You trusted a doctor, a surgeon, a hospital, or a healthcare team with your health, possibly with your life. Something went wrong. Now you are living with the consequences, and you cannot get a straight answer about why.
Medical malpractice is one of the most serious and emotionally complicated areas of personal injury law. The harm is often permanent. The defendants are powerful institutions with deep resources and experienced legal teams. And the process of pursuing a claim is more demanding than almost any other type of civil litigation in Michigan.
At Hamo Law, we have spent over 40 years handling serious injury and wrongful death cases. We understand the weight of what medical negligence victims and their families carry, and we are committed to making sure every person who contacts us gets connected to the right legal representation for their situation. Call us at 810-234-3667. Your consultation is free.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care in their field, and that failure causes harm to a patient. The standard of care is the level of skill, care, and treatment that a reasonably competent healthcare provider in the same specialty would provide under similar circumstances. It is not perfection. Medicine involves uncertainty, and bad outcomes can happen even when everyone does everything right.
The distinction between a bad outcome and actual malpractice is one of the most important and most misunderstood aspects of these cases. A patient can die or suffer serious harm without any negligence having occurred. Conversely, a provider can commit clear negligence and the patient may recover fully. What matters legally is whether the standard of care was breached, and whether that breach directly caused the patient's harm.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
Surgical Errors
Surgeons and surgical teams are held to a high standard of skill and care. When that standard is not met, the consequences can be catastrophic. Surgical errors include operating on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, leaving surgical instruments or materials inside a patient, causing unintended damage to surrounding organs, nerves, or blood vessels, and performing a procedure the patient did not consent to. Post-operative negligence, including failure to monitor for complications or respond appropriately to warning signs, can also give rise to a malpractice claim.
Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis
A missed or delayed diagnosis can allow a serious condition to progress to a stage where it is far more difficult or impossible to treat effectively. Cancer is perhaps the most common and consequential example, where a failure to diagnose in an early, treatable stage can mean the difference between recovery and death. Misdiagnosis of heart attacks, strokes, infections, and other time-sensitive conditions can be equally devastating. To establish liability, the patient must show that a competent provider in the same position would have made the correct diagnosis, and that the failure to do so caused measurable harm.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can occur at the prescribing, dispensing, or administration stage. A physician may prescribe the wrong drug or the wrong dose. A pharmacist may dispense an incorrect medication. A nurse may administer a drug to the wrong patient or through the wrong method. The harm from a medication error can range from an adverse reaction to permanent injury or death, particularly in cases involving high-risk medications or patients with known contraindications.
Birth Injuries
Injuries to a mother or newborn during labor and delivery represent some of the most heartbreaking medical malpractice cases. Birth injuries can result from failure to monitor fetal distress, improper use of delivery instruments, delayed decisions about performing a cesarean section, and errors in managing complications during labor. Conditions including cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, hypoxic brain injury, and brachial plexus injuries are sometimes linked to preventable delivery room errors. These cases often involve lifelong consequences for the child and family.
Hospital Negligence
Hospitals can be independently liable for negligence separate from the actions of any individual provider. This includes negligent hiring or credentialing of staff, failure to maintain adequate staffing levels, hospital-acquired infections resulting from inadequate sanitation protocols, falls due to inadequate supervision, and systemic failures in patient monitoring or communication between care teams.
Why Medical Malpractice Cases Are Different
Medical malpractice litigation is genuinely unlike other personal injury cases. Several features of these cases set them apart in terms of complexity, cost, and what is required to succeed.
Michigan law requires that before a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff must serve a Notice of Intent on each defendant healthcare provider. There is then a mandatory waiting period before the suit can actually be filed. Once the lawsuit is filed, Michigan law requires the plaintiff to file an Affidavit of Merit, a sworn statement by a qualified medical expert who has reviewed the case and concluded that the standard of care was breached.
Beyond the procedural requirements, these cases demand:
- Expert witnesses in the relevant medical specialties, often multiple experts across different disciplines
- Extensive review of medical records, imaging, lab results, and clinical notes
- The resources to fund years of litigation, depositions, and trial preparation
- Attorneys who spend their careers in this specific area of law and understand the medicine as well as the legal arguments
Michigan's Medical Malpractice Requirements
Notice of Intent and Waiting Period
Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Michigan, the plaintiff must serve a written Notice of Intent on each defendant. The notice must include a statement of the facts of the claim, the applicable standard of care, how it was breached, and what damages resulted. After the notice is served, there is a mandatory waiting period of 182 days before the lawsuit can be filed. This period is intended to allow for potential pre-suit resolution.
Affidavit of Merit
When the lawsuit is filed, it must be accompanied by an Affidavit of Merit signed by a qualified healthcare professional in the same specialty as the defendant. The affidavit must state that the standard of care was breached and that the breach caused the plaintiff's injury. Failure to file a proper affidavit can result in dismissal of the case.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims in Michigan is generally two years from the date the claim accrued, which is typically the date the negligent act occurred. Michigan does recognize a discovery rule in some circumstances, which can extend the filing deadline when the patient could not reasonably have known about the malpractice at the time it occurred. However, there is an overall six-year limit regardless of discovery.
Non-Economic Damages Cap
Michigan law caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The caps are adjusted periodically and apply to damages such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Higher caps apply in cases involving death or certain catastrophic injuries. Economic damages, including medical expenses and lost wages, are not subject to the cap.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Michigan law allows medical malpractice victims to pursue compensation for the full range of harm caused by a provider's negligence. Recoverable damages include:
- Medical expenses, including all past costs of treatment and any future care necessitated by the malpractice, such as corrective surgeries, rehabilitation, long-term care, medical equipment, and home modifications
- Lost wages for time missed from work during recovery
- Loss of earning capacity if the injury permanently affects the victim's ability to work
- Pain and suffering and other non-economic damages, subject to Michigan's statutory cap
- Wrongful death damages in cases where medical negligence resulted in a patient's death, including loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and funeral and burial expenses
Talk to Us About What Happened
If you believe you or a family member were harmed by medical negligence, do not try to navigate it alone and do not assume that because the process is complicated, there is nothing to be done. Many people who contact us have been told by others that their case is too difficult or not worth pursuing. Sometimes that is true. Often it is not.
We will listen. We will evaluate your situation honestly. And if your case needs a specialist, we will connect you with someone we trust to fight for you with the same intensity we bring to every client relationship at Hamo Law.
Call us at 810-234-3667, email ahamo@hamolaw.com, or fill out our contact form and we will be in touch promptly.
Relentless Advocacy. Compassionate Counsel.
