Applying Republican standard set by Michigan Supreme Court, case is dismissed because complete notice not in the proper form
Rodney Lee Sober attempted to sue the Jackson County Medical Care Facility after he was injured by a falling lamp post. The court determined that he gave all the statutorily required information to the H.R. representative of the governmental facility, however, the judges dismissed his injury claim. Until the Republican majority assumed control of the Michigan Supreme Court, a statutory notice was adequate if it substantially complied with the notice required under the governmental immunity statutes, and also provided the governmental entity was not prejudiced by any lack of notice.
A Republican majority of the Court has since overturned that standard, however, and the new standard was applied to Sober's case. Under the new [Republican] standard, since all of the infomation was turned over to the risk manager of the facility orally and not served on an officer in writing, the notice was inadequate and Sober's claim was permanently dismissed. It is irrelevant under the new standard that the facility did, in fact, receive all of the required information within 120 days of the injury, as required, and suffered no prejudice.