The general rule: three years for injury, property, and products
Under MCL 600.5805(2), most personal injury claims must be filed within three years from the date of the injury. This same three-year period covers property damage and product liability claims.
Wrongful death: a genuinely distinctive "borrowed" deadline
Michigan's Wrongful Death Act doesn't set its own statute of limitations at all. Instead, a wrongful death claim "borrows" whatever deadline applies to the underlying cause of action — three years if the death resulted from ordinary negligence, but only two years if the death resulted from medical malpractice. A separate "saving provision" can extend this in limited circumstances tied to when the estate's personal representative is appointed. See our full guide to Michigan's discovery rule and tolling for how this works.
Medical malpractice: whichever comes later, within reason
Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within two years of the malpractice, or six months from when it was discovered, whichever is later — a genuinely short discovery-based alternative compared to many other states' rules.
A separate deadline for no-fault benefits
Michigan's no-fault insurance system imposes its own one-year deadline for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, completely independent of the three-year tort deadline discussed here.
Government claims: a narrow, strict 120-day notice
Suing a Michigan governmental agency over a defective highway comes with its own strict notice requirement and a shorter statute of limitations than the general rule. See our full guide to Michigan government claim deadlines.