$5M
For a family after a fatal semi-truck crash
We represented the estate of a husband and father killed in a semi-truck crash. Nearly two years of investigation and litigation led to a $5 million judgment.
Ann Arbor Wrongful Death Lawyer
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.
- $300M+ Recovered for Michigan clients
- 400+ 5-star ratings across review platforms
- Free Case review with no obligation
Start here
What should I do next?
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.
A closer lookHow we review your wrongful death case
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.
Michigan Legal Center
Our results
The cases. The work.
The difference it made.
$4.5M+
For the family of a union member killed in a vehicle crash
The defense disputed liability and initially made no settlement offers. The case resolved with a $4.5 million+ settlement for the family.
$1.25M
Fatal rear-end crash
A speeding driver struck the vehicle from behind. The wrongful-death recovery included the available underinsured motorist policy limits.
Evidence to preserve
What evidence should I keep?
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 incident and authority records
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.
Underlying liability proof
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.
Washtenaw County family and loss 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.
Estate and evidence routes
Who may hold the records?
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.
Incident location and probate venue
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.
Personal-representative authority
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.
Official findings and civil proof
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.
Possible Ann Arbor wrongful-death evidence holders
| 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. |
Why location matters
What matters in Ann Arbor?
The exact scene helps identify where to look for reports, video, witnesses, and other records.
Understanding the local recordLocal evidence and investigation details
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.
City and university public-safety records are separate
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.
Autopsy and hospital records answer different questions
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.
Domicile controls the probate starting point
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.
Claims and benefits
Which claims or benefits may apply?
These are possible legal paths, not automatic claims. The answer depends on the event, defendant, policy, injuries, forum, and current law.
Underlying Ann Arbor liability
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.
Estate and personal representative
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.
Benefits, policies, and public actors
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.
30-second case check
Do I have an Ann Arbor wrongful death case?
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
Michigan law
The law and deadlines
The rules below explain how a claim may work. The deadlines, available insurance and responsibility for an injury still depend on the facts of your case.
The full breakdownLegal rules that may apply
The personal representative brings the action
MCL 600.2922 governs Michigan wrongful-death actions and the statutory procedure for beneficiaries and damages. Family relationship alone does not replace estate authority.
Wrongful-death timing is not one simple period
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.
Government and civil-rights deaths add layers
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.
Case work
How we help with your case
From the first conversation onwardHow we gather evidence and build your case
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Identify the claim and representative
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.
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Preserve the Ann Arbor incident
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.
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Map benefits and family loss
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.
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Coordinate estate and case decisions
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.
Client reviews
What our clients say
In their own words. Read what clients and families say about working with our team.
★★★★★
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.
Free case review
Tell us what happened.
Send the basics. We will check the facts, coverage, deadlines, evidence, and whether hiring us makes sense. No obligation.
- Contingency-fee cases. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery; the written agreement controls fees and case expenses.
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- Meet how you want. Phone or video, with in-person meetings arranged when appropriate. Call before visiting the Ann Arbor office.
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Local office
The Ann Arbor office
Serving Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea, Plymouth, Canton, Monroe, Milan, and Dexter.
- Address
- 2723 S State St UNIT 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
- Hours
- 24/7 phone intake · Call before visiting
- Phone
- (734) 882-2646
Call before visiting so the team can confirm the right meeting location and time.
Common Questions
Ann Arbor Wrongful Death Lawyer FAQs
Does death at a University of Michigan hospital make Washtenaw County the probate venue?
Not necessarily. The treatment and place of death affect medical records and possibly death-investigation jurisdiction, while probate venue generally follows the decedent’s domicile.
Are Ann Arbor Police and U-M public-safety records interchangeable?
No. They are separate agencies, and other responders may also be involved. The property, incident number, responding units, mutual aid, and record type should be confirmed before requesting material.
Is an autopsy report enough to prove medical or legal causation?
No. It can be important, but the complete treatment history, mechanism of injury, expert analysis, underlying duty, conduct, alternative causes, and legal standards still require review.
Does a small-estate process authorize a wrongful-death lawsuit?
Do not assume so. Asset-transfer procedures and authority to bring litigation are different questions. The estate’s personal representative and letters of authority should be confirmed for the claim.
Do I need an Ann Arbor wrongful death lawyer?
An Ann Arbor legal review is worthwhile when a crash, unsafe property, defective product, work incident, medical event, police or custody incident, or other wrongful conduct may have caused a death. If the Ann Arbor matter is minor, undisputed, and fully resolved, a lawyer may not change the outcome. The consultation with the Ann Arbor office is free, so the useful question is whether legal help protects evidence, coverage, rights, or recovery in your facts.
What local evidence matters in an Ann Arbor wrongful death case?
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. The evidence list for this Ann Arbor claim depends on the facts; no camera, report, database, or expert is automatically available or decisive.
How long do I have to bring an Ann Arbor wrongful death claim?
Wrongful-death timing is not one clock. The underlying claim, MCL 600.5805, the personal-representative saving provision in MCL 600.5852, and any medical, government, civil-rights, insurance, or contract rules must be analyzed together.
Which courts or agencies may matter in Ann Arbor?
Washtenaw County Trial Court, Ann Arbor district courts, Monroe County courts, and federal court may be involved depending on the defendants. Venue and forum for an Ann Arbor matter depend on where the event occurred, who the defendants are, the claim, damages, and any state or federal jurisdiction. A court near the Ann Arbor office is not automatically the correct court.
Do medical records from local hospitals matter?
Yes. Records from University of Michigan Health, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, and regional rehabilitation providers and follow-up providers can document diagnosis, causation, treatment, function, prognosis, and damages in an Ann Arbor claim. The Ann Arbor legal team should obtain the complete relevant chain and not rely only on an insurer’s summary.
Do I have to visit the Ann Arbor office?
No. The Ann Arbor office offers phone and video consultations, and in-person meetings can be arranged when appropriate. Call (734) 882-2646 before visiting 2723 S State St UNIT 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Meeting arrangements for Washtenaw County can be adapted when injury, disability, distance, weather, or custody makes travel difficult.
How are fees handled for an Ann Arbor wrongful death case?
The Ann Arbor consultation is free. If the firm accepts the matter on a contingency fee, the attorney fee and responsibility for case expenses are governed by the written engagement agreement. Past results in another Michigan matter do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Our Team Approach
Every case at Christopher Trainor & Associates is a team effort. Our attorneys collaborate on strategy, discovery, and litigation so you get the full strength of the firm behind you—not just a single lawyer. We have built our practice on this collaborative model since 1989.
Meet Our AttorneysRelated resources
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