Michigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 419. Miscellaneous Labor Laws § 419.51

Sec. 1. Every common carrier railroad company in this state shall be liable to any of its employees, or, in case of his or her death, to his or her personal representative for the benefit of his or her spouse and children, if any; if none, then for his or her parents; if none, then for his or her next of kin, for all damages which may result from the negligence of the railroad company or from the negligence of any of its officers, agents, or employees, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency due to the negligence of the common carrier railroad company in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, road bed, works, boats, wharves, coal docks, or other equipment.