When a driver intentionally uses their vehicle to harm someone, the law treats them differently than if they caused an accident due to ordinary negligence. Under Michigan law, intentionally causing harm falls outside of No-Fault Act’s general tort immunity, and the serious-impairment threshold that applies to claims of ordinary negligence does not apply in road rage lawsuits in Michigan. Additionally, Michigan law allows for exemplary damages in claims involving malicious conduct. But injured drivers should beware: proving intentional conduct could void insurance coverage that would otherwise pay the judgment, as most automobile insurance policies exclude coverage for harm caused by intentional acts.

Key Takeaways

• Under Michigan law, intentionally causing harm to another person is specifically excluded from the general abolition of tort liability under Michigan’s No-Fault system and the non-economic loss threshold that applies to claims arising due to ordinary negligence.
• Michigan allows for “exemplary damages” in cases of malicious or willful and wanton conduct. They are intended to be compensatory, rather than punitive; however, an injured person cannot recover exemplary damages if they received a separate recovery for mental anguish.
• Most automobile insurance policies exclude coverage for intentional acts. Successfully proving a case of road rage could inadvertently lead to a denial of coverage. Therefore, identifying every potential source of compensation is just as important as winning the underlying case.

Michigan Law Treats an Intentional Act Differently from an Ordinary Car Accident Claim

Under MCL 500.3135, a person injured in a Michigan car accident can only recover compensation for non-economic losses if they suffered death, serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement. However, MCL 500.3135(3)(a) carves out an exception that allows an injured person to recover non-economic losses in cases where the other driver intentionally causes harm to another person or property.

As a practical matter, this means that when a person commits a genuinely intentional act, such as deliberately using their vehicle to hit, run down, or ram another person, the injured person does not need to clear the same statutory hurdle of proving death, serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement to recover non-economic damages for intangible losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.

Not Every Reckless Act Counts as Intentional Conduct, and the Line Matters

Understanding the difference between reckless conduct and truly intentional conduct is critical. To prove an intentional act, the injured person must establish that the other driver wanted to cause them harm, or that harm was substantially certain to result as a natural consequence of their actions.

In a road rage lawsuit in Michigan, the injured person must also prove that the other driver’s behavior was more than reckless, aggressive, or careless, and that it was truly intentional. Under MCL 500.3135(3)(a), a person does not act intentionally, even if they knew the harm was substantially certain, if they acted or refrained from acting for the purpose of avoiding injury to another person or damage to another person’s property.

This distinction is important for litigants, as defendants may attempt to reframe conduct as reckless rather than intentional, which requires the injured person to prove death, serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement to recover compensation for non-economic losses.

Michigan Allows Exemplary Damages for Malicious Conduct

In Veselenak v. Smith, the Michigan Supreme Court allowed for exemplary damages for injuries caused by a defendant’s malicious or willful and wanton conduct to compensate an injured person for humiliation, outrage, and injured feelings.

To justify an award of exemplary damages, the injured person must show that the defendant’s actions were voluntary, malicious, or so willful and wanton as to show a reckless disregard for the injured person’s rights, and that the defendant’s actions actually caused feelings of humiliation, outrage, or indignity beyond the physical injuries.

Exemplary damages are distinct from punitive damages, which may be awarded to punish a defendant for wrongful conduct but are generally not allowed in Michigan personal injury cases. Instead, exemplary damages are intended to compensate the injured person for damage to their feelings. An injured person cannot recover exemplary damages on top of a separate award for mental anguish caused by the same conduct, as that would constitute a double recovery for the same harm.

The Catch: Proving Intentional Conduct Can Cost You the Insurance Coverage That Would Pay

Most automobile insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for injuries the insured driver caused intentionally. Thus, the same evidence that would support a claim for exemplary damages in a road rage lawsuit in Michigan can give the defendant’s insurance company justification for denying the claim entirely. In practical terms, this means no insurance coverage is available to pay the judgment. Most individual drivers lack the resources to fully satisfy a judgment in a claim for serious personal injuries.

In situations involving injuries caused by intentional conduct, the injured person may consider seeking compensation from their own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Because the defendant’s intentional conduct leaves the injured person without insurance coverage to satisfy the judgment, the injured person’s uninsured motorist may step in to fill the gap in coverage.

The Michigan Personal Injury Attorneys at Muth Law Know How to Build Your Case

While an accident caused by road rage can create an opening for additional forms of compensation, proving intentional conduct can inadvertently void insurance coverage.

The personal injury attorney team at Muth Law, P.C., has decades of experience building winning cases in situations involving injuries in auto accidents caused by intentional conduct. We can evaluate how to present a road rage lawsuit in Michigan, weigh the benefits of proving intentional conduct against the risk of a denial of coverage, and identify additional sources of financial recovery, such as the injured person’s own uninsured motorist insurance coverage.

Muth Law works with clients in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and throughout Michigan. Please contact us to schedule a free, confidential consultation to discuss your automobile accident injury matter. Call 734-481-8800 or contact us via e-mail. We look forward to serving your family.