Michigan Mother’s Fight for Justice Takes Another Devastating Turn After Lawyer Loses $660,000 Settlement Funds

Nearly 10 years after losing her three-year-old daughter in a tragic school accident, a Michigan mother is facing another painful battle. The attorney who represented her family in a wrongful-death lawsuit has been disbarred after a disciplinary case involving more than $659,000 that was supposed to go to the children.

Tabatha Kerr’s daughter, Lilliana Kerr, died on January 20, 2017, after a heavy cafeteria table fell on her at a Head Start program inside St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

The three-year-old had been playing in the gymnasium when the approximately 350-pound table fell from its wall-mounted storage position, fatally injuring her.

Her family later filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against several organizations connected to the facility. The case resulted in a reported $2.5 million settlement.

But the legal battle did not end with the settlement.

Nearly $660,000 never reached the children

According to reporting by WDIV, the settlement included money designated for Lilliana’s surviving siblings. Those funds were supposed to be protected and distributed under court orders.

However, the children never received their designated shares.

The attorney who handled the case, Gregory Rohl, was disbarred effective October 1, 2026, following a disciplinary proceeding. He pleaded no contest to allegations involving the misappropriation and failure to distribute court-ordered settlement funds.

The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board ordered him to pay $659,821.44 in restitution, along with $1,446.14 in costs.

The disciplinary findings also addressed allegations that Rohl made false statements about his involvement with and handling of the money.

Rohl, who told reporters he was recovering from a stroke, disputed knowingly taking money from any client. He said a now-deceased business partner and office manager had handled the firm’s finances and that he had trusted that person.

He acknowledged that the account was in his name and that he was ultimately responsible for the loss.

A mother who refuses to stop fighting

For Tabatha Kerr, the latest development has reopened wounds that never fully healed.

She told WDIV that the years following her daughter’s death have been filled with grief, frustration and repeated attempts to obtain accountability.

Her efforts have extended beyond the legal case. Kerr has spent years advocating for proposed legislation known as Lilliana’s Law, which aims to strengthen school safety requirements in Michigan.

The proposal would require regular health and safety inspections at school facilities and establish a statewide system for recording safety incidents.

Kerr has collected more than 32,000 signatures in support of the effort and compiled hundreds of pages of research documenting potential safety risks in schools.

Her campaign is driven by the belief that no other family should experience the kind of loss her family endured.

Lilliana is survived by her twin sister and older brother. Her mother continues to remember her while fighting for changes intended to protect other children.

Almost a decade after the little girl’s death, the family is still seeking answers—not only about the accident that took her life, but also about what happened to the money that was supposed to help her surviving siblings.