In October 2018, the decedent was 63 years old and suffered from hypertension, diabetes, renal disease requiring dialysis, and peripheral vascular disease. She had already been hospitalized for extended periods on multiple occasions during 2018 when she was admitted to Beaumont Hospital Farmington Hills for acute respiratory distress. The decedent had undergone multiple intubations, which led to a tracheostomy during her stay at Beaumont Hospital Farmington Hills. The decedent was transferred to Beaumont Royal Oak six days after this procedure, where her treatment included resumption of dialysis and weaning from ventilator-dependency.
Ten days into her admission to Beaumont Royal Oak, the decedent received dialysis, under the care of a registered nurse. During this treatment, the dialysis machine sounded multiple alerts because the decedent rolled on her side, blocking the catheter, and the nurse assisted the decedent in repositioning her on her back and asked the decedent to stay in that position. On the last of these occasions, the decedent was unresponsive when the nurse instructed her to lie on her back. The nurse’s notes in the medical record indicate that when she placed the decedent on her back, she found the decedent’s tracheostomy tube was dislodged, and that the decedent had no pulse and was not breathing. Emergency medical responders resuscitated the decedent, but she suffered a severe anoxic brain injury with no chance of neurologic recovery, and she died six months later.
The Michigan medical malpractice jury found that defendants were negligent, the negligence was a proximate cause of
the decedent’s death, and plaintiff sustained damages. The verdict form asked, “What is the total amount of economic damages (such as the reasonable expenses of necessary medical care and reasonable funeral and burial expenses) sustained by the Estate of Edith Grimes, deceased?” The jury answered with “$1,218,118.63,” and it awarded nothing in answer to separate questions concerning past and future noneconomic damages. The jury further determined that the decedent’s own negligence was a proximate cause of her death, and it allocated the comparative fault at 65% for defendants and 35% for the decedent.
Defendants then moved for remittitur or a new trial, arguing that the jury’s award was contrary to law because it exceeded the greatest amount substantiated by the evidence. Defendants contended that the record supported no more than approximately $12,000 in funeral and burial expenses, approximately $43,000 in lost gifts and gratuities, and, citing MCL 600.1482, $188,734.20 for the decedent’s medical care. Thus, defendants asserted, the highest amount of past economic damages corroborated by the record was approximately $240,000, such that the present circumstances warranted a remittitur or a new trial. The trial court denied defendants’ motion, and the defendants appealed.
The State of Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, stating in its October 28, 2025 opinion: “While the jury award in the present case matched the difference between the billed amount and the conditional payment total stated in the CMS letter, the verdict form provided only a single field for “total amount of economic damages,” and as in Shivers, 285 Mich at 654, defendants are “stuck with” the verdict form they drafted … the CMS letter itself is evidence of “[a]ny remaining dollar amount that the plaintiff is liable to pay for the medical care,” MCL 600.1482(2)(a)(ii). The letter detailed that there was $1.40 million in medical billings for the decedent’s care, and that Medicare identified approximately $190,000 in “conditional payments” as an “interim amount,” which would be “updated once [CMS] receive[d] settlement information.” Not only was this total provided with the cited disclaimer, but each individual medical charge is listed with a corresponding “conditional payment,” rather than a payment indicated as actually issued to or accepted by the medical providers. For those unfamiliar with this type of correspondence, there is little basis for determining who remained liable for any of the amounts listed, other than that the letter was addressed to the decedent. Moreover, defendants presented no evidence explaining why the decedent’s estate would not be responsible for such expenses. Although Medicare restricts providers from seeking patient balances after accepting its payment, the letter provides no indication that the interim “conditional payments” were actually tendered or accepted … the record in the present case supported the award of past economic damages of $1,218,118.63, particularly given the unrebutted CMS letter. Because the award fell reasonably within the range corroborated by the evidence, the award was not excessive.”
The Michigan appellate court concluded: “MCL 600.1482(1)(a) governs the post-verdict phase of medical malpractice cases, granting courts the authority to modify jury awards for damages. In the present case, the jury awarded all
potential economic damages as a consolidated lump sum. The evidence substantiated the plaintiff’s entitlement to the full amount awarded. Consequently, the trial court appropriately entered a judgment that aligned with the jury’s findings. Furthermore, the trial court rightly denied defendants’ motion for remittitur, determining that the jury’s award was justified and not excessive based on the available record.”
Source Estate of Edith Grimes v. Beaumont Health, COA No. 371767.
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