This resource hub is dedicated to advancing patient safety and transparency in medical care through Brianne's Law: The Patient Transparency and Safety Act.
Brianne's Law was created in memory of Officer Brianne Carlson, who served the City of Detroit for nine years with integrity, courage, and an unwavering commitment to truth. When she was diagnosed with metastatic cervical cancer, she fought with that same strength. As walking became more difficult, she continued to show up to appointments. If she had to move, she did, even when it meant crawling. She trusted her doctors to be honest with her, and she believed she was being treated.
Brianne knew her cancer was metastatic. She knew it was serious. From the beginning, she was told it was treatable, with radiation and chemotherapy presented as active options. In July, when she asked her oncologist directly if she was going to die, she was told that while it was possible, he did not foresee that happening. At one point, the word remission was used.
What Brianne did not know was that her condition was deteriorating, that treatment was no longer working, and that multiple clinicians were privately documenting a poor prognosis while continuing to tell her she was still treatable.
Between September 8 and September 18, that silence cost her everything.
Brianne did not die because there was nothing left to do. She died because critical information was withheld, capacity was not protected, infection was not fully addressed, and hospice was delayed until the very end.
This was not inevitable. The loss of choice was.
These resources empower patients and caregivers with knowledge about their rights, safety strategies, and advocacy tools—so that what happened to Brianne doesn't happen to others.
This site contains in-depth resources. You do not need to read everything.
Brianne's Law is proposed legislation that would transform patient safety protections in Michigan by requiring: