Ann Arbor office · Serving Washtenaw County
Lost someone because of another person’s actions? Get help understanding the next steps, gathering records, and reviewing a possible claim. Start with a free review of what happened in Ann Arbor.
Start with what you know: when and where it happened, how you were affected, and any reports or messages you have. You do not need a complete file before contacting us. We can explain what else may matter, which records to look for, and whether we can help.
Call if a death may have resulted from a crash, unsafe property, defective product, medical negligence, work incident, police or custody incident, or other wrongful conduct. Michigan Legal Center can review estate authority, preserve local and institutional evidence, identify the underlying claim and insurance or benefit paths, and analyze the deadlines that fit the actual defendants and facts. For the statewide legal framework, see our Michigan wrongful death page and guide to Michigan wrongful-death deadlines.
Scene, vehicle, video, bodycam, jail, medical, employer, phone, policy, witness, probate, and medical-examiner records can be held by different entities while the family is still making funeral and estate decisions.
Read the legal detailsIt costs nothing to learn where you stand. Call (734) 882-2646 or start a free case review.
A campus, hospital, laboratory, apartment, road, employer, public facility, or private business can hold information outside the city or county file. Medical records and a medical-examiner report also serve different purposes.
We move quickly on AAPD, Washtenaw County, campus-area, business-video, medical-record, and insurer evidence before it becomes harder to obtain. Probate documents, the death certificate, medical-examiner or autopsy material, police or agency records, EMS, court files, and the incident evidence should be gathered without assuming one office holds the complete record.
The needed scene, vehicle, product, property, video, bodycam, jail, business, phone, work, policy, contract, expert, and witness evidence depends on what caused the death and who controlled each record.
Medical and funeral expenses, support, services, companionship, care, pre-death pain and suffering where recoverable, liens, beneficiaries, and allocation require documentation tied to the estate and the people claiming loss.
A campus, hospital, laboratory, apartment, road, employer, public facility, or private business can hold information outside the city or county file. Medical records and a medical-examiner report also serve different purposes.
Ann Arbor incidents can involve city police, University of Michigan public safety, Washtenaw County, MSP, hospital systems, or private institutions. Probate venue usually follows the decedent’s domicile, while death-investigation and incident records follow different jurisdiction rules.
Washtenaw County describes formal, informal, and small-estate procedures. A wrongful-death action still requires a qualified personal representative, so a simplified asset-transfer option should not be assumed to supply authority for litigation.
A death certificate, autopsy, police conclusion, charging decision, safety citation, or agency report may be important evidence. None alone decides every element of the underlying civil claim, the available defenses, or recoverable damages.
| Evidence | Possible holder | Why it may matter |
|---|---|---|
| Estate application or petition, appointment, letters, and interested-person records | Washtenaw County Probate Court or the probate court for the decedent’s domicile | Establishes the representative who can act for the estate and pursue the claim. |
| Medical-examiner investigation, autopsy report, toxicology, and death findings | Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Program | Provides forensic findings that must be evaluated with, not substituted for, the full medical and liability record. |
| Police, campus safety, dispatch, body-camera, crash, fire, and EMS records | Ann Arbor, U-M DPSS, Washtenaw County, MSP, or another responding agency | Identifies the responders, observations, scene, witnesses, and jurisdictional handoffs. |
| Hospital, research, employment, housing, property, vehicle, device, and insurance records | Health systems, university units, employers, landlords, businesses, manufacturers, and insurers | May establish medical causation, control, notice, product condition, conduct, and coverage. |
The exact scene helps identify where to look for reports, video, witnesses, and other records.
A fatal incident may begin on a city street, campus, worksite, apartment, care facility, or highway and end after treatment at a regional hospital. The investigation should preserve the scene and institutional records while probate authority and the complete medical timeline are established.
Ann Arbor Police and U-M Division of Public Safety and Security are different agencies. The exact property, responding units, report numbers, mutual-aid roles, and any MSP or county involvement determine where reports, dispatch, recordings, and video may be found.
The Washtenaw medical-examiner process may address cause and manner of death, while EMS, emergency, operative, intensive-care, specialist, nursing, and prior medical records document treatment and causation over time.
Students, patients, commuters, and transferred patients may have lived outside Washtenaw County. Residence, domicile, property, an existing estate, the will, and letters of authority should be verified before assigning the probate court.
Sources checked Washtenaw County Probate Court: Estates Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Program Washtenaw County: Request an Autopsy Report University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security · Checked July 30, 2026
These are possible legal paths, not automatic claims. The answer depends on the event, defendant, policy, injuries, forum, and current law.
Wrongful death does not replace proof of negligence, product or premises liability, malpractice, civil rights, or another supported theory. The underlying claim determines much of the evidence and timing analysis.
The action proceeds through the estate's personal representative, with statutory procedures for notice, beneficiaries, settlement, and distribution. Family relationship alone does not substitute for the required authority.
PIP survivor benefits, workers' compensation, UM/UIM, commercial insurance, government, medical, civil-rights, and probate issues may overlap while using different proof, forums, and clocks.
Answer five short questions to organize the timing, harm, possible claims, evidence risk, and current status. There is no sign-up and no dollar estimate. Your answers are included only if you submit the free case review below. The result is general information, not legal advice.
Question 1 of 5
The primary authorities below support the legal framework. They do not replace a claim-specific deadline, coverage, immunity, or liability analysis.
MCL 600.2922 governs Michigan wrongful-death actions and the statutory procedure for beneficiaries and damages. Family relationship alone does not replace estate authority.
The limitations period for the underlying claim and the saving provision tied to letters of authority must be analyzed together. Medical malpractice, civil rights, government, insurance, and other theories may add different rules.
A public-entity or state-actor case may involve notice, forum, immunity, Section 1983, and record-retention issues separate from the probate and wrongful-death framework.
Review cause of death, possible defendants, probate status, letters of authority, beneficiaries, notices, insurance, and every supported legal path before making releases or allocation decisions.
We move quickly on AAPD, Washtenaw County, campus-area, business-video, medical-record, and insurer evidence before it becomes harder to obtain. Protect physical, video, agency, vehicle, product, property, medical, autopsy, employment, business, communication, and witness evidence from the holders that control it.
Review policies, survivor benefits, work benefits, liens, support, services, companionship, care, expenses, beneficiaries, and legally recoverable loss without assuming every family member or category is treated the same.
Washtenaw County Trial Court, Ann Arbor district courts, Monroe County courts, and federal court may be involved depending on the defendants. Litigation, settlement approval or distribution procedure, liens, probate work, and family communication should proceed from the same verified liability and damages record.
Actual reviews from clients and family members about difficult injury cases and long-term support. They are not presented as guarantees or as reviews of every claim type on this page.
Christopher Trainor & Associates represented my mother in an extremely tragic car accident. The insurance company was resistant on paying out her law suit, and the team won our case! Thank you so much for your representation!!
We have not gone to trial yet, but for the past 2 years I wouldn't choose anyone else to stand behind me and my child. If you want injury lawyers and team members who actually care, CHOOSE Christopher Trainor.
I recently had the pleasure of working with Chris Trainor, Amy DeRouin and their dedicated team regarding two personal claims. I cannot recommend them highly enough! From our very first consultation, it was clear that I was in capable and caring hands. I would trust them with any personal legal matter.
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Serving Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea, Plymouth, Canton, Monroe, Milan, and Dexter.
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