Michigan Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home Negligence, and Personal Injury Attorney Michaelene Sowinski

Michaelene Sowinski is a Michigan medical malpractice, nursing home negligence attorney at Olsman MacKenzie Peacock with more than 17 years of experience and a background that gives her an uncommon vantage point on every case she handles.

She has litigated medical malpractice and negligence claims from both sides of the courtroom, first as a plaintiff advocate representing injured patients and families, then as a defense-side executive partner representing healthcare professionals and institutions, and now again as a plaintiff attorney fighting for those harmed by medical errors and long-term care failures across Michigan.

From the firm’s Berkley office, she serves clients throughout Metro Detroit and communities across Michigan.

Overview

Michaelene Sowinski’s connection to the law began before law school. More than 30 years ago she started her legal career as a law clerk for her brother, who is also an attorney, gaining early exposure to case preparation, client interaction, and the machinery of litigation. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Oakland University in 2004 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2008, developing a foundation in legal analysis and advocacy that she has spent the years putting to work for the people who needed it most.

Her legal career began on the plaintiff side. For the first 13 years of her practice, Michaelene represented individuals and families injured by medical negligence and automobile accidents, developing a deep knowledge of medical standards of care and the litigation techniques required to hold healthcare providers accountable. During that chapter she discovered that medical malpractice and nursing home negligence cases demanded something specific from an attorney: the ability to absorb complex clinical information, identify where care deviated from accepted standards, and translate both into terms a jury could evaluate and act on. That ability became the defining characteristic of her practice.

She later broadened that perspective substantially by crossing to the defense side, serving as an Executive Partner at Vandeveer Garzia, a Michigan firm with a significant focus on professional and healthcare liability defense. In that role she represented physicians, caregivers, hospitals, and insurance carriers in the same types of cases she had spent 13 years litigating on behalf of plaintiffs. That experience gave her a granular understanding of how healthcare defendants and their insurers build and present their defenses, which arguments they rely on most heavily, and where those arguments are most vulnerable to challenge. It is the kind of knowledge that cannot be acquired by reading case law. It comes from being the person constructing the defense.

Returning to plaintiff advocacy, Michaelene joined Olsman MacKenzie Peacock to resume the work she began her career doing, this time with the additional dimension of having operated at the highest level on the other side. She is admitted to practice before the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Court in addition to the State Bar of Michigan, reflecting the breadth of her practice reach. In 2025 she was invited to speak at the Attorney’s Resource Conference in Detroit, a gathering of personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys, nurse attorneys, and legal nurse consultants focused on the intersection of law and medicine, where her experience litigating healthcare cases from both perspectives made her a distinctive voice on the program.

Why Michigan Families Choose Michaelene Sowinski

Michigan medical malpractice and nursing home negligence cases are among the most procedurally demanding in civil litigation, and the procedural requirements exist before a complaint is ever filed. Under MCL 600.2912b, a plaintiff must provide written notice to each defendant healthcare provider at least 182 days before filing suit. Under MCL 600.2912d, a complaint must be accompanied by an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert attesting that the defendant’s conduct fell below the applicable standard of care. These requirements mean that the investigation Michaelene conducts before filing determines whether a case can proceed at all. Skipping steps or getting them wrong has consequences that cannot be corrected after the fact.

The affidavit of merit requirement also means that a plaintiff’s attorney must understand the clinical substance of the alleged deviation well enough to find and work with the right expert. Michaelene spent years on the defense side evaluating plaintiff experts, identifying weaknesses in their opinions, and building responses to them. She now applies that analytical lens in reverse, which means she vets experts with the same scrutiny she once used to cross-examine them, and she understands how defense counsel will challenge the opinions she presents.

In nursing home negligence cases, the Michigan Public Health Code (MCL 333.20101 et seq.) and the Adult Protective Services Act (MCL 400.11) establish the legal standards long-term care facilities are required to meet. When those standards are violated and a resident is harmed, the facility and its insurer mount defenses built on clinical complexity, prior conditions, and the argument that harm was an unavoidable consequence of the resident’s underlying health. Michaelene has built those defenses. She understands their architecture, and she knows where they hold and where they do not.

Michigan families bring cases to Michaelene involving:

• Medical malpractice by physicians, hospitals, surgeons, and other healthcare providers in Michigan
• Nursing home negligence including pressure ulcers, falls, medication errors, and wrongful death
• Automobile accidents and serious injury claims under Michigan’s no-fault system
• Nursing home abuse and neglect resulting in serious injury or death in long-term care facilities
• Claims arising within the jurisdiction of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Court

How I Serve Clients

I have spent my career on both sides of medical malpractice and negligence litigation, and the most important thing that experience has taught me is that people who have been harmed by a doctor, a hospital, or a care facility deserve an attorney who truly understands what happened to them and why it should not have. Getting that answer requires going into the medical records and doing the analytical work, not just sending them to an expert and hoping something sticks.

When a client comes to me, I start by listening. The story of what happened to them, told in their own words, tells me things the records often cannot. I then work through the clinical facts with the registered nurses on our team, who review records from the outset of every case. If the facts support a malpractice or negligence claim, I build the case with the seriousness it deserves, consulting the right experts and developing the theory of liability in a way that can withstand the scrutiny of defense counsel who are skilled and well-resourced.

If the investigation does not support a viable claim, I tell clients that honestly. In my experience, families who have been through a medical tragedy and cannot get answers from the people responsible are not always looking for a lawsuit. Sometimes they are looking for the truth. I take that seriously too, because clarity matters, even when the legal path forward is limited.

My goal in every case is the same: to give the client the best possible representation and the best possible outcome, whether that means a negotiated resolution, a trial, or simply a clear explanation of what happened and why. I do not treat cases as inventory. I treat them as the serious, life-altering matters they are.

Frequently Asked Questions: Michigan Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Negligence

What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Michigan?

Michigan’s medical malpractice statute of limitations is two years from the date of the alleged malpractice under MCL 600.5838a. However, the clock may be tolled in certain circumstances, including where the injured person did not discover the injury and could not reasonably have discovered it at the time it occurred. There is also an absolute outer limit of six years from the date of the act or omission in most cases, regardless of discovery. Because the applicable deadline depends on the specific facts of each case, families should consult an attorney as soon as they suspect that medical care caused a harm.

What is the 182-day notice requirement in Michigan medical malpractice cases?

Under MCL 600.2912b, a plaintiff must provide written notice of intent to file suit to each defendant healthcare provider at least 182 days before the complaint is filed. The notice must include a general description of the alleged malpractice and the resulting harm. During the 182-day notice period, the applicable statute of limitations is tolled, giving the plaintiff additional time. Failure to provide proper and timely notice can result in dismissal of the case. Because the notice period must be planned around the filing deadline, families should contact an attorney well before they believe the limitations period is approaching.

What is an affidavit of merit and why is it required in Michigan?

Under MCL 600.2912d, a Michigan medical malpractice complaint must be accompanied at the time of filing by an affidavit of merit signed by a qualified medical expert. The expert must practice in the same specialty as the defendant and attest that the defendant’s conduct fell below the applicable standard of care and caused the plaintiff’s injuries. If the affidavit does not meet the statutory requirements, the case can be dismissed. The affidavit requirement means that the clinical analysis of whether malpractice occurred must be completed before the lawsuit is filed, not after. Michaelene works with Olsman MacKenzie Peacock’s in-house registered nurses and qualified medical experts to complete that analysis at intake.

How does Michaelene’s experience on the defense side help plaintiff clients?

Having served as an executive partner at a Michigan firm specializing in professional and healthcare liability defense, Michaelene spent years building the arguments that healthcare defendants and their insurers rely on in medical malpractice and nursing home negligence cases. She knows how defense teams evaluate plaintiff expert opinions, what weaknesses they look for, and which factual and legal arguments they are most likely to raise. That experience is directly applicable to plaintiff work: she vets her own experts with the same critical eye defense counsel will apply, she anticipates the defenses that will be mounted and builds her case to withstand them, and she understands the institutional decision-making process that determines when and how defendants settle.

What is the difference between nursing home negligence and medical malpractice in Michigan?

In Michigan, the distinction between ordinary negligence and medical malpractice turns on whether the conduct at issue involved the exercise of professional medical judgment. Claims that do, such as a physician’s failure to diagnose a condition or a nurse’s administration of the wrong medication in a clinical context, are subject to the two-year malpractice limitations period and the pre-suit notice and affidavit requirements under MCL 600.5838a, MCL 600.2912b, and MCL 600.2912d.

Claims that do not, such as a nursing home’s failure to reposition a resident to prevent pressure ulcers, may be treated as ordinary negligence under a three-year limitations period. Correctly identifying which theory applies at the outset is essential and getting it wrong can result in a missed deadline or dismissal.

Can a family recover for a loved one’s wrongful death in a Michigan nursing home negligence case?

Yes. When a nursing home resident dies as a result of neglect or negligent care in Michigan, the personal representative of the estate may pursue a wrongful death claim under MCL 600.2922. Recoverable damages include medical and funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and damages for the loss of the society, companionship, and guidance of the deceased. Wrongful death claims arising from nursing home negligence require the same pre-suit investigation as other negligence claims, and the applicable statute of limitations runs from the date of death. Families should contact an attorney as soon as possible to ensure evidence is preserved and deadlines are tracked.

Does Michaelene handle automobile negligence cases in addition to medical malpractice?

Yes. Michaelene represents clients in automobile negligence cases in addition to her medical malpractice and nursing home negligence practice. Michigan’s no-fault system requires that injuries meet the serious impairment threshold under MCL 500.3135 before a tort claim against the at-fault driver can proceed. Michaelene evaluates that threshold at intake for every auto negligence case and works with medical experts to document the nature and extent of injuries in a way that supports both threshold and damages arguments.

What areas of Michigan does Michaelene Sowinski serve?

Michaelene Sowinski represents medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, and personal injury clients throughout the state of Michigan from Olsman MacKenzie Peacock’s Berkley office. The firm has a particular concentration in metro Detroit, Oakland County, Wayne County, and Macomb County, and also maintains offices in Lapeer and Battle Creek. She is also admitted to practice before the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Court for matters within that jurisdiction.

Contact Michaelene Sowinski for a Free Consultation

Individuals and families in Michigan dealing with the aftermath of medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, or a serious personal injury are encouraged to contact Michaelene Sowinski at Olsman MacKenzie Peacock for a free, no-obligation consultation. Michaelene can be reached at 1.800.366.8653.

To learn more, visit the firm’s medical malpractice resource center, the nursing home abuse and neglect resource center, or review medical malpractice settlement amounts in Michigan.