Wrongful Death

Michigan's dramshop statute can allow a claim against a retail liquor licensee that unlawfully sold, furnished, or gave alcohol to a minor or visibly intoxicated person when that unlawful sale was a proximate cause of injury, damage, or death. The statute includes a 2-year filing period, a 120-day written notice rule after attorney-client relationship, and other procedural requirements.

If a drunk driver who hit you was recently served by a bar or other retail licensee, the licensee may share liability only if the statutory conditions are met. These cases require fast investigation because notice and proof requirements are strict.

We investigate all alcohol sales preceding an accident and pursue Dramshop liability where applicable to maximize available insurance coverage.

Michigan law generally provides that actions and claims survive death. But when injuries result in death, those claims must proceed under the wrongful death statute, and a pending injury action may need to be amended to bring it under that statute.

A death after an injury changes the legal path. The estate and personal representative must preserve the surviving claim while also complying with the Wrongful Death Act's procedures.

We move quickly to identify the personal representative, amend pending claims when needed, and preserve both pre-death damages and wrongful-death damages under the correct statute.

Michigan's primary wrongful death law. The lawsuit is filed by the personal representative of the estate, not by each family member separately. Eligible people who may claim damages include the spouse, children, descendants, parents, grandparents, siblings, children of the deceased person's spouse, certain devisees and trust beneficiaries, and intestate heirs if no closer listed family survives.

The foundation of any death case in Michigan. Recoverable damages include medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses; conscious pain and suffering before death; loss of financial support and contributions to survivors; and loss of society and companionship. Distribution is based on proven loss, not an automatic equal split.

We have won some of Michigan's largest wrongful death verdicts, including a $5,000,000 verdict in a semi-truck wrongful death case.

Michigan's wrongful death saving provision can give the personal representative extra time to file a surviving claim when the injured person dies before the original limitations period runs, or within 30 days after it runs. The key window is tied to when letters of authority are issued, not simply the date of death, and the statute has an outside deadline.

Protects families in some cases where death occurs near the end of the original limitations period, but it is technical and easy to miscalculate. Probate timing, the first letters of authority in malpractice cases, the underlying claim type, and the 3-year outside cap all matter.

We evaluate this saving provision immediately when death follows an injury, long illness, or delayed complication so probate timing does not destroy an otherwise viable claim.

When wrongful death results from medical malpractice, noneconomic damages are subject to Michigan's medical malpractice caps. For 2026, the standard post-1993 cap is $596,400 and the higher cap is $1,065,000. A fatal malpractice case does not qualify for the higher cap by itself; the higher cap applies only to the severe permanent-injury categories listed in MCL 600.1483.

This cap can limit noneconomic damages in a medical negligence death case, but economic damages such as medical expenses, funeral expenses, and provable financial support remain uncapped. The 2026 amounts were published by the Michigan Department of Treasury / State Treasurer in the January 30, 2026 notice.

We maximize economic damage projections using forensic economists and life-care planners to overcome noneconomic caps.