait.

Talk to Scott

Pain and suffering claims in Michigan require understanding a legal standard that insurance companies have spent decades shaping and contesting. Scott Reizen knows that standard from both sides of the case. He has spent over two decades building and winning these claims for injured Michiganders, with a defense attorney’s inside knowledge of exactly what it takes. Free consultation, no fee unless we win. Call (248) 554-3440.