Corboy & Demetrio

Corboy & Demetrio Overview

Corboy & Demetrio, founded by nationally acclaimed personal injury trial attorneys Philip H. Corboy and Thomas A. Demetrio, is one of the nation’s leading plaintiff personal injury and civil trial practice law firms.

We represent individuals and their families in personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from airplane, railroad and mass transit disasters, construction accidents and negligence, medical malpractice, failed products, car accidents, truck accidents, and premises liability. Our work also includes business and commercial litigation.

We are extremely proud of our extraordinary history. We have acquired nearly $4 billion in settlements and verdicts, of which nearly 600 are in excess of $1 million.

We are even more excited about our future. Our highly successful, talented, experienced, and creative trial attorneys, our dedicated, bright, supportive and hard-working management team and staff, and our state of the art technology ensure that our clients will continue to receive the best legal services possible.

Throughout our history, we have fought against some of the largest and most powerful corporations, hospitals, manufacturers, insurance conglomerates, construction companies, national trucking firms and municipalities in the world. They include Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines, Hyatt Corporation, Amoco Oil, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the University of Chicago Hospitals, State Farm, Allstate, Turner Construction and Schneider National Trucking. And we have been successful in holding them accountable for the injuries and deaths that have occurred because of their actions.

Our firm has secured recording-setting verdicts and settlements against these and other defendants in all types of cases, including: airplane crashes; work place injuries; defective products; birth injuries; car crashes; medical malpractice; railroad accidents and other catastrophic events.

In one such record-setting case, a $25.2 million settlement for the death of a passenger in the US Air jet crash outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the largest compensatory damages recovery ever awarded for the death of a person in an aviation wrongful death action. The previous record - a $25 million settlement in a case stemming from the 1989 crash of a United Airlines jet in Sioux City, Iowa - was one also set by our firm.

Our attorneys tried a case on behalf of a 25 year old who was rendered a quadriplegic after a semi-trailer truck struck her car on Thanksgiving morning that resulted in a $22 million verdict that became the largest jury award ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. We also acquired a total of $40 million for a woman injured in a car collision and her husband: $34 million for the woman and $6 million for her husband for the loss of his wife’s companionship. Both awards were record-setting.

In a case where a mother died shortly after giving birth because the doctor and nurse failed to properly treat her high blood pressure, Corboy & Demetrio attorneys secured a record-setting jury verdict of $22 million. It is the largest verdict ever for the death of a woman in Cook County, Illinois.

In addition to our extraordinary success on behalf of our clients, our work has affected public policy, raised public awareness, and improved public safety.

When the country was fearful of taking any over the counter medicine because of the tampering with Tylenol, our firm negotiated a settlement on the eve of trial with Johnson & Johnson, the product’s manufacturer, that led to regulations requiring tamper-resistant packaging on all over-the-counter medicines.

The attorneys at Corboy & Demetrio prosecuted two separate cases where innocent drivers were seriously injured at the same dangerous intersection. As a result of the substantial awards - over $30 million - and the public outcry that resulted from the horrible injuries needlessly suffered, the State of Illinois completely reconfigured the intersection and the adjoining roads to prevent further injuries to innocent victims.

Using a cell phone while driving is a very dangerous practice. After our firm was hired to represent a street crossing guard who was injured when a motorist hit her while talking on a cell phone, the attorneys handling the case became actively involved in persuading the Chicago City Council to enact a ban on using a cell phone while driving. Chicago was one of the first major municipalities to enact the ban.

Our attorneys are a truly exceptional group of lawyers. Thirteen - the larget number of attorneys for any Illinois personal injury law firm - have been chosen by peer review for inclusion in the Leading Lawyers Network, which recognizes the top five percent of all Illinois lawyers. In addition, eleven partners have been recognized as "Super Lawyers," an honor given to only the very best lawyers by other Illinois attorneys. Four of our youngest attorneys have been selected as "Rising Stars," the state’s top up-and-coming attorneys.

Corboy & Demetrio is the only Chicago law firm to include four former Chicago Bar Association Presidents. They are: Philip H. Corboy, Thomas A. Demetrio, Rene A. Torrado and Michael K. Demetrio. It is also the only law firm to have four attorneys serve as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, namely Philip H. Corboy, Thomas A. Demetrio, Robert J. Bingle and the current President, Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr.

Attorneys at Corboy & Demetrio lecture across the country on civil litigation issues and trial techniques and have held national, state, and local legal leadership positions. They actively participate in continuing legal education programs and regularly share trial skills and knowledge of substantive law with audiences of lawyers, law students, professional associations and medical groups. Our lawyers are also frequent authors of scholarly, editorial and legal articles in law journals, bar publications, continuing legal education manuals, medical or trade group journals and local and national newspapers.

In addition to being renowned for our achievements in the courtroom, we are also renowned for our contributions to the community. We have established and funded scholarships, fellowships and endowments at local and national mentoring programs, high schools, and universities, including all six Chicago law schools. Our partners, associates and office staff contribute by serving on Boards, raising funds, tutoring and lending a hand wherever needed for a variety of charities and nonprofit organizations.

Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr., is a past-president of the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, a not-for-profit agency that provides free civil legal services to low income and elderly people in Chicago and suburban Cook County. We also support Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s internship program by employing four students, and in 2006, the firm established a pro bono department, which helps the indigent and elderly with legal matters that affect their day-to-day quality of life.

Year this Office was Established: 1952

Languages: English, Spanish

Corboy & Demetrio Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: Aviation Litigation; Construction Law; Mass Tort: Class Action Lawsuit; Drug Liability; Medical Devices Liability; International Aviation Law; Aviation Accidents; Contract Disputes; Securities Litigation; Antitrust Litigation; RICO Litigation; Contractors Liability; Construction Defects; Construction Litigation; Dentist, Doctor, Hospital, Nurse, Pharmacist & Therapist Malpractice; Healthcare Litigation; Hospital Liability; Insurance Malpractice; Pediatric Malpractice; Taxi Accident; Discrimination Litigation; Nursing Home Litigation; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Apartment Building Injury; Porch/Deck/Railing Collapse; Commercial/Store Injury; Property Damage; Residential Injury; Drug Product Liability; Food Products Liability; Warranty Law.

Corboy & Demetrio Areas of Law Description

Corboy & Demetrio offers legal representation and services in the following areas of practice:

- Aviation Litigation

Our successful and skilled aviation team has experience in all areas of aviation cases - pilot negligence, airline liability, manufacturers’ negligence, suppliers’ liability, government liability, jurisdictional issues, and liability apportionment.

Our skilled and experienced aviation team uses its extensive resources, experts, and scientific investigation to determine the true causes of an aviation incident and to establish the appropriate theories to maximize fair and full compensation for our clients.

- Commercial Litigation

While our traditional litigation base is centered on plaintiffs' personal injury trial work, Corboy & Demetrio also handles commercial litigation cases on a contingency basis. Our practice includes litigation in the area of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, stockholder disputes and securities litigation.

- Construction Negligence

Unsafe methods and practices used at construction and building sites can lead to serious injuries or deaths. When that happens, questions of liability often arise. At Corboy & Demetrio, with over 50 years of experience on hundreds of cases, our team of attorneys uses their extensive resources, experts and scientific investigation to learn the true cause for the injuries or death and determine the parties responsible. Our work in this area on behalf of our clients has been highly successful.

- Medical Malpractice

Corboy & Demetrio lawyers have represented hundreds of individuals injured or killed as the result of negligent treatment by doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other health-care individuals and facilities.

- Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

As one of the nation's top personal injury law firms, Corboy & Demetrio attorneys and lawyers have been practicing plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death litigation for over 50 years. We have represented victims and their families in the most complex and serious cases arising from the negligence of others.

Our highly acclaimed personal injury attorneys and lawyers represent plaintiffs who have been injured or killed:

* in an airplane or helicopter crash;
* by the medical malpractice of doctors, nurses, hospitals;
* in car, truck, bus, cab, ambulance, police car, motorcycle crashes;
* by defective, unsafe, hazardous products;
* in businesses, homes, offices that are unsafe and dangerous;
* by a train, Metra train, CTA train, dangerous and unsafe railroad crossings;
* while on a construction site;
* and in all other areas of personal injury.

- Premises Liability

Our skilled and successful attorneys have experience in all areas of premises liability. We combine that exceptional experience with a deep commitment, dedication, and compassion for our clients, a relentless drive to achieve justice, and the resources necessary to pursue such serious cases. Our work has resulted in outstanding results for our clients and many record-setting settlements and verdicts.

- Product Liability

We combine our exceptional experience with a deep commitment, dedication, and compassion for our clients, a relentless drive to achieve justice, and the resources necessary to pursue such serious and often expensive cases. Our work has resulted in fair and full compensation for our clients.

- Railroad Negligence & FELA

Our skilled attorneys have the expertise required in all areas of railroad negligence. That exceptional experience, combined with a deep commitment, dedication and compassion and a relentless drive to achieve justice and fair and full compensation, has resulted in outstanding verdicts and settlements for our clients.

- Vehicular Negligence

At Corboy & Demetrio, we promptly and thoroughly investigate automobile, motorcycle, bus, bicycle, taxi, truck and other vehicular collisions to determine fault and assess liability. Our skilled and highly experienced attorneys work with injured individuals and their families to help them secure fair and full compensation for their loss and injuries.

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More Information on Corboy & Demetrio

Airplane Crash Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Lawyers
Chicago, Illinois Medical Malpractice Law Firm
Chicago, IL Railroad, Mass Transit Attorneys
Construction Negligence Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois
Truck Accident Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois
Product Liability Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois
Corboy & Demetrio Blog
Corboy & Demetrio News and Publications