Car accidents · Birmingham, Oakland County

Birmingham Car Accident Lawyer

Birmingham had 651 reported crashes in 2024, and more than one in four happened on Woodward. Our office is on Woodward too. Here is what is different about a crash in Birmingham, and what to do first. Your attorney calls you back, usually the same day.

Call 844-ASK-AZZO Tell us what happened

A downtown Birmingham, Michigan intersection with traffic signals, a crosswalk and a stone corner building

651

Reported crashes

116

People injured

Lives lost

Birmingham, 2024. Figures from the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts report for Oakland County.

Where do crashes happen in Birmingham?

Woodward Avenue more than anywhere else. Of Birmingham's 651 crashes in 2024, 179 were on a state route, and in Birmingham that means Woodward (M-1). The other 472 were on local streets.

Woodward Avenue

Woodward is a divided state highway through the middle of town. Drivers use the median turnarounds to go left, and a lot of crashes start with a lane change or a turn across traffic.

Maple Road and Telegraph Road

Just west of Birmingham, in Bloomfield Township, Telegraph Road at Maple Road had 83 crashes and 47 injuries in 2025. That was the tenth highest crash count of any intersection in Michigan. Many Birmingham drivers pass through it every day.

Downtown

Downtown Birmingham is built for walking. In 2024, 10 crashes in the city involved a pedestrian and 10 involved a bicyclist.

If your crash happened at one of these, tell us which one. The location shapes where we look for video, witnesses and prior crash history.

How common are crashes in Birmingham?

Less common than in the bigger cities around it, and usually less severe. Birmingham had 651 crashes in 2024. Police recorded 116 people injured, 8 of them seriously, and no deaths.

Across Oakland County, police reported 35,951 crashes in 2024, with 9,139 people injured and 68 killed.

A lower count does not make your crash smaller. A low-speed hit on Woodward can still mean months of treatment.

How do I get my Birmingham crash report?

From the Birmingham Police Department, or online from the state. The report is called a UD-10, and your insurer will ask for it.

In person or by phone: Birmingham Police Department, 151 Martin Street, on the first floor of City Hall. Use the Pierce Street entrance. Phone (248) 530-1870. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Online: the Michigan State Police sell crash reports through the Traffic Crash Purchasing System.
What to have ready: the report or incident number the officer gave you, the date, and the location.

If the crash was just outside the city line, another department wrote the report. Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, Troy and Beverly Hills all border Birmingham. The agency name is printed at the top of the report.

Read the report when you get it. If a fact is wrong, tell us. We deal with that early.

The officer ticketed me after a Woodward crash. Is my injury claim over?

No. A ticket and an injury claim run on separate tracks in Michigan. What the court decides on the ticket cannot be brought in as evidence in the injury case. MCL 257.731.

You still have to answer the ticket. Birmingham tickets are handled at the 48th District Court, 4280 Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills. The deadline is on the ticket, usually 14 days.

Fault is still part of the injury case

A lane change or a turn across Woodward is rarely all one driver's doing. Michigan reduces your damages by your share of fault. Once your share passes everyone else's combined, pain and suffering damages are off the table. MCL 600.2959.

Car damage is its own small claim, called mini tort, and it is usually filed in this same court, which hears civil cases up to $25,000. Our Michigan Mini Tort Guide explains it.

Where is a Birmingham injury lawsuit filed?

Usually in Oakland County. Birmingham is in Oakland County, so a larger injury case is filed in the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac. Cases worth $25,000 or less stay in the 48th District Court.

Most claims never reach a courtroom. Your own insurer pays your medical bills and lost wages first under Michigan no-fault, and that part starts with a claim form, not a lawsuit.

Who owns the road where I crashed?

It depends on the road, and it matters when the road itself played a part.

State road: Woodward Avenue (M-1) is a state highway under the Michigan Department of Transportation.
City streets: most other streets in Birmingham belong to the city.
Border roads: on a road at the city line, the owner can be the Road Commission for Oakland County or a neighboring city. We check that first.

If a road defect helped cause the crash, the deadline is short. Written notice must reach the responsible agency within 120 days of the injury, and it must describe the exact location and the defect. MCL 691.1404. That is far shorter than the time to bring other claims, so tell us early if you think the road was part of it.

Where does the ambulance take you in Birmingham?

Often to Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital at 3601 West 13 Mile Road in Royal Oak. It is a Level I trauma center, the highest level, and the only one in Oakland and Macomb counties.

Wherever you were treated, give the hospital your auto insurance claim number. In Michigan your own auto insurer pays crash medical bills first.

The other driver was just passing through Birmingham. Does that matter?

Not for your medical bills. Woodward brings drivers from all over Metro Detroit through town, and where the other driver lives does not decide who pays first. Your own Michigan auto policy does, under no-fault.

If they turn out to have no insurance, your own policy still pays your medical care. If nobody in your household has an auto policy, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan is the backstop. Written notice of a no-fault claim is due within one year of the crash. MCL 500.3145.

The order of who pays is laid out in Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Michigan.

Birmingham questions we hear

I do not have the police report yet. Should I wait to call?

No. Call now. Getting the report is something we can help with.

Is there a charge for the first conversation?

No, it is free. On injury cases there's no fee unless we win. Case costs are listed separately in the written fee agreement.

Do you take calls in Spanish or Chaldean?

Yes. Say so when you call 844-ASK-AZZO.

My crash was on Woodward near the city line. Whose crash is it?

The department named at the top of your report. Just north it is Bloomfield Hills or Bloomfield Township, and to the east it is Troy. For how the two Michigan claims work, see our Michigan car accident page.

Can I come to the office?

Yes. We are at 33687 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. You can also start at askazzo.com or call 844-ASK-AZZO.

Sources

Photo: Downtown Birmingham MI 2025 by Notorious4life, Wikimedia Commons, released under CC0. Cropped, with a color tint added.

This page is general information about Michigan law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Lauren Sitto Azzo is the attorney responsible for this content. Azzo Law, PLLC, 33687 Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009.