The Michigan personal injury statute of limitations is three years for most claims, measured from the date of the injury. That default comes from MCL 600.5805, which also sets shorter or longer deadlines for specific types of cases: one year for defamation, two years for assault or medical malpractice, five years for domestic violence assault, and ten years for criminal sexual conduct.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 Miss the deadline and the right to sue is almost always gone, no matter how strong the underlying case.
The Three-Year Default and When the Clock Starts
Three years is the baseline for personal injury and property damage lawsuits in Michigan.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 It covers most negligence claims: car accidents, slip-and-falls, and property damage caused by someone else’s carelessness. If a claim type isn’t singled out elsewhere in the statute, three years applies.
The clock begins on the date the “wrong upon which the claim is based was done,” under MCL 600.5827.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5827 That means the date of the accident or incident, not the date you noticed the damage or figured out who caused it. If a driver rear-ends you on March 1, your three-year window runs from March 1, even if your injuries don’t fully reveal themselves for weeks. Medical malpractice is the significant exception to this rule, and it’s covered separately below.
Deadlines by Type of Claim
The statute sorts claims into categories with different windows. The following covers the most common ones.
One Year: Libel and Slander
Defamation claims carry the tightest deadline in the statute at one year, running from the date the statement was published or spoken.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 Courts enforce it strictly. Waiting 13 months to consult a lawyer about a false newspaper article or online post likely means the claim is already dead.
Two Years: Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, Malicious Prosecution
Assault, battery, and false imprisonment claims must be filed within two years.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 The civil deadline runs independently from any criminal case arising from the same incident; a pending criminal prosecution doesn’t extend your time to file. Malicious prosecution claims, which apply when someone initiates a baseless criminal or civil case against you with improper motives, also carry a two-year deadline.
Five Years: Domestic Assault and Battery
When the person who assaulted you is a spouse or former spouse, someone you share a child with, someone you live with or previously lived with, or someone you have or had a dating relationship with, the deadline stretches to five years.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 The statute defines “dating relationship” as frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement, and it excludes casual relationships and ordinary social or business interactions.
Ten Years: Criminal Sexual Conduct
Civil actions seeking damages caused by criminal sexual conduct have the longest window in the statute: ten years.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 You do not need a criminal conviction, a criminal charge, or even a police report. The statute expressly says it doesn’t matter whether a prosecution was brought or, if it was, whether it ended in conviction.
Three Years: Product Liability
Claims against a manufacturer or seller for injuries from a defective product carry a three-year deadline, running from the date of injury rather than the date of purchase.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 An appliance bought in 2020 that burns someone in 2025 triggers a deadline in 2028. If the product has been in use for ten years or more, you can still sue, but you lose the benefit of legal presumptions that would normally help prove the case, meaning you carry the full burden on defect, fault, and causation.
Medical Malpractice: Two Years, With Traps
Medical malpractice has a two-year deadline, but the pre-filing requirements eat into that window and make it the hardest claim type to bring on time.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805
Before you can file the lawsuit, you must send a written Notice of Intent to the healthcare provider at least 182 days in advance.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2912b That notice has to lay out the factual basis, the standard of care, how it was violated, what should have been done instead, and how the violation caused the injury. It is a preview of the entire legal theory, not a casual letter. Because 182 days is roughly six months, anyone planning to sue needs to begin the notice process no later than about 18 months after the malpractice to stay inside the two-year window.
When you do file, the complaint must be accompanied by an affidavit of merit signed by a qualified health professional who has reviewed your records.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2912d The expert generally must practice in the same specialty as the provider being sued. Courts can grant an extra 28 days to obtain the affidavit for good cause.
Because malpractice injuries aren’t always obvious, Michigan allows a claim to be filed within six months of the date you discover (or should have discovered) the injury, even if the two-year period has otherwise expired.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5838a A surgical sponge left inside a patient might not cause symptoms for years, and the discovery rule gives that patient a path to file.
There’s a hard outer limit. No malpractice claim can be filed more than six years after the act or omission, regardless of discovery. Only two exceptions push past that six-year wall: fraudulent concealment by the provider, or permanent damage to a reproductive organ resulting in the inability to have children.
Government Road and Highway Injuries: 120-Day Notice
If a defective road, sidewalk, or other highway maintained by a government entity caused your injury, there is an additional requirement on top of the normal statute of limitations. MCL 691.1404 requires written notice to the responsible government agency within 120 days of the injury.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 691.1404 The notice must specify the exact location and nature of the defect, the injury you suffered, and the names of any witnesses you know of. For injured persons under 18, the window extends to 180 days.
This catches many people off guard. You can have a perfectly valid three-year lawsuit window and still lose the entire case because the 120-day notice never went out. The notice can be served by certified mail on anyone authorized to accept legal process for the agency.
If the Injured Person Is a Minor or Legally Incapacitated
When the injured person is under 18 or legally incapacitated at the time the claim arises, the filing deadline pauses. Under MCL 600.5851, that person has one year after the disability ends to file, even if the normal deadline has already run.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5851 For a minor, that’s typically one year after turning 18. For an incapacitated person, the year begins when the incapacity lifts.
A couple of limits apply. The disability must exist when the claim first arises; if you’re injured at 20 and later become incapacitated, that incapacity doesn’t pause the clock. You also can’t stack disabilities back to back to extend things further.
Medical malpractice involving children has its own tolling rules. If the child is under eight when the malpractice occurs, the lawsuit must be filed by the child’s tenth birthday or within the normal malpractice period, whichever is later. If the malpractice injures a child’s reproductive system and the child is under 13, the deadline runs to the child’s fifteenth birthday.
What Happens If You File Late
A defendant who receives a late lawsuit will file a motion to dismiss, and Michigan courts grant these motions routinely. The judge won’t weigh the evidence or consider how strong the claim might be. Once the deadline passes, the right to sue is gone, and there is no general equitable exception that lets a judge extend things because the circumstances seem unfair.
Filing is what stops the clock, but only if you also serve the defendant within the time required by court rules.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5805 Filing a complaint on the last day and then waiting months to serve it can leave you just as exposed as never filing at all.