Background
Maurice Ernest went to McLaren Regional Medical Center’s emergency department with chest pain on July 16, 2020. He was transferred to the cardiac unit and received a provisional diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome and hypokalemia, but he died the next day from a bilateral pulmonary embolism. Keran Ernest, acting as personal representative of his estate, alleged that the treating physicians and associated healthcare entities failed to diagnose and treat him properly.
Ernest received letters of authority on June 7, 2021. She sent defendants the notice of intent required for a medical-malpractice action on February 10, 2023, and filed her complaint on August 14, 2023. The trial court dismissed the action with prejudice as untimely under Waltz v. Wyse, which held that the medical-malpractice notice tolling provision does not toll the additional filing period available to a personal representative under Michigan’s wrongful-death saving provision. The Court of Appeals affirmed because it was bound by Waltz.
The Court’s Holding
In lieu of granting leave to appeal, the Michigan Supreme Court held that MCL 600.5852 incorporates a period of limitations and therefore may be tolled under MCL 600.5856(c) during the statutory medical-malpractice notice period. Because Ernest sent her notice of intent before the two-year period measured from the issuance of her letters of authority expired, that notice tolled the filing period and made her August 2023 complaint timely.
The Court overruled Waltz, concluding that it incorrectly treated MCL 600.5852 solely as a saving provision rather than recognizing that the statute also establishes a new limitations period. The majority further determined that stare decisis did not justify retaining Waltz, emphasizing its longstanding criticism, its unsupported reduction of the legislatively provided filing time, and the absence of persuasive reliance interests. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- The notice-of-intent tolling provision in MCL 600.5856(c) applies to the additional wrongful-death filing period provided by MCL 600.5852.
- MCL 600.5852 functions both as a saving provision and as a statute of limitations because it gives a personal representative a specified additional period in which to sue.
- The Court overruled Waltz v. Wyse and reinstated Ernest’s medical-malpractice action without deciding the merits of her malpractice allegations.
Why It Matters
The decision changes more than two decades of Michigan limitations law for medical-malpractice claims involving a decedent’s estate. Personal representatives who timely serve a statutory notice of intent may now receive the associated tolling benefit while proceeding within MCL 600.5852’s additional filing period.
The ruling removes a procedural trap that could require an estate to satisfy the presuit notice period without receiving its corresponding tolling protection. It also confirms that a statutory provision labeled a “saving” provision may nevertheless operate as a limitations period when it sets a definite time for commencing an action.