News Categories: Litigation

April 2021

The Early Bird Gets the Worm (& Expert Witness)

In deciding an issue of first impression, the Michigan Court of Appeals, in the published case of Teutsch v. Van De Ven, adopted a new test to determine whether an expert witness should be disqualified from serving as a defense expert after he had issued a bright line rule that

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

October 2020

Michigan Gov. Signs Law Giving Healthcare Facilities Liability Protections

On October 22, 2020, Governor Whitmer signed into law House Bill 6159, creating a Pandemic Health Care Immunity Act to protect health care workers against liability for claims arising out of care provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This law was part of a package of COVID-related bills signed

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By: Nicole Joseph-Windecker In its unanimous unpublished decision of Estate of Kevin Karl Gottschalk, by Kathleen Tocco, Personal Representative.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

September 2020

FBMJ Attorneys Featured Presenters at MSHRM Event

FBMJ attorneys, Clyde M. Metzger and Mitchell C. Jackson, presented “Avoiding (Digital) Skeletons in the (Electronic) Closet” to the Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Management (MSHRM) on September 16, 2020, as part of its Webinar series. The presentation covered current trends and legal issues surrounding the preservation of electronically-stored information (“ESI”),

September 2020

Attorney Anthony Pignotti Authors Article on COVID-19 Executive and Administrative Orders and Their Impact on the Legal System for MDTC Quarterly

FBMJ attorney Anthony Pignotti authored “Summary and Analysis of Executive and Administrative Orders Issued in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Impact on the Legal System” for the September 2020 issue of Michigan Defense Quarterly Volume 37, No. 1 – 2020. The article addresses how COVID-19-related executive and administrative orders

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,