A Longer Road to Finality: Michigan Supreme Court Restores NOI Tolling in Wrongful-Death Medical Malpractice Claims

For medical malpractice defendants, Ernest requires a more careful limitations analysis at the outset of any wrongful-death claim. A complaint filed outside the two-year period following issuance of the first letters of authority can no longer be presumed untimely because an NOI given during that period may toll the filing deadline under MCL 600.5856. Ernest therefore eliminates a limitations defense that had been available under Waltz for more than two decades.