If you or a family member received burn treatment at the Hurley Medical Center Burn Unit, your medical records document the full severity of your injuries in precise clinical detail. Those records — burn depth assessments, total body surface area calculations, surgical logs, and rehabilitation notes — are critical evidence in a burn injury claim, and Michigan's 3-year statute of limitations means the time to act is now.
The Hurley Medical Center Burn Unit is the primary burn treatment resource for Flint and mid-Michigan. Operating within a Level I Trauma Center, Hurley is the destination for the most serious thermal, chemical, electrical, and inhalation injuries suffered by workers and residents across Genesee County, the Thumb, and the Saginaw Valley. When a burn is severe, patients from throughout the region are transferred here for resuscitation, debridement, skin grafting, and reconstruction.
A hospital-based burn unit produces the documentation a burn injury claim depends on. From admission forward, clinicians record burn depth, total body surface area involvement, the mechanism of injury, and the full course of surgical and rehabilitative treatment. That clinical record is often the most persuasive proof of how serious an injury was — and of the lifelong medical, functional, and psychological consequences a survivor faces.
Flint's history as a center of American automobile manufacturing shapes the burn injuries the unit treats. The region remains home to active vehicle assembly and engine operations along with a broad network of automotive suppliers, metal-processing plants, and industrial facilities. These environments produce burn hazards at industrial scale — and hazards frequently traceable to a negligent third party such as an equipment maker, chemical supplier, or contractor.
The Flint area's manufacturing base creates a broad range of serious burn hazards. Automotive assembly and engine work involve welding, stamping presses, paint and coating booths, curing ovens, and process chemicals. Metal-processing plants expose workers to molten metal and furnace accidents. Utilities, construction, and residential gas systems add further burn risk. Third-party liability is common because the equipment, chemicals, and contractors involved are frequently controlled by companies other than the injured worker's direct employer.
Michigan's Workers' Disability Compensation Act requires most employers to carry workers' compensation, and Michigan's rules give employers and their insurers significant control over an injured worker's medical care — in some cases directing you to their chosen providers. Workers' comp provides medical benefits and partial wage replacement but does not pay for pain and suffering, disfigurement, or the full economic value of a disabling burn, and it bars most suits against your direct employer.
Michigan law preserves your right to pursue those additional damages through a third-party civil claim against any other negligent party. Potential defendants include:
Michigan's statute of limitations for personal injury is 3 years from the date of injury under MCL § 600.5805, and product liability claims follow the same period. Michigan applies a modified comparative fault system with a 50% bar under MCL § 600.2959 — if you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing, so a thorough liability case is essential. Claims against government entities require a notice of intent well before the 3-year deadline. Michigan's No-Fault auto system also provides unlimited PIP medical benefits after a vehicle fire, with pain-and-suffering recovery available when the injury meets the serious-impairment threshold — which burns with scarring generally satisfy.
Records from a Level I burn unit provide the clinical detail on which damages presentations are built. Documentation from the Hurley Medical Center Burn Unit typically includes:
Your attorney will obtain these records with your written authorization and build your damages case around them. An experienced Michigan burn injury attorney knows how to read this documentation and how to identify the equipment makers, chemical suppliers, contractors, and property owners whose negligence caused your injury.
If your burn was caused by someone else's negligence — a hazardous worksite, defective equipment, a chemical manufacturer's failure to warn, a contractor's unsafe practices, or a property owner's dangerous conditions — you likely have a viable claim. Michigan lets burn victims pursue third-party civil claims alongside workers' compensation. Treatment at a Level I regional burn unit is strong evidence of injury severity. A free consultation will identify who is liable and what your claim may be worth. Call us or submit the form — no fee unless you win.
Michigan's statute of limitations for personal injury is 3 years from the date of injury under MCL § 600.5805, and product liability claims follow the same period. Claims against government entities require earlier notice. Early action is critical — surveillance video is overwritten, OSHA and safety records are destroyed after retention periods, and witnesses become unavailable. Contact an attorney as soon as you are medically able.
Yes. Under HIPAA and Michigan law you have the right to copies of your complete medical records. Submit a written authorization through the hospital's medical records department, or authorize your attorney to request them on your behalf — usually the most efficient approach when records are needed for litigation.
Get a free case review from a burn injury attorney familiar with Flint and mid-Michigan.
Michigan's 3-year statute of limitations means you cannot wait. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and witnesses become unreachable. Get your free review today and protect your rights.
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