Sommers Schwartz, PC

10/19/2026

An Oakland County jury returned a verdict of approximately $14.2 million for a Novi mother of three who was left disabled after a hospital failed to recognize that she was having a stroke.

She arrived at the emergency room unable to speak or stand. She was treated for a urinary tract infection, and her stroke went unrecognized for hours. By the time it was diagnosed, the window for the clot-dissolving drug t-PA had closed, and she was left with permanent physical and cognitive impairments.

Congratulations to Ken Watkins and Sara Mićković, who tried this case in a county where verdicts against healthcare providers are hard to come by. Read the full story: https://www.sommerspc.com/blog/2026/10/kenneth-watkins-and-sara-mickovic-secure-14-2-million-jury-verdict-in-oakland-county-stroke-misdiagnosis-lawsuit/

10/13/2026

Sommers Schwartz Senior Shareholder Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller and attorney Megan Bonanni filed a notice of intent to sue on behalf of a woman who was s*xually assaulted by Dr. Arpit Saxena, a former MSU doctor, during a medical appointment. The Detroit Free Press reported on the filing, which argues that MSU could have prevented the alleged assault through proper hiring, supervision, monitoring and oversight of Saxena. Saxena faces criminal s*xual conduct charges after being arrested while attempting to flee to the country.

“I've seen it time and time again," Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller said. "I've had a number of cases with doctors abusing women, and in the vast, vast majority, our minds as human beings try to protect us, try to justify it as being normal, what was indicated and what was needed. ... You don't think this could possibly happen to you.”

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/10/3rd-woman-details-s*x-assault-allegations-msu-policy-shifts/92022273007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119725p115450l205050c115450e1114xxv119725d--41--b--41--&gca-ft=197&gca-ds=sophi

10/12/2026

Sommers Schwartz Serves recently came together to prepare bagged lunches for Another Day Resource Center, a nonprofit that provides food, clothing, and other essentials to individuals in need.

We are proud to continue supporting this important organization and grateful to our team members for helping make this effort possible. Read more: https://www.sommerspc.com/blog/2026/10/sommers-schwartz-serves-helping-another-day-resource-center-lend-a-hand-to-those-in-need/

10/09/2026

In 2022, a client was wrongfully held in the Genesee County jail for three months. The officers told him he had a federal hold, when no such hold existed. Last week, a federal judge ruled that four Genesee County Jail deputies are not entitled to qualified immunity and allowed a claim against Genesee County to proceed, citing evidence that jail staff received no specific training on federal holds.

Sommers Schwartz Senior Shareholder Matthew Turner, who represents the client, was featured in MLive’s coverage of the ruling:

“Our client posted his bond and should have gone home in two days. Instead, a federal hold that never existed kept him in the Genesee County Jail for three more months on two charges that were both dismissed. The court has now said the deputies involved can’t claim immunity, and the county will have to answer for how it trained them. We look forward to a jury hearing this case,” Matt said.

Read more: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2026/10/judge-rules-genesee-county-jail-staff-may-be-liable-in-wrongful-detention-case.html

10/08/2026

Sommers Schwartz attorneys Jesse Young and Kevin Stoops secured a $3.8 million settlement on behalf of FCA US employees in a collective action involving alleged unpaid overtime wages.

The lawsuit alleged that FCA failed to properly calculate employees’ regular rate of pay and overtime rates under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Learn more about the case and Sommers Schwartz’s work protecting employee rights: https://www.sommerspc.com/verdicts/3-8-million-settlement-for-unpaid-overtime-wages-in-violation-of-the-fair-labor-standards-act/

10/02/2026

A new federal lawsuit against Interlochen Center for the Arts alleges that a 14-year-old student experienced s*xual assault and harassment by fellow students and a teacher during the 2024-25 school year, and that school administrators retaliated against her after she reported the alleged conduct.

Sommers Schwartz Senior Shareholder Matthew G. Curtis, who represents numerous former Interlochen students who have accused faculty members of abuse, was quoted in Michigan Advance about the new lawsuit and what its allegations mean in light of the school’s history:

“Interlochen has spent the past several months telling the public it has reformed the systems that allowed decades of abuse to occur on its campus. A new lawsuit, filed within weeks of that public messaging campaign, describes the same pattern the school claims to have fixed,” Matt said.

Read more: https://michiganadvance.com/2026/09/24/new-lawsuit-alleges-s*xual-misconduct-retaliation-against-14-year-old-at-interlochen-arts-school/

09/30/2026

Sommers Schwartz Senior Shareholder Andy Dragovic represents the family of a former deputy intelligence officer at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in a wrongful death lawsuit and spoke with Military.com about the family’s concerns about the handling of the criminal case against the defendant and the relationship between the prosecutor and driver:

“What we found was evidence of at least, at a minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest. ... This relationship extended well beyond Davidson's election to office, right before he became a prosecutor,” Andy said.

Now they’re asking the Michigan AG to investigate.

Read more: https://www.military.com/dod-officials-family-seeks-investigation-into-prosecutors-ties-to-the-driver-who-killed-her

09/28/2026

“The Pitt” has drawn attention for its realistic portrayal of the pressure and uncertainty inside a busy emergency room. But what happens when a real-life ER mistake causes serious harm?

Missed symptoms, delayed testing, medication errors, communication breakdowns, and sending a patient home too soon can all raise questions about whether the appropriate standard of care was provided.

Our latest blog looks at what “The Pitt” gets right about emergency medicine and when an ER mistake may become medical malpractice in Michigan.

Read the blog:

“The Pitt” has drawn new attention to what happens inside an emergency department (ED/ER). Emergency rooms create a sense of urgency, anxiety, and loss of

09/25/2026

Senior Shareholder Tad T. Roumayah spoke with Michigan Lawyers Weekly about a new Michigan Court of Appeals ruling holding that community college employees' discrimination and retaliation claims are not subject to the Court of Claims Act's one-year notice requirement. Tad said the decision shuts down a procedural tactic defense counsel have used to avoid civil rights claims.

Roumayah explained that since Christie v. Wayne State University, defense counsel have aggressively used that one-year notice requirement to avoid civil rights claims on procedural grounds. This ruling forecloses that tactic for community college employees, a significant category of Michigan public employees.

Read more here: https://milawyersweekly.com/news/2026/09/22/michigan-community-college-discrimination-claims/

09/23/2026

Union support is at a 50-year high, but employers don't always welcome unionization efforts. Can employers punish or fire workers for trying to bring unions to their workplaces? Federal and state laws protect workers from and when they participate in unions or try to unionize their workplaces.

Michigan played a key role in the American labor movement during the mid-20th century. Demonstrations like the Flint Sit-Down Strike in 1936-1937 forced