Notable Cases and Achievements In MI

Pedersen v Sparrow Hospital:

This case involved the death of an unborn baby. We filed two lawsuits: a wrongful death case on behalf of the baby and a medical malpractice case on behalf of the mother. The defense filed a motion arguing that we can only have one lawsuit with one cap on non-economic damages. We argued that each victim has their own case. We won at the trial court level and the Court of Appeals denied Sparrow Hospital's request to review the decision.

Thomsen v Nizzi:

Hoffer & Sheremet won this medical malpractice trial in Grand Traverse County in 2019. It was the first medical malpractice patient victory in that county since 1997. We filed (and won) numerous motions in limine that forced the defense to narrow their theory and prevent juror confusion. We also developed a streamlined infographic titled "Pathways to Verdict" that we used throughout the trial to help guide the jury through the theory of our case.

Polanco v Mercy Health St. Mary’s:

In this wrongful death case, brought on behalf of an unborn baby, we won a legal battle that allowed us to see lost future economic damages in the form of loss of earning capacity on behalf of the baby. To our knowledge, this is the first order in Michigan allowing those damages. We crafted this damages theory and outlined our legal argument before the lawsuit was even filed. This allowed us to have the appropriate expert witnesses lined up and legal arguments well-developed.

Swanzy v Spectrum Health:

In this case, we alleged that our client's claim was one for ordinary negligence instead of medical malpractice. This meant that there was no cap on non-economic damages. We won the argument at the trial court level. That decision was affirmed in a published Court of Appeals opinion.

Coryell v Hurley Medical Center:

In this appeal, we were able to reverse a dismissal against a child-patient and his family. The case involved the failure of the hospital to have an interpreter available, so the parents were unable to communicate with healthcare providers.

Confidential Name:

We filed and won numerous motions for partial summary disposition (i.e., asking the Trial Court to issue legal decisions on issues) that resulted in a settlement that was twenty times the defendant's settlement offer before the motions were decided.

Feliciano v Mary Free Bed:

In our debut as attorneys for patients (i.e., after we switched sides from defending hospitals and healthcare providers) we worked with attorney Steve Grimm to win this trial for the patient. The jury awarded ten times the amount of economic damages for non-economic damages.

Roberson v Beggs:

We achieved a judgment in this legal malpractice case for $979,000 and set in motion the defendant-attorney being disbarred.

Powell v Vandenberg:

This legal malpractice case helped bring to light numerous victims of the defendant-attorney, who was later disbarred.