Where to File in Michigan
Michigan birth injury cases are filed in Circuit Court in the county where the cause of action arose or where a defendant resides. Wayne (Detroit), Oakland (Pontiac), Macomb, Kent (Grand Rapids), and Washtenaw (Ann Arbor) counties handle the majority of obstetric malpractice cases. Michigan requires plaintiffs to send a Notice of Intent to each defendant at least 182 days before filing suit, and the complaint may not be filed until the 182-day pre-suit period has run (MCL 600.2912b). During this period, informal exchange of medical records and expert review is expected.
Michigan's medical malpractice statute of limitations is two years from the date of discovery, with a six-year statute of repose from the act or omission (MCL 600.5838a). Michigan provides robust minority tolling: for minors under 8 years old at the time of the malpractice, the limitations period is tolled until the child's 10th birthday, after which the standard two-year period runs—giving families until age 12 in most cases. The six-year repose period is also tolled until age 8, providing an absolute filing deadline of the child's 10th birthday plus two years, or six years from the act, whichever is later.
Michigan caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The standard cap adjusts annually for inflation and currently exceeds $480,000; for cases involving permanent loss of a vital bodily function, permanent serious disfigurement, or death, the cap increases to approximately $860,000 (MCL 600.1483). These caps apply per occurrence. Economic damages including lifetime medical and attendant care costs, lost earning capacity, and vocational rehabilitation are not capped—and in severe cerebral palsy cases, economic damages alone routinely reach $10–20 million.
Michigan obstetric malpractice litigation frequently targets the University of Michigan Health System, Henry Ford Health, Beaumont Health (now Corewell Health), Spectrum Health, and Detroit Medical Center. Michigan has a well-developed plaintiffs' birth injury bar, with significant verdicts in cases involving HIE from delayed emergency cesarean delivery, shoulder dystocia resulting in permanent brachial plexus injury (Erb's palsy), and neonatal brain damage from inadequately monitored prolonged labor. Michigan's 182-day notice requirement creates an extended pre-filing phase that can be used productively to develop expert opinions.
Your Legal Team
Catherine Moorefield
Senior Partner
Detroit, MI
Catherine Moorefield has spent 24 years representing Michigan families whose children suffered preventable birth injuries. A former registered nurse with labor and delivery clinical experience, Catherine brings firsthand knowledge of fetal monitoring, the APGAR assessment, and NICU protocols to every birth injury case she handles. She has worked on cases involving the full spectrum of birth injuries — HIE with severe cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy from shoulder dystocia, and delayed emergency C-section cases. Michigan's $144 million HIE verdict is the backdrop against which her practice operates, and she regularly works with OB expert witnesses and certified life care planners to document the full scope of lifetime care damages. She has recovered over $45 million for birth injury families in Michigan.
Education
- J.D., University of Michigan Law School (2002)
- B.S., Nursing, Wayne State University (1998)