Car accidents · Southfield, Oakland County

Southfield Car Accident Lawyer

Southfield had 3,313 reported crashes in 2024. If you were in one of them, here is what is different about a crash in Southfield, and what to do first. Your attorney calls you back, usually the same day.

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Aerial view of the Southfield Town Center towers with a freeway running through tree-lined neighborhoods

3,313

Reported crashes

945

People injured

Lives lost

Southfield, 2024. Figures from Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, the state's public crash database, as reported in May 2026.

Where do the most crashes happen in Southfield?

Telegraph Road at 12 Mile Road. It had 106 crashes and 23 injuries in 2024, the third highest count of any intersection in Oakland County. In 2025 the count rose to 121 crashes and 28 injuries.

Telegraph Road at 12 Mile Road

This intersection has been on the statewide list of high-crash intersections for years. Telegraph is a divided state highway with heavy turning traffic, and 12 Mile feeds it from both sides.

Southfield Road at 11 Mile Road

This one sits just across the city line in Lathrup Village, and Southfield drivers use it every day. It had 78 crashes and 36 injuries in 2024.

The freeways

I-696, the Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway (M-10), and the Southfield Freeway (M-39) all run through the city. Ramps and service drives are where much of the merging happens.

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 Southfield?

More common than in most Michigan cities. One 2026 analysis of state data counted 430 crashes for every 10,000 residents in 2024, which put Southfield eighth among Michigan cities with at least 10,000 people and 500 crashes.

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

The city is small on the map and carries a lot of through traffic. Three freeways and Telegraph Road cross inside its borders.

How do I get my Southfield crash report?

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

In person or by phone: Southfield Police Department Records Bureau, 26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield. Phone (248) 796-5580. Business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Online: the Records Bureau page links to accident reports online. The Michigan State Police also 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 Michigan State Police or the Oakland County Sheriff handled your crash on a freeway, the report comes from that agency, not from Southfield. 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.

I got a ticket in the crash. Does it hurt my injury claim?

Not by itself. In Michigan, the court's decision on a traffic ticket cannot be used as evidence in the injury case. MCL 257.731. Fault in the injury case is decided on its own evidence.

The ticket still needs an answer. Southfield tickets go to the 46th District Court at 26000 Evergreen Road, the same campus as the police department. You have 14 days from the ticket date to respond or ask for a hearing.

Why fault still matters

Michigan compares fault. If you are partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your share. If you are more at fault than everyone else combined, you cannot recover pain and suffering damages. MCL 600.2959.

The 46th District Court also hears civil cases up to $25,000 and small claims. That is where a mini tort claim for car damage is usually filed. Our Michigan Mini Tort Guide walks through it.

Where is a Southfield injury lawsuit filed?

Usually in Oakland County. Southfield 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 46th District Court in Southfield.

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 roads: Telegraph Road (US-24), Northwestern Highway and the Lodge (M-10), I-696 and the Southfield Freeway (M-39) are state highways under the Michigan Department of Transportation.
County and city roads: many of the mile roads belong to the Road Commission for Oakland County. Neighborhood streets belong to the City of Southfield.

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 Southfield?

Often to Henry Ford Providence Southfield Hospital at 16001 West Nine Mile Road. It is a Level II trauma center.

One thing to know about 2026. The hospital lost its trauma designation in mid-July and got it back on October 27. During that stretch, ambulances took severe trauma patients to other hospitals. If your crash was in that window, your first records may be somewhere else.

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

What if the other driver is not from Southfield, or has no insurance?

It does not change who pays your medical bills. Three freeways cross Southfield, so the driver who hit you may live in another county or another state. Michigan no-fault pays through your own auto policy first, wherever they are from.

If you have no policy of your own and no one in your household does, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan can step in. You have one year from the crash to give written notice of a no-fault claim. MCL 500.3145.

Our guide Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Michigan covers who pays and in what order.

Southfield questions we hear

Do I need the police report before I call?

No. Call first. We can help you get the report.

What does it cost to talk to you?

The consultation is free. For injury cases, there's no fee unless we win. Case costs are itemized separately in the written fee agreement you sign before we start.

Can I talk to someone in Spanish or Chaldean?

Yes. Tell us when you call 844-ASK-AZZO, and someone who speaks Spanish or Chaldean will talk with you.

What if my crash was just over the city line?

Then another department wrote the report, and a different court may handle the ticket. Lathrup Village sits inside Southfield and has its own police. We cover the same steps for nearby Birmingham and Troy. For how the two Michigan claims work, see our Michigan car accident page.

Where is your office?

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

Sources

Photo: Southfield Town Center skyline by Lrgjr72, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, with a color tint added. Our versions of this photo are shared under the same license.

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.