Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget
by Jo Ellen Knott
Legal payouts by the Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) more than doubled in fiscal year 2025, reaching over $7 million in settlements and court judgments.
Despite the sharp increase from the previous year, civil rights attorneys point out that the sum represents a very small amount of the agency’s operating budget of $2.15 billion. The settlement amounts add up to less than one percent of the agency’s budget (0.33%).
The bulk of the FY 2025 total stemmed from three major cases: $2.3 million awarded in Darrin Rushing v. MDOC over disability discrimination following a prisoner attack, and nearly $3.9 million split across claims tied to 2022 fatal stabbings at Macomb Correctional Facility. The DOC declined to comment on the figures.
Detroit-based civil rights attorney Jon Marko emphasized that with the DOC operating on a $2 billion-plus budget, $7 million remains a “drop in the bucket.” Marko noted that because Michigan self-insures rather than purchasing commercial liability coverage, paying settlements directly costs taxpayers significantly less than third-party insurance premiums for housing thousands of prisoners across dozens of facilities. Furthermore, the $7 million figure is vastly lower than past totals, such as the $33.9 million paid out in FY 2021–22.
By comparison, prison liability payouts vary wildly across similar-sized states depending on risk management structures. North Carolina, with a similar population, typically incurs lower annual tort payouts due to strict caps on statutory damages. See: the North Carolina Tort Claims Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-291 et seq.). Conversely, Pennsylvania often sees higher annual liability totals due to extensive class-action litigation over healthcare and overcrowding.
Source: Michigan Public
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