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All cases involving a dead person must be brought under Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act, MCL 600.2922. That legislative act defines the persons who may file a personal injury lawsuit, how a suit is to be settled, and who may share (and who may not share) in the proceeds. Generally, the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Michigan is 3 years, although there are exceptions.
Note: The damages of a wrongful death case are not used to pay the victim's general debts, except for medical care or debt related directly to the death.
Parsons Law Firm has extensive experience in wrongful death cases. If you think we may be able to help you with a Michigan wrongful death case, we welcome you to contact us for a free, confidential consultation.
These cases are examples of some of our past successes*:
A young musician working part-time in a factory was crushed by a stack of materials that tipped over. The employer stated he was uninsured, so the client’s widow asked us to investigate. We did intensive investigation, which revealed that the delivery company had stacked the material in an unsafe condition, and the owner’s insurance was still in effect, even though the insurance had been bought under another corporate name. We settled with the delivery company for a guarantee of $200,000. We next took an assignment of the employer’s old insurance policy, from the owner. We then filed a second suit against the insurance company to collect. The insurer settled for $725,000, adding to the guarantee of $200,000, for a total of $925,000 — all of which was paid.
This was one of Tim Green's cases. Multiple victims died when their vehicle was struck by a train at a railroad crossing. This verdict stands as one of the best verdicts in Ohio railroad litigation. The key was an intensive investigation that produced compelling eyewitness testimony that the crossing warnings were defective.
Usually, large verdicts are the result of large economic loss — wage loss, medical care costs, etc. In this case, there was no economic loss, but we produced a “day-in-the-life” video with the help of a television production company. The video not only conveyed the wonderful nature of the victim, but also was a beautiful memento for the family.
A summer intern working in a factory was found drowned in a vat, which was located below the main floor of the factory. The case was shrouded in mystery until we hired mechanical engineering experts — who reviewed engineering drawings of the factory. We discovered a “pressure vent” had been omitted during construction, and water-pressure in the vat caused a floor-hatch-cover to pop open, creating a hole in the middle of the walkway. We produced a computer simulation of the incident. We also created a model the over-pressurization incident, and demonstrated how less than 1 PSI dislodged the hatch cover. See our creative approach to animations here.
For more information and to discuss your legal rights, we welcome you to contact Parsons Law Firm in Traverse City. We work with clients in cases throughout Michigan and are pleased to offer a free, no-obligation consultation.
* These wrongful death cases are chosen from many more, to illustrate some of the variety of the issues we have dealt with.
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