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Michigan Truck Accident Attorneys

Michigan truck accidents may be governed by Michigan or federal law, depending on whether the truck was involved in intrastate or interstate transport. Listed below are some Michigan laws that affect truck accidents. For a more comprehensive list of truck laws, click here.


Large trucking companies and their insurance companies work quickly to protect themselves when one of their trucks is involved in an accident, often sending investigators directly to the scene.

To protect your rights, it's imperative to have knowledgeable legal council to begin investigating immediately, preserve evidence, and help you get the best possible result in pursuing your claim against the trucking company. E.J. Leizerman and Associates is a law firm that accepts semi truck accident cases across the country. In Michigan, we work with Gursten, Koltonow, Gursten, Christensen & Raitt, P.C., a firm that accepts semi truck accident cases throughout the state.
A member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Steve Gursten serves on the Executive Board of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association and has served on the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and currently serves on the Board of the ATLA Interstate Trucking Litigation Group.
Steve has been recognized as a nationwide expert in handling brain injury cases, lecturing at numerous seminars and having appeared on The Lawyers Weekly national program "Ask the Experts," answering questions from attorneys around the United States on handling traumatic brain injury cases.
Steve graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Michigan with a 3.8 grade point average. He is the author of “Handling Automobile Accident Cases” in the Michigan Lawyers Manual treatise.
Other members of the firm also have experience successfully handling catastrophic semi truck accidents.
E.J. Leizerman & Associates and Gursten, Koltonow, Gursten, Christensen & Raitt, P.C are familiar with exceptions to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (title 49, Parts 350-399) that affect trucks operating only in Michigan, as there are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicles are involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Detroit may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.
The Michigan Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations with a few notable provisions, including:

Driver Qualification:

Michigan has adopted Part 391 with a few modifications. Farm vehicle drivers are to have a medical examiner's certificate.

A commercial driver must be at least 18 years old, and must be at least 21 if transporting hazardous materials.

A person who is not physically qualified to drive under Sec. 391.41 may apply for a waiver. A joint application from the driver and motor carrier needs to be made to the motor carrier division of the department of state police.

Parts and Accessories:

Michigan has adopted Part 393 of the Federal Regulations in its entirety. An asphalt hauling vehicle that is required to be equipped with an under-ride guard under this section is exempt from the requirement if the under-ride guard prevents the vehicle from being attached to an asphalt paving machine.

Vehicle Marking/Identification:

Michigan has adopted Sec. 390.21 of the Federal Regulations. All motor trucks or truck tractors more than 5,000 pounds registered weight, and all towing of platform bed wrecker road service vehicles, must have the vehicle marked with the name, city, and state or the registered logo or emblem of the registered owner or lessee of the vehicle.

Crash reports are available from:

Department of State Police
Criminal Justice Information Center
7150 Harris Dr.
Lansing, MI 48913
(517) 322-5531


If you have been involved in a truck accident in Michigan, contact one of our Michigan lawyers or attorneys to help you with more information or to answer any questions you have.

In the event this material is not deemed to fully comply with the provisions of the rules of professional conduct of any particular state, this firm will not accept clients or representation that derive from the distribution of this material within those jurisdictions.

"About one in sixteen (6.1%) hazmat inspections results in an out of service determination."

Learn more about State and Federal Trucking Laws