News Categories: Appeals

September 2021

Credentialing Case Closed: COA Rules Ambulatory Surgical Center Credentialing File Privileged

Is an ambulatory outpatient surgical center’s credentialing file discoverable and admissible at trial? No and no, according to the Michigan Court of Appeals’ published decision in Dorsey v. Surgical Institute of Michigan, where the Court extended the statutory protection for credentialing files beyond hospitals to also include ambulatory surgical centers. The

April 2021

Unlicensed = Uncapped?

Claims against an unlicensed medical assistant employed by a non-profit medical institution sound in ordinary negligence and are not subject to the non-economic medical malpractice damages cap—at least according to the Michigan Court of Appeals’ recent published decision in Estate of John Swanzy v. Edward J. Kryshak, M.D., et al. If it

January 2021

2021 Michigan NonEconomic Damages Announced

On January 27, 2021, the State of Michigan Department of Treasury released the 2021 limitations on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. The “upper cap” limitation was adjusted to $851,000. The “lower cap” was adjusted to a limitation of $476,600. Michigan has placed a limitation on the total amount of damages

September 2020

Pharmacies Can Be Sued For Ordinary Negligence But Not Medical Malpractice

By: Nicole Joseph-Windecker In its unanimous unpublished decision of Estate of Kevin Karl Gottschalk, by Kathleen Tocco, Personal Representative. v. Plumbrook Pharmacy, et al., the Michigan Court of Appeals held that pharmacies cannot be sued for medical malpractice as a matter of law. This ruling on September 17 was consistent with

August 2020

FBMJ Attorneys Win Change for Toxic Tort Causation Standards in Michigan

FBMJ Attorneys recently prevailed in convincing the Michigan Court of Appeals to require more stringent causation proofs from plaintiffs in toxic tort cases. The case will have far reaching consequences for all toxic tort cases, as the opinion brought causation analysis in Michigan toxic tort cases in-line with the causation

July 2020

Oakland County Violated Constitution by Keeping Tax Sale Proceeds

County governments that sell properties at auction to satisfy unpaid tax debts commit an unconstitutional taking when they keep the surplus proceeds of those sales beyond the amount of taxes owed. Relying in part on law from 800 years ago, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a ruling on July 17,