Opinion
358988
12-22-2022
KAREN STEWART-HINKLEY, Individually and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF HAYDEN RAYMOND TIMOTHY HINKLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MCLAREN HEALTHCARE CORPORATION, MCLAREN MEDICAL GROUP, MCLAREN GREATER LANSING, and AMY FEDERICO, Defendants-Appellees.
UNPUBLISHED
Ingham Circuit Court LC No. 19-000815-NH
Before: PATEL, P.J., and CAMERON and LETICA, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
In this medical malpractice action under the wrongful-death act, the trial court erroneously dismissed plaintiff's claim for Hayden Hinkley's lost earnings. The trial court ignored this Court's established precedent, Denney v Kent Co Road Comm, 317 Mich.App. 727, 731-732; 896 N.W.2d 808 (2016) and, instead, relied on Baker v Slack, 319 Mich. 703; 30 N.W.2d 403 (1948), which "has clearly been overruled or superseded, and . . .was no longer 'good law' long before this Court decided Denney." In re Jumaa Estate, ___ Mich.App. ___; ___ N.W.2d ___ (2022); slip op at 4.
Although lost earnings are not expressly listed in MCL 600.2922(6) as a category of damages recoverable under the wrongful-death statute, the Denney Court explained that the Legislature's use of the word "including" reflects an intent "to permit the award of any type of damages, economic and noneconomic, deemed justified by the facts of the particular case." Denney, 317 Mich.App. at 731-732 (quotation marks and citations omitted). Accordingly, "damages for lost earnings are allowed under the wrongful death statute." Id. at 732. Because our Supreme Court has not overturned Denney or the relevant legal principle therein, it is controlling. MCR 7.215(J)(1); Jumaa, ___ Mich.App. at ___; slip op at 3-4. Pursuant to Denney, plaintiff may recover damages for Hayden's lost earnings to the same extent that Hayden could have recovered those damages if he had survived. Jumaa, ___ Mich.App. at ___; slip op at 4.
We reverse the trial court's order granting defendants' motion to preclude recovery of Hayden's lost earnings and remand the case for proceedings in accordance with this opinion. We do not retain jurisdiction.