Statutes of Limitation and Repose Grand Rapids, Michigan

Assault and Battery

2 year limitation period; 5 year limitation period for most domestic situations or dating relationships.  Sometimes, claims against healthcare providers are assault claims instead of medical malpractice claims. This happens when the provider acts upon the patient without any consent at all, and the patient was capable of consenting. This is very rare. More commonly, the claim is that the physician exceeded the consent given or did not appropriately inform the patient - those are medical malpractice cases. 

General Negligence

3 year limitation period. One issue that is commonly litigated in cases against healthcare providers is whether the claim is a medical malpractice claim or an "ordinary" or "general" negligence claim. General negligence is when an individual owes a duty of care to a person and breaches that duty, causing an injury and damages. General negligence becomes "Medical Malpractice" when the duty that is owed is owed by a healthcare provider to a patient and the breach involves professional judgment.

The difference between general negligence and medical malpractice is very important both for the statute of limitations (i.e., 3 years to file instead of 2) and because there is no cap on non-economic damages in general negligence cases. We look very carefully to see if we can argue that a claim is a general negligence claim instead of a medical malpractice claim. In fact, Hoffer & Sheremet won a huge case for patients where the court agreed with our argument that claims against an unlicensed employee of an unlicensed healthcare provider cannot be malpractice claims and must be general negligence claims.

Legal Malpractice

2 year limitation period. A legal malpractice claim generally accrues when the attorney stops representing the client as to the matter out of which the malpractice arose, regardless of when the claim is discovered. There are generally three tests that determine when the attorney stopped representing the client: (i) when the attorney was relieved of representation by the court (such as a motion to withdraw being granted), (ii) when the matter for which the attorney was retained has concluded, and (iii) at the time the client relieves the attorney of the obligation of representation (i.e., the client fires the lawyer). There may, however, other accrual dates, depending on the circumstances. Can be brought within 6 months of discovering a claim. However, there is a six-year repose period. MCL 600.5838b. Read more about legal malpractice cases in our article, Legal Malpractice 101.

Medical Malpractice

Generally, in Michigan, the medical malpractice statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the negligence or 6 months from the time the patient discovers (or should have discovered) the alleged negligence, whichever is later.

Exceptions to this statute can occur in wrongful death claims or in the case that the patient was a minor. Wrongful death claims based on medical malrpactice must be commenced within 2 years of the date the personal representative is appointed and within 3 years after the limitations period has run on the underlying cause of action. In theory, then, this means there is a maximum period under certain circumstances of 5 years.

Minors do not necessarily have until they are 18 to file a claim. If the child is under age 8 when the malpractice occurs, such as in birth injury cases, the claim must be brought on or before the child's tenth birthday, or within 6 months of discovery. If the child is eight or older, the child has two years from the date of negligence or within six months of discovery. BUT, if the child is under the age of 13 and the claim involves injury to the reproductive system, the claim can be brought on or before child's 15th birthday, two years from the negligence, or 6 months from discovery - whichever is latest. MCL 600.5851.

Note that serving the Notice of Intent tolls the limitations period as explained in our article, Medical Malpractice 101.

Libel or Slander

1 year limitation period

Breach of Contract

6 year limitation (with exceptions)

Wrongful Death

Technically a “savings period,” a wrongful death claim must be commenced within 2 years of the date the personal representative is appointed and within 3 years after the limitations period has run on the underlying cause of action. The service of a Notice of Intent tolls the filing deadline for 182 days if it would otherwise expire during the waiting period. 

Special rules and exceptions

There are special rules that apply to insane individuals and to minors. If a person is insane at the time the claim accrues, the person can file suit up to one year after he or she becomes sane.

Generally, a minor has until their 19th birthday to file a lawsuit. This general rule, though, does not apply to medical malpractice actions. Instead, if the patient was under the age of 8 when the malpractice occurred, the medical malpractice case must be commenced by the minor's tenth birthday. (Read about how this affects litigation in birth injury lawsuits here.) If the patient is over the age of 8 when the malpractice occurs, the general 2-year limitation period applies. But this, too, is subject to an exception. If a child is under the age of 13, and the claim involves an injury to the reproductive system, the patient has until his or her 15th birthday to commence the action, or the standard limitations period, whichever is later. If the person has reached his or her thirteenth birthday, the standard limitation period applies.

There is also a statute of limitations exception for fraudulent concealment. While difficult to prove, if a person who is liable for a claim fraudulently conceals the existence of the claim from the person entitled to sue, that person has two years from the time the person discovered or should have discovered the existence of the claim.