What standard applied?
The applicable standard depends on the provider, specialty, facilities and circumstances at the time of care.
Michigan Medical Malpractice
When medical care causes preventable harm, answers matter.
Medical negligence cases require clinical detail, qualified expert review and exact timing. MichiganPatients.com helps patients and families understand the process and connect with Chris Collis and Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys.
Michigan-focusedTrial-ready law firmNo result promises
Michigan focused. Patient centered.
Meet Christian
Chris Collis
Partner / Trial Attorney at Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys. More than two decades of plaintiff-side litigation experience, with medical malpractice listed among his current practice areas.
Do I have a case?
Four questions come before any promise.
A serious injury deserves careful review, but a poor medical result alone does not establish malpractice. Michigan law focuses on the professional standard, breach, causation and damages.
Was the standard breached?
Records and qualified expert review are used to evaluate whether the care fell below the legally applicable standard.
Did the breach cause harm?
Michigan generally requires proof that negligence more probably than not proximately caused the injury.
Can the claim be filed on time?
Special notice, affidavit, limitations and repose rules make early deadline analysis essential.
Medical malpractice cases
Focused on serious medical harm.
Explore the issues that commonly require medical-record reconstruction, expert review and a Michigan-specific legal analysis.
Surgical Errors
Operative mistakes, post-operative monitoring failures and preventable surgical injury.
Learn more →Failure to Diagnose
Missed cancer, stroke, infection, blood clots and other time-sensitive conditions.
Learn more →Birth Injury
Labor, delivery, fetal monitoring, C-section timing and neonatal care.
Learn more →Medication Errors
Prescribing, dispensing, administering or monitoring medication.
Learn more →Emergency Room Errors
Triage, testing, diagnosis, consultation, treatment and discharge decisions.
Learn more →Anesthesia Errors
Pre-op assessment, airway, medication, monitoring and recovery issues.
Learn more →Hospital Negligence
Nursing, monitoring, communication, escalation and institutional failures.
Learn more →Wrongful Death
Medical malpractice matters involving a patient’s death and estate claims.
Learn more →Timing can decide the case
Michigan’s medical malpractice process starts before the lawsuit.
Michigan generally requires a written Notice of Intent before suit and an affidavit of merit when the complaint is filed. The usual medical malpractice limitations framework includes a two-year period, a six-month discovery rule in qualifying circumstances and a six-year repose rule subject to exceptions.
Do not calculate your filing deadline from a website. Medical malpractice timing is fact-specific and can be affected by additional statutes.
Case experience
Experience with the kinds of injuries that change lives.
Representative experience is described by case type rather than used to promise a dollar result. Every malpractice matter depends on its own medical evidence and legal facts.
Birth trauma
Serious newborn and maternal injury matters.
Failure to diagnose cancer
Claims centered on delayed detection and treatment.
DVT / pulmonary embolism
Alleged failures to diagnose or treat dangerous blood clots.
Paralysis
Neurologic and spinal injury malpractice matters.
Amputation
Catastrophic cases involving alleged diagnostic or treatment failures.
Wrongful death
Medical negligence claims involving loss of life.
2026 Michigan law
Noneconomic damage limits change every year.
For 2026, the Michigan State Treasurer certified a standard medical malpractice noneconomic-damages limit of $596,400 and a higher limit of $1,065,000 for certain statutory permanent injuries.
This is not a cap on every category of recoverable damages.
Applies only when one of the specific statutory exceptions is established.
Read the 2026 Michigan damages guide and official-source links →
How the review works
A disciplined case starts with records, not assumptions.
No intake form can determine malpractice. The goal of the first review is to identify the right records, deadline and medical questions.
Initial conversation
Identify the event, approximate dates, provider type and injury without sending unnecessary sensitive information.
Record collection
Gather the chart needed to reconstruct what happened and what later treating providers found.
Qualified review
Medical and legal review evaluates standard of care, expert qualification and causation.
Notice and litigation
If the case is accepted and supported, counsel handles statutory notice, affidavit and filing requirements.
Three Michigan offices
Statewide case review. Local Michigan access.
Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys maintains offices in Farmington Hills, Boyne City and Grand Rapids while evaluating medical malpractice matters across Michigan.
Farmington Hills Headquarters
31700 Middlebelt Rd. Suite 125
Farmington Hills
MI 48334
P: 248.564.3618
F: 248.308.5540
Northern Michigan
4970 Longfield Farm Trail
Boyne City
MI 49712
P: 231.244.4847
F: 248.308.5540
Western Michigan
2828 Kraft Ave. SE Suite 236
Grand Rapids
MI 49512
P: 616.626.1908
F: 248.308.5540
Call the office most convenient for you or request a confidential case review online. Office location does not determine where a malpractice action must be filed.
Latest insights
Michigan medical malpractice, in plain English.
Current legal updates, patient checklists and answers built around Michigan statutes and court materials.
Christian Collis Recognized in the 2027 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America
Christian P. Collis of Giroux Pappas is recognized in the 2027 Best Lawyers edition, including Medical Malpractice Law — Plaintiffs.
Read article →Failure to Diagnose DVT or Pulmonary Embolism: Michigan Malpractice Issues
Michigan medical malpractice issues involving failure to diagnose or treat DVT and pulmonary embolism, including evidence and causation.
Read article →Birth Injury Cases in Michigan: Why Fetal Monitoring and Timing Matter
How fetal monitoring, response timing and neonatal records can affect a Michigan birth injury malpractice investigation.
Read article →
Questions patients ask
Michigan medical malpractice FAQ
What is medical malpractice in Michigan?
It generally requires proof that a health professional or facility failed to meet the applicable standard of practice or care and that the failure more probably than not caused injury. A poor outcome alone is not enough.
How long do I have to file?
The general Michigan medical malpractice limitations framework is two years, with a six-month discovery rule in certain circumstances and a six-year period of repose subject to statutory exceptions. Notice timing can also affect the calculation.
Do I need a medical expert?
Medical expert review is central to most malpractice claims, and Michigan generally requires an affidavit of merit from a health professional who meets statutory qualification requirements.
Does Michigan cap malpractice damages?
Michigan limits noneconomic damages and adjusts those limits annually. The 2026 certified limits are $596,400 and $1,065,000 for qualifying higher-cap cases.
Start with the basics
Request a case review.
Tell the firm what happened without uploading your medical chart or highly sensitive identifiers.
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- Records can be requested later through an appropriate process