Michigan Truck Accident Resources
Hit While Walking or Cycling in Michigan: Who Pays Your Medical Bills
People struck while walking or cycling often assume Michigan no-fault has nothing to do with them because they were not in a car. The opposite is true: no-fault is usually the system that pays for their care, and which insurer pays turns on a question most people have never thought about — whether anyone in their household has an auto policy.
You do not have to be in a car to be covered
Michigan no-fault benefits follow people, not only vehicles. Under MCL 500.3114(1), a no-fault policy “applies to accidental bodily injury to the person named in the policy, the person's spouse, and a relative of either domiciled in the same household.” A pedestrian struck crossing the road claims through that policy if one exists — their own, a spouse's, or that of a relative living in the same home.
This is why the first question after a pedestrian or cycling injury is often about a household member's car insurance rather than about the driver who caused the crash.
When nobody in the household has a policy
MCL 500.3115 covers what happens then: “Except as provided in section 3114(1), a person who suffers accidental bodily injury while not an occupant of a motor vehicle shall claim personal protection insurance benefits under the assigned claims plan.”
The assigned claims plan exists precisely for this situation — someone injured with no policy of their own and none in the household. It has its own procedures and its own deadlines, and those deadlines are shorter than people expect.
Hit-and-run
A driver who leaves does not remove a pedestrian from the no-fault system. Benefits still run through the household policy under 3114(1), or through the assigned claims plan where there is none. What a hit-and-run does remove, unless the driver is identified, is the separate claim against that driver for pain and suffering. That is one reason the investigation matters so much, and why witnesses and nearby camera footage are worth finding early — see what happens after a hit-and-run.
What we see in Michigan pedestrian and cycling crashes
Since 20 July 2026, TruckCrash News has published 22 pedestrian and bicycle crash reports from around Michigan, the most recent on 24 September 2026. Seven involved a death, and six were hit-and-runs — more than a quarter of the total.
Wayne County recurs most, then Genesee and Oakland. E-bikes appear alongside conventional bicycles, and SUVs appear repeatedly among the striking vehicles. Every report is in the pedestrian crash archive, updated each morning.
These are news reports compiled from named local outlets and police releases. They are not case studies and describe no client of this firm.
The rest of the system still applies
Once the responsible insurer is identified, the ordinary Michigan rules govern what is paid and by when: how no-fault works, what PIP covers, and the deadlines that apply. A claim against the driver for pain and suffering is separate from the PIP claim — when you can sue beyond no-fault explains the threshold.
I was hit while walking and I do not own a car. Am I covered?
Very possibly. Under MCL 500.3114(1) a no-fault policy covers the person named in it, their spouse, and a relative living in the same household — so a policy belonging to someone you live with may respond. If nobody in the household has one, MCL 500.3115 routes the claim to the assigned claims plan.
Does the driver's insurance pay my medical bills?
Not usually as the first source. Michigan no-fault pays medical care through the priority set by statute, which starts with a household policy rather than with the driver who struck you. A claim against that driver is a separate action for different losses.
The driver left the scene. Do I lose my benefits?
No. No-fault benefits do not depend on identifying the driver — they run through the household policy or the assigned claims plan. What an unidentified driver can cost you is the separate claim against that person for pain and suffering.
Does this apply to cyclists and e-bike riders too?
A cyclist struck by a motor vehicle is not an occupant of that vehicle, so the same sections apply. Electric bicycles are a more complicated question, because Michigan classifies them by class and speed and that classification can affect which rules govern.