EMILY GRACE THOMAS, J.D.

Birth Justice Attorney Emily Thomas

“Emily is an inspiring lawyer with a purpose. Her expertise comes in birth injury cases and she is well experienced in handling lawsuits related to birth trauma caused by medical errors and malpractice. Our family was blessed to have her walk us though the legal process that was foreign to us at the time. She worked 24/7 and was never too busy to answer all our questions. We absolutely loved working with her!

Emily upheld great ethical and professional manners throughout and was honest and trustworthy. We felt that we were in good hands throughout the process. We wish Emily Thomas much strength to serve other families that deserve better outcomes, and shine a light to their lives, just as she did with ours.”

—Satisfied Client

Emily’s Story

Emily Thomas focused her legal career on aiding clients with special needs and disabilities. Her first interaction between the law and injury occurred while in high school, when her mother became disabled.

Based on her personal experiences and those of her clients, Emily believes that the judicial system often seems complex and intimidating to people with special needs and disabilities. Her goal is to help clients with special needs understand their rights and their case.

Prior to college, Emily assisted traumatic brain injured individuals with their financial, healthcare and legal matters. She continued to assist the disabled during law school helping represent clients before administrative law judges in Social Security disability cases.

Following graduation from law school and admission to the Michigan Bar, Emily began her career as an attorney at a leading medical malpractice firm investigating birth trauma cases. During Emily’s years of practice, she assisted in obtaining numerous multi-million dollar results.

Emily co-authored many articles on birth trauma and medical malpractice litigation. She is frequently invited to speak locally and nationally on birth injury and medical malpractice.

Over the course of her career, Emily drafted appeals to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Emily also is involved in drafting amicus briefs to the Supreme Court of Michigan regarding cases of importance to the clients she serves.

In the state of Michigan, Emily currently serves on the Supreme Court Committee regarding Civil Jury Instructions, and the State Bar Negligence Section Council.

Emily actively participates in a number of other local and national professional organizations with a focus to benefiting her clients. She is active in the American Association for Justice, where she is a member of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group and a past Chair of the Professional Negligence Section. Moreover, Emily is a member of the Michigan Association for Justice, where she serves as Vice Chair of the Women’s Law Caucus, and past Chair of the New Lawyers Division. She is also a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, where she is past Chair of the Medical Legal Committee and a past Associate of the Inn of Court. Emily is also an active participant in the Women Lawyer’s Association of Michigan, where she was a featured member of the Oakland County Women’s Bar Association Chapter in February 2023.

In 2010, Emily received the Wayne Law Bacow Scholarship for high ethical and professional standards. She is a proud member of Zonta International, a global nonprofit dedicated to advocacy for women and girls.

How can I serve you?

I am a reflection of where I come from — being a caregiver and family member to those with disabilities, I work hard to be the voice for those who are unable to speak for themselves. My career is dedicated to serving victims of medical negligence who suffered life-altering injuries and disabilities. Given my personal experiences as a caregiver, I understand the everyday challenges that those with special needs and disabilities face. I fight everyday to get my clients the support and care that they need after suffering preventable injury.

A majority of my career as an attorney was spent representing children with disabilities and special needs in medical malpractice and birth injury cases. Welcoming a new baby into the world is one of the most precious moments in life. Pregnant mothers and their babies are entitled to appropriate medical care. Their safety during the most pivotal moment in life should be ensured. Any patient placing their trust in a caregiver to use their knowledge, training and experience to provide appropriate care, deserves to have their trust upheld.

I am a peer to all of the families that I represent. I see in them myself and my loved ones, and I am compelled to let them know that their voices should be heard. Fighting for injured people in the courtroom is my calling. I am emboldened that through the courts that I can make a difference for my clients: for women, for children, and for the safety of patients everywhere. Through the civil justice system I believe litigants and jurors can take steps to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and to build a better world.

Representative Cases

Below are results that Emily has helped to obtain:

  • $42 million judgment for birth injury as a result of mismanaged maternal infection resulting in cerebral palsy, brain damage, developmental delays, and learning disabilities

  • $9 million settlement for birth injury due to mismanaged uterine rupture and untimely delivery leading to cerebral palsy & HIE

  • $7.5 million for failure to timely transfuse following blood loss, leading to kidney & brain injury

  • $7 million for failure to timely monitor and deliver following signs and symptoms of placental abruption

  • $6.5 million for a baby brain injured as a result of medical negligence

  • $5 million settlement for birth injury from untreated maternal infection, leading to mild to moderate cognitive delays, learning disabilities, and cerebral palsy

  • $5 million settlement for birth injury resulting in Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and cerebral palsy caused by the failure to properly monitor premature baby and to act on signs of brain dysfunction and impending respiratory failure

  • $4.75 million settlement for birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and developmental delays due to the misdiagnosis of fetal age, the failure to recognize and manage preeclampsia and fetal distress, and a delayed cesarean section

  • $4.5 million settlement for birth injury resulting in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy caused by overventilation

  • $3.85 million settlement for birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy from HIE caused by the failure to act when signs of IUGR, chronic oxygen deprivation, and fetal distress were present; and a delayed C-section delivery

Education

Awards

  • State Bar of Michigan Negligence Section Board Legacy & Impact Award, 2024

  • Selected for “Rising Stars”by Super Lawyers Magazine: 2014-2024

  • New Lawyer’s Division Excellence Award, American Association for Justice: 2020-2021

  • “Million Dollar Verdicts and Settlements” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly: 2019, 2020

  • Featured in the “Best Lawyers In America,”S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers” for Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs: 2018 & 2019

  • Selected for “Top Rated Lawyer in Medical Malpractice” by The American Lawyer and Martindale-Hubbell™: 2017

  • 2016 Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award Finalist

  • Selected as an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly: 2015

  • Distinguished in Michigan Lawyers Weekly‘s “Up & Coming” Lawyers: 2015

  • Selected as an “MAJ Pacesetter” by the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ): 2014

  • Wayne Law School Moot Court Competition Semi-Finalist: 2011

  • Wayne Law School Bacow Scholarship for High Ethical & Professional Standards: 2010

Bar Admissions

  • State Bar of Michigan, 2012-Present

  • United States Supreme Court, 2017-Present

Affiliations

Activities & Charities

Speeches and Publications

Lectures & Seminars

  • Speaker: “Birth Injury Basics” - Ohio Association for Justice, Annual Convention: Cleveland, Ohio - November 10, 2023.

  • Speaker: “DICOM & Other EMR Data” - American Association for Justice Electronic Medical Records Webinar, June 12, 2023.

  • Speaker: “From the Horse’s Mouth: Proving Standard of Care & Causation in Birth Injury Cases” - American Association for Justice Annual Convention, July 19, 2022.

  • Speaker: “Keeping it Simple: Presenting Medical Evidence to the Jury” - Minnesota Association for Justice Seminar, November 19, 2021.

  • Speaker: “New E-Discovery rules and what they mean for your clients” - Michigan State Bar Negligence Law Section Rules Seminar, November 18, 2019.

  • Speaker: “Shrinking Damages: Insurance Attacks on Future Damages” – Professional Negligence CLE Seminar, AAJ Annual Convention, July 10, 2018.

  • Organizer: Emily Thomas co-organized an Oakland County Bar Association seminar examining the impact of opioid and heroin abuse in Michigan. May 4, 2017.

  • Speaker: “Millennials in Medical Malpractice: Learning the Ropes” – Michigan Association for Justice Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar, Dec. 2, 2016.

  • Moderator: “Advanced Depositions Strategies and Practice” – Michigan Association for Justice, October 23, 2015.

Publications

  • Author, “Mr. Rogers Said We Are Special: Millennial Jurors Are Here to Help” State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section Newsletter, Summer 2018.

  • Co-Author, “Understanding Fetal Monitoring Evidence,” American Association for Justice Trial Magazine. May, 2018.

  • Co-Author, “Timing Hypoxic-Ischemic Fetal Brain Injury,” Michigan Bar Journal. January, 2018.

  • Author: “Dep Prep: Advice for New Lawyers: On-the-Job Training,” the American Association for Justice Trial Magazine. August, 2017

  • Co-Author, “Using MRI to Evaluate Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) in Term Infants” American American Association for Justice (AAJ) Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Newsletter. July, 2017

  • Co-Author, “Management of Category II Fetal Heart Tracings: Timing Delivery to Avoid HIE,” American Association for Justice Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, February 2017.

  • Co-Author, “Averting Pre-Term Birth: The Right Care Gives the Best Results,” American Association for Justice Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, July 2016.

  • Co-Author, “ACOG Replaced the Friedman Curve with Unproven Guidelines: Is Lowering the Caesarean Rate Worth the Rise in Birth Trauma?,” American Association for Justice Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, Feb. 2016.

  • Co-Author, “HIE and the Myth of Pre-Existing Injury,” American Association for Justice Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, July 2015.

  • Co-Author, “How ACOG Broadened the Definition of HIE: A Comparison of the NEACP and NEANO,” American Association for Justice Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter, July 2014.

  • Co-Author, “The Hidden Dangers of Overventilation,” published in the Birth Trauma Litigation Group Newsletter for February, 2014.

  • Co-Author, “The Sole Check on Harm: How Medical Malpractice Actions Contribute to the Health Care Economy & Improve Patient Quality of Care,” Lawyers As Economic Drivers – The Business Case for Legal Services, March 13, 2012.

  • Author, “Why Join A Bar Association,” Wayne Law Dicta, January 2011.