Did you know that there are deadlines for filing medical malpractice cases? Unfortunately, most people have no idea. But it's true. The legislature has passed statutory deadlines. These are very strict deadlines - if you miss the deadline, you cannot file your lawsuit. The law does not care if you have a very good reason for missing the deadline or if you had no idea that there was a deadline. It isn't fair to patients, but that is the law.
How long do you have to bring a medical malpractice case in Michigan?
Michigan generally gives patients two years from the act or omission that caused their medical malpractice claim to bring a lawsuit. Most medical malpractice cases involving adults have this two-year deadline. MCL 600.5805.
A six-month discovery rule and other exceptions may affect that deadline. Different rules can apply when the patient is a child or has died. MCL 600.5838a. Read more about these exceptions below.
That does not mean you should wait two years to contact an attorney. Medical malpractice cases require investigation, review of medical records, and compliance with notice requirements before a lawsuit can be filed. Each of these steps takes time. In fact, it can easily take 8–12 months to obtain complete medical records, undergo initial attorney review, retain an expert, obtain the expert's opinion, and draft the Notice of Intent. Investigations take time, so do not wait until your deadline is close to contact a lawyer!
If you believe medical negligence seriously injured you or someone you love, contact Hoffer & Sheremet for a free case review. You do not need to know your deadline or have all your medical records before calling.
When does the Michigan medical malpractice filing period begin?
Many people who call us believe the time period to sue does not start until they have healed or finished treatment. That isn't true. And the period doesn't start at the time of diagnosis.
The starting point is generally the date of the negligent act or omission. It is not necessarily the date you received a diagnosis, understood the full extent of your injury, or learned that you might have a legal claim. For example, if you have surgery that was negligently performed, the deadline period runs from the date of the surgery. That is true even if you are not diagnosed with a surgical injury on the date of that surgery.
Sometimes, the negligence spans over a period of time. For example, a primary care physician may continually fail to order certain blood tests over several years. Under those circumstances, some treatment dates might be within the filing window and some might be time-barred. Identifying the relevant treatment dates is part of evaluating the deadline. MCL 600.5838a.
When all or part of a claim is time-barred, we see if we can rely on the "discovery rule," discussed below.
What if I didn’t know I had a medical malpractice claim?
Sometimes, a patient does not know there was medical negligence until after the two-year deadline has already expired. We see that often in cases of failure to timely diagnose cancer.
In those cases, there is a "discovery rule" that allows patients to initiate a claim (by serving a Notice of Intent) within six months of the date the patient knew - or should have known - of the existence of a claim.
The phrase “should have discovered” matters. The legal deadline does not necessarily wait until a physician confirms malpractice or an attorney agrees to investigate. The circumstances surrounding your injury and what you knew must be examined carefully. MCL 600.5838a.
If you recently learned that an earlier medical error may have caused your injury, contact an attorney promptly. Investigations to determine whether you have a good medical malpractice case take time. And six months is not a long time in the legal world!
What is Michigan’s six-year Statute of Repose?
You can think of the Statute of Repose as the Statute of Limitation's cousin. The statute of limitations says how long you have to file your claim. The statute of repose says that after a certain date you cannot file the claim. That time bar applies regardless of when you discovered the claim.
Michigan generally bars medical malpractice claims more than six years after the act or omission, even when the injury or potential claim is discovered later. So if you do not learn of negligence until six years and one month from the date of that negligence, you cannot sue - even though the discovery rule would otherwise allow you six months to file. Some people read the statute of repose and think they have six years to sue - that is wrong. The limitations period defines the window in which you can sue; the statute of repose prohibits you from filing suit after a specific date.
There are exceptions, including specific rules concerning children, fraudulent prevention of discovery, and certain reproductive injuries.
Does a Notice of Intent extend the filing deadline?
Before filing a Michigan medical malpractice lawsuit, a claimant generally must send a written Notice of Intent to the healthcare professionals or facilities being sued and wait 182 days. MCL 600.2912b.
When a patient only has two years to sue, and attorney investigations take time, eating away six months of the two-year filing window would be unfair. So, the law says that a timely Notice of Intent that meets the applicable requirements can pause the running of a limitations or repose period under Michigan’s tolling statute. MCL 600.5856.
Does calling a lawyer stop the filing deadline?
No! Calling a lawyer is only the first step in a very long process. It doesn't stop your filing deadline. The lawyer needs to do a full investigation of your case before agreeing to file - including obtaining expert witness support. Sometimes, you or your lawyer can send a Notice of Intent without a full investigation if the filing deadline is coming up. This is a practice we frown upon. So, if you would like Hoffer & Sheremet to evaluate your case, contact us early.
You can read more about the process in our Medical Malpractice 101 guide.
You can read more about our case review process here: https://hoffersheremet.com/2026/01/09/case-review/
What if the patient was a child?
Michigan does not give all children until the age of 18 to file a medical malpractice claim!
Michigan has specific medical malpractice rules for minors:
- If the claim accrued before the child’s eighth birthday, the law generally allows filing on or before the tenth birthday or within the period provided by MCL 600.5838a, whichever is later.
- If the child was eight or older, the ordinary medical malpractice timing rules generally apply.
- A separate provision addresses reproductive-system injuries where the claim accrued before the child’s thirteenth birthday. That provision generally allows filing on or before the fifteenth birthday or within the period provided by MCL 600.5838a, whichever is later.
These provisions require careful application to the particular claim. MCL 600.5851(7)–(8).
If you have questions about an injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or your child’s medical treatment, contact us promptly. Our Birth Injury 101 guide explains how we investigate these cases.
What is the deadline to file a Michigan medical malpractice claim if the patient died?
When a patient dies because of medical malpractice, the case is brought under the Wrongful Death Act.
When the patient dies before the applicable limitations period has expired (usually two years for adults) or dies within 30 days of that deadline, the Personal Representative of the patient's Estate has two years from the date of appointment to initiate the claim by issuing a Notice of Intent. Appointing a replacement ordinarily does not restart the period, although the statute provides a limited exception for death or legal incapacity of a personal representative. MCL 600.5852.
MCL 600.5852 also contains a limit tied to three years after expiration of the underlying limitations period. That provision must be evaluated alongside applicable tolling rules and any statute of repose.
It should not be treated as a promise that every family has five years to sue. MCL 600.5852; Michigan Judicial Institute, Medical Malpractice.
A Notice of Intent tolls the wrongful death filing deadline. This is a recent change in the law.
In Ernest v. Brown, decided July 29, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned Waltz v. Wyse. The Court held that the period provided by MCL 600.5852 is subject to tolling under MCL 600.5856, including qualifying medical malpractice Notice of Intent tolling. Older explanations stating that a Notice of Intent cannot toll this period reflect the former rule. The effect on a particular estate’s deadline still requires review of the relevant dates and procedural requirements. Read the Court’s opinion in Ernest v. Brown.
What information should a family gather?
For an initial review, it helps to identify:
- The dates of the medical treatment you are concerned about.
- The date of death.
- When you first learned that a medical error might have occurred.
- Whether an estate has been opened.
- Any letters of authority issued to a personal representative.
- Any Notice of Intent already sent.
You can contact us before you have gathered everything. Learn more in our Wrongful Death 101 guide.
Do I need to have all of the medical records before I call a medical malpractice lawyer?
No! Obtaining a full and complete set of medical records is an arduous process. It shouldn't be, and there are laws such as the HITECH Act and the Michigan Medical Records Access Act that should make it easy for patients to get records. Unfortunately, it isn't easy. Providers may put requests at the bottom of their "to-do list." Large facilities may outsource record requests to individuals that are not skilled in using Epic, Cerner, or other electronic record systems. And sometimes, since the legal medical record is so voluminous and includes a lot of data that is meaningless to the average person, the gatherer doesn't think that the "whole legal medical record" is really what the patient wants and provides only highlights.
So obtaining a full set of records can be a very time-consuming process.
Contact us with the information you have.
Tell us what happened, when the treatment occurred, and how the injury has affected you or your family. If we investigate your potential case, we can discuss obtaining the records needed for review.
Talk with a Michigan medical malpractice attorney
You may be coping with additional treatment, a permanent injury, or the loss of someone you love. Understanding the legal deadlines should not be another burden you have to navigate alone.
Hoffer & Sheremet represents patients and families in serious medical malpractice, birth injury, and wrongful death cases throughout Michigan.
Call 616-278-0888 or request your free case review.
Submitting a consultation request does not stop a filing deadline or create an attorney-client relationship. Hoffer & Sheremet begins that relationship through a signed engagement agreement.
This page provides general information about Michigan law. The deadline for a particular claim depends on its facts and applicable law. Do not rely on this article to calculate the deadline in your particular case.
This article was originally written and edited by:
Stephanie C. Hoffer
Founding Partner | Michigan Medical Malpractice Attorney
Stephanie C. Hoffer represents patients and families throughout Michigan in medical malpractice, birth injury, and wrongful death cases. A former malpractice defense attorney, she focuses on legal analysis, litigation strategy, motions, and appeals. She is a contributing author to ICLE’s Torts: Michigan Law and Practice.