Michigan medical malpractice law
In Michigan, you generally have 2 years to file a medical malpractice claim from the date of the treatment. See the damage caps and expert rules for 2026.
Sources checked
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Your deadline: 2 years from the treatment
Michigan rules at a glance
Work out your deadline- Filing deadline
- 2 years from the treatment
- Damage caps
- $596,400 for 2026, or $1,065,000 when the…
- Before you file
- Written notice, and an expert's sign-off
- Shared fault
- Other
Full Michigan law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources
Example: treatment and discovery six months ago
- TreatmentMay 7, 2026
- Likely deadlineMay 7, 2028
- Outer limitMay 7, 2032
- The clock startsOn the day of the treatment
- Time to start a claim2 yearsMiss it and the claim is usually lost.
- At the very most6 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
- Pain and sufferingCapped at $596,400
- All damages togetherNo overall cap
The rules in Michigan
Filing deadline
2 years
Counted from the treatment. File within 2 years of the act or omission, or within 6 months after you discovered or should have discovered the claim, whichever is later, but no more than 6 years after the act.
Discovery rule
Applies
A 6-month discovery period, inside the 6-year outer limit.
Outer limit
6 years
6 years from the act or omission, with exceptions for fraudulent concealment and some injuries to children.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5838a(2)
Damage caps
$596,400 for 2026, or $1,065,000 when the injury causes hemiplegia, paraplegia or quadriplegia from brain or spinal cord injury, permanently impaired cognitive capacity, or permanent loss of reproductive ability. Adjusted every year for inflation.
Michigan caps non-economic damages in all medical malpractice cases, with a higher cap for the most catastrophic injuries. Figures are set each year by the State Treasurer.
- Wrongful death
- The same caps apply to medical malpractice wrongful death claims.
Children
Different clock
A child injured before age 8 can sue until the tenth birthday or within the normal period, whichever is later. Injuries to the reproductive system before age 13 can be sued on until the fifteenth birthday or within the normal period.
Affidavit of merit
Required
File an affidavit of merit signed by a qualified health professional with the complaint (28 more days are allowed if records were not provided in time).
Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2912d
Notice before suing
Required
Serve a notice of intent on each provider at least 182 days before suing; the notice tolls the deadline.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2912b
Shared fault
Other
A different rule; see the guide
Experts
Expert evidence
The expert must specialize (and be board certified, if the defendant is) in the same specialty and have devoted most of their professional time in the prior year to practice or teaching in it (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2169).
Comparative fault: a patient more than 50 percent at fault recovers no non-economic damages and has economic damages reduced (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2959). The Michigan Supreme Court revisited how tolling applies to the wrongful death saving period in Ernest v. Brown (2025-2026 term); in a death case, confirm the timing with a lawyer.
Sources
- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.5838a, Michigan Legislature
- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.5851, Michigan Legislature
- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.1483, Michigan Legislature
- Limitation on noneconomic damages notice, January 30, 2026, Michigan Department of Treasury
- State Enactments of Selected Medical Liability Reforms (as of 8/27/2026), Medical Professional Liability Association
- Contributory Negligence/Comparative Fault Laws in All 50 States (updated 6/10/2026), Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.
- Medical Liability/Malpractice Merit Affidavits and Expert Witnesses, National Conference of State Legislatures
Other states
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alabama (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alaska (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arizona (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arkansas (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in California (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Colorado (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Connecticut (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Delaware (2026)
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