In addition to our work on Long Term Disability cases, Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz & Associates (SMDA) also handles personal injury cases. This is the story of one such case. Our client, James Hawthorne was rear ended by a semi-truck owned and operated by a Kentucky based Trucking company. Mr. Hawthorne…
Recently, the new majority of 4 Michigan Supreme Court Justices upheld a decision by the Court of Appeals in Thorn v Mercy Memorial Hospital. In Thorn, a mother of young children died as a result of a medical error. When the family sued the defendant’s argued that the children could…
Justice Taylor Falsely Claims Wall Street Journal Backing In what turns out to be a desperate campaign strategy, Justice Taylor has been claiming that the Wall Street Journal said the Michigan Supreme Court under his leadership is the best in the nation. Guess what-this claim is totally false!!! If you…
If you get hit by a drunk driver and break your arm or leg, do you think you should be able to sue the drunk who caused the accident, even if you make a good recovery? If you get in a car accident but only miss three months of work,…
If the City plows the snow off the street and blocks the sidewalk and a child who is forced off the sidewalk is hit by a car and killed, do you think the City has any responsibility? Not in Michigan, not anymore. Why not? Because Cliff Taylor says so, that’s…
Think a landlord has a duty to fix the electrical wiring in a home. What about if the tenant repeatedly tells the landlord that the electrical outlet sparks and smokes. What if the landlord ignores the tenants repeated complaints and there is a fire which results in the death of…
If your loved one dies as a result of bad medical care, but lives for more than two years, do you think you can still sue the doctor who provided the poor care? Not in Michigan. Not anymore The Taylor led supreme court in Wickens v Oakwood Healthcare System, 465…
Think you should be able to sue a rapist no matter how long it takes to catch him? Think gender based discrimination is actionable? Think your employer has an ongoing responsibility to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace? Not in Michigan. Not anymore. Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co…
Think the State has a duty to fix a defective traffic light? How about a defective guardrail? Broken stop sign? A bridge which is falling apart and dropping broken concrete onto traffic? Think again. Not in Michigan. Not anymore. In Nawrocki v Macomb Co Road Commn, 463 Mich 143 (2000).…
Think a store owner has any responsibility to maintain their premises? To fix a pothole? To shovel the snow? To spread salt on the ice? Not in Michigan. Not anymore. Justice Taylor decides store owners do not have to keep their premises safe for their customers. In Lugo v Ameritech,…