Car accidents · Sterling Heights, Macomb County

Sterling Heights Car Accident Lawyer

Sterling Heights had 3,748 reported crashes in 2024, and it has the intersection with the most crashes in Michigan. If you were in one of them, here is what is different about a crash in Sterling Heights, and what to do first. Your attorney calls you back, usually the same day.

Call 844-ASK-AZZO Tell us what happened

The front steps and entrance of Sterling Heights City Hall

3,748

Reported crashes

1,119

People injured

Lives lost

Sterling Heights, 2024. Figures from the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts report for Macomb County.

Where do the most crashes happen in Sterling Heights?

At the roundabout at 18 1/2 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue. It had 210 crashes in 2025, more than any other intersection in Michigan.

18 1/2 Mile Road at Van Dyke Avenue

The roundabout connects 18 1/2 Mile, Van Dyke Avenue and the ramps for the M-53 freeway. It had 162 crashes and 12 injuries in 2024, then 210 crashes and 12 injuries in 2025. The injury count is small for the number of crashes. A crash with no injury on the report can still hurt you a day later.

Hall Road at Schoenherr Road

Hall Road (M-59) is a major shopping corridor. This intersection had 76 crashes and 11 injuries in 2024, and 78 crashes and 14 injuries in 2025.

Metropolitan Parkway at Van Dyke Avenue

This one had 77 crashes and 21 injuries in 2025, a higher share of injuries than either of the two above.

Van Dyke and Hall Road overall

More than one in four Sterling Heights crashes in 2024 happened on a state route. That was 1,047 crashes, and in Sterling Heights the state routes are Van Dyke (M-53) and Hall Road (M-59).

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 Sterling Heights?

Very. About one in six crashes in Macomb County in 2024 happened in Sterling Heights. Police recorded 3,748 crashes in the city, with 1,119 people injured and 8 killed. Of those injured, 52 had serious injuries.

Across Macomb County, police reported 21,960 crashes in 2024, with 6,596 people injured and 70 killed.

Sterling Heights is one of the two largest cities in the county, and its mile roads are wide, fast and lined with driveways.

How do I get my Sterling Heights crash report?

Online, or from the Sterling Heights Police Department Records Bureau. The report is called a UD-10, and your insurer will ask for it.

Online: the police department's Police Report Copies page links to accident reports through LexisNexis. Search with three things only: the state, Sterling Heights Police Department as the jurisdiction, and the report number with no spaces or dashes.
In person: Records Bureau, 40333 Dodge Park Road. Phone (586) 446-2900. Open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Be at the window by 4:15 p.m.
Questions about the crash itself: the Traffic Safety Bureau at (586) 446-2920.

If the Michigan State Police or the Macomb County Sheriff handled your crash, the report comes from that agency. 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.

We both got tickets at the roundabout. What happens to my claim?

The tickets do not decide it. A crash in a roundabout or a turn lane can end with both drivers cited, and Michigan does not let the court's ruling on either ticket into the injury case. MCL 257.731.

Each ticket still needs a response. Sterling Heights tickets go to the 41-A District Court at 40111 Dodge Park Road, on the same campus as the police department. Phone (586) 446-2500. The response date is on the ticket, usually 14 days.

Shared fault is common here

When two drivers each made a mistake, the injury case assigns each a percentage. Your damages shrink by your percentage. If yours is more than everyone else's together, pain and suffering damages are gone. MCL 600.2959.

For the car itself, a mini tort claim is usually filed in the 41-A District Court, which takes civil cases up to $25,000. Our Michigan Mini Tort Guide has the steps.

Where is a Sterling Heights injury lawsuit filed?

Usually in Macomb County, not Oakland. Sterling Heights is in Macomb County, so a larger injury case is filed in the Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens. Cases worth $25,000 or less stay in the 41-A District Court in Sterling Heights.

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: Van Dyke and the M-53 freeway, and Hall Road (M-59), are state highways under the Michigan Department of Transportation.
County roads: Mound Road, Metropolitan Parkway and many of the mile roads belong to the Macomb County Department of Roads.
City streets: neighborhood streets belong to the City of Sterling Heights.
The county line: Dequindre Road is the border with Oakland County, so a crash there can involve a different road agency. 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 Sterling Heights?

Often to one of two Level II trauma centers on either side of the city.

Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, 15855 19 Mile Road in Clinton Township, to the east.
Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital, 44201 Dequindre Road, on the city's western border.

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 is from Oakland County, or has no insurance. Does it change anything?

Not for your medical bills. Sterling Heights sits on the county line, and plenty of drivers on Van Dyke and Hall Road live somewhere else. Under Michigan no-fault your own auto insurer pays your care first, whatever county or state the other driver calls home.

If neither you nor anyone you live with has an auto policy, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan can pay. Put your no-fault claim in writing within one year of the crash. MCL 500.3145.

Details are in Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Michigan.

Can I talk to someone in Chaldean or Spanish?

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

Sterling Heights questions we hear

Do I have to pull the LexisNexis report before calling?

No. Call first. We can pull it with you.

How do your fees work?

The first conversation 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.

Your office is in Oakland County. Do you take Macomb County cases?

Yes. Our office is at 33687 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, and you do not have to come in to get started. Call 844-ASK-AZZO or start online at askazzo.com.

My crash was on the Troy side of Dequindre. Which page do I need?

Troy. That side is Oakland County, with its own police, court and road agency. For how the two Michigan claims work, see our Michigan car accident page.

Sources

Photo: Sterling Heights, Michigan by Ajay Suresh, licensed CC BY 4.0. 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.