Union Workers' Compensation Lawyers

Thomas A. Kelliher is an expert litigator who has first-chaired 30 trials during the course of his profession. When involved in defense work for the city of Chicago, Tom won 90 percent of the 29 cases he tried to jury verdict. And since Tom started representing injured plaintiffs, he has won many jury verdicts in excess of $1 million for his clients. Born in Santa Monica, Calif., Tom graduated from high school in Arlington, Va., before going to the University of Virginia and The John Marshall Law School. He now resides in Westchester and enjoys golf, barbecuing and spending time with...

Mitchell Horwitz has devoted his entire working career to workers’ compensation matters, including arbitrations and settlement. As the head of the workers’ compensation practice at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Mitch has handled thousands of cases from arbitration through the appellate courts. Over the course of his career he has obtained many scores of millions of dollars for his clients.

Eryk Wachnik is the founder of Wachnik Law LLC and has been practicing law for over 10 years. Eryk concentrates his practice in the areas of traffic and DUI defense, criminal defense and personal injury. Prior to starting Wachnik Law LLC, Eryk served as an Assistant State's Attorney at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office where he prosecuted thousands of felony narcotics and gun cases; DUI and traffic cases and a multitude of misdemeanor cases. Eryk has tried hundreds of cases in Chicago and suburban Cook County. Eryk has also prosecuted cases throughout the collar counties. Additionally, Eryk has years...

Craig S. Mielke is a founding partner at Foote, Mielke, Chavez and O'Neil, LLC and limits his practice to workers' compensation, personal injury, eminent domain, law enforcement, and complex litigation.

Nicole’s experience involves cases having injuries such as bedsores, fractures from falls, malnutrition, dehydration, infection, aspiration, and sexual abuse. She takes great joy in forming relationships with the residents and their families, hearing their stories and concerns, and advocating for their rights. Nicole Morrison gives her entire legal practice to the representation of injured nursing home residents and their families. After joining Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates in 2008, as a law clerk, Nicole established a passion for representing nursing home residents and their families. She veiws each resident not just as a client, but as someone’s beloved relative or friend. This passion...

Tyler Berberich dedicates his entire legal practice to representing and defending the rights of injured workers to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Tyler was raised in southern Michigan, then attended Michigan State University. After college, he moved to Illinois to go to law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law. After graduation, Tyler started his legal career practicing workers’ compensation law in Springfield, Illinois before moving back to Chicago to join Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Ltd.

Stewart C. Orzoff is the founder and senior member of the Orzoff Law Offices. He has been a licensed practicing attorney in the State of Illinois for the past 43 years. He represents both injured workers who have claims under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act and individuals who have personal injury claims. Mr. Orzoff is an experienced litigator and counselor. His expertise, particularly in the field of workers' compensation, is widely recognized by his peers as over 50% of his cases are referred to him by other attorneys who are not familiar with the intricacies of successfully...

Occurrences with family and friends have cultivated Gabe’s deep-seated devotion to helping the injured. The son of a doctor and occupational therapist, Gabe received his parents’ work ethic, moral compass, and sense of duty towards the sick and injured. He began putting those traits to good use at UW-Madison. After graduating from college in 2014, Gabe landed a job as the Director of Business Development at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates. He didn’t yet realize his capacity for law, but during this role Gabe witnessed the vast effect that a personal injury attorney can have on injured clients. Gabe continued to work full...

David graduated from Kansas State University where he was not only a member of the school’s first national-qualifying Trial Team but also the head of the university’s judicial system. As the head of the judicial system, David represented victims of sexual harassment, theft, and property damage and advocated for their rights before student and faculty judicial review boards. After college, David moved to Chicago, where he went to the Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude. While at Chicago-Kent, David competed nationally on the school’s Moot Court team. A finalist or semi-finalist in all of his prior...

Mr. Gerstein concentrates his law practice in the areas of insurance law, workers' compensation, negligence, business disputes and criminal defense. He has over 40 years of trial experience in the above areas of law. He has represented people and companies involved in complex business disputes; people and companies whose insurance claims were denied; people injured on the job or otherwise; and people accused of crimes. He has tried hundreds of cases to either juries, judges or arbitrators. As a result of the complexity of the law today, Mr. Gerstein believes every client matter requires thorough thought, investigation, research...

I have over 20 years of experience advocating for those who have been seriously injured due to negligence and accidents at work. My practice approach is focused on direct attorney-to-client communication. My policy is that if I can't return your call within 24 hours, then I'm taking too many cases. You deal with me and me alone....not my paralegal or a secretary. Even if I don't take your case, you will get a full assessment of my thoughts. That's why 95% of my referrals come from former clients. You won't see my picture on a billboard or on the...

Kreisman Law Offices is a Chicago-based personal injury firm that successfully uses a client-based approach to seek justice for victims nationwide. Robert Kreisman is an AV-rated attorney, the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbel with over 45 years of experience litigating a variety of catastrophic injury cases, including those involving medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and abuse, car and truck accidents, wrongful death, products liability, and commercial litigation. He works with some of the leading experts in the nation and employs the newest technology to seek the most favorable results possible for his clients. Most cases are taken on a contingency fee...

Miranda became a partner at Spiros Law, P.C in 2010. Since then, she has established herself as a fierce and caring advocate for her clients wellbeing, showing empathy to their unique situations. Miranda's legal focus includes a variety of personal injury cases including automobile, birth and workplace injuries. She is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Florida. Miranda earned her J.D. at the University of Illinois College of Law. When she is awarded free time, Miranda prefers to spend it volunteering internationally with Meet Malawi, perfecting her many hobbies, or with her husband, Chris, and their three pets.

Philip A. Bareck has been with Katz Friedman since 1991, became a partner in 2003, and a shareholder in 2007. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law teaching Workers' Compensation Law, was inducted into the College of Workers' Compensation in 2022, has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer (5% of the attorneys in Illinois), included in Best Lawyers in Workers’ Compensation Law, awarded inclusion in Top Trial Lawyers (American Trial Lawyers Association top 100 Trial Lawyers for Illinois), Top Attorneys in Illinois, selected as one of America’s Most Honored Professionals, nominated as “10...

Richard maintains a busy statewide practice representing injured men and women, many of whom are union members. The unique combination of representing labor unions and individual members in work-related injury claims provides Richard the opportunity to integrate the rights and benefits of a union contract with the statutory benefits of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. Maximizing these benefits for the injured work is the goal of every case.

Richard has had an active role in establishing the rights of injured workers in repetitive trauma claims, handling the trial and appeal of the cases from the Commission level to the Illinois Supreme...

After graduation from Chicago-Kent School of Law in 1995, Tor Hoerman began working at the defense firm Bullaro, Carton & Stone until he got a call from a plaintiffs firm, Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz that they may have an opening for a young associate. Tor jumped at the opportunity and learned about his passion to help injured people against those that he had previously represented.

In his years at K,J&S, Tor learned how to work the Courtroom at the Daley Center, spending most of his days either trying cases or running from floor to floor arguing motions on behalf of his...

James T. Reilly has been practicing since 1979. He is an experienced trial lawyer with over fifty jury cases tried to verdict. He concentrates his practice in both civil and criminal litigation. Jury awards include medical malpractice, wrongful death, fraud prosecution and various types of personal injuries. He has defended cases in criminal courts ranging from fitness trials in murder cases to DUI’s. In addition to these, he has successfully defended persons charged with arson, aggravated battery, drug offenses and other felonies and misdemeanors.

Reilly has served as a LaSalle County Assistant Public Defender since 2000. He represents clients before the...

Steven Seidman, the founding member of Seidman, Margulis and Fairman, has been practicing Personal Injury law for 40 years. During that time he has tried thousands of cases to successful award or verdict. Seidman has many multimillion dollar verdicts, and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for his clients. His high gross jury verdict for a personal injury case was $26.1 million for a seriously injured truck driver. His verdict of $3.8 million, for an attorney who contracted Legionnaire disease at the JW Marriott, in Chicago, was the highest reported verdict for that type of injury in...

Sandra is a partner at Spiros Law, P.C. She devotes her legal career to representing injured persons in worker's compensation and personal injury matters throughout Central Illinois. Sandra has successfully tried cases in front of juries and has secured millions of dollars in settlements for clients throughout Illinois. Sandra is a member of the Bar Associations for Champaign and Vermilion Counties, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the Illinois Bar Association. She is a past president of the East Central Illinois Women Attorneys Association and currently serves on its program committee where she helps to design and facilitate continuing legal education...

DUI & Criminal Defense attorney with over 35 years of experience. Former law enforcement instructor for federal and state liability for unlawful use of force during arrest, search and seizure. Certified by NHSTSA to instruct DUI Field Sobriety Tests. Actively involved in writing on DUI defense issues and has attended seminars throughout the country on DUI defense and scientific lab blood testing. National Consultant on Federal Aviation Regulations related to pilot impairment and DUI.

Howard Abrams is the founding partner, specializing in personal injury, at the Law Office of Howard S. Abrams in Chicago, Illinois. As founding partner, Mr. Abrams handles and oversees a wide variety of plaintiff’s personal injury and professional negligence matters, pre-litigation and through trial. He has been the lead trial attorney in over 50 jury and bench trials, and has successfully resolved numerous cases through mediation and arbitration.

“While I do whatever it takes to resolve a case in the shortest amount of time possible, I realize that going to trial is sometimes the only way to recover maximum results for...

Attorney Michael Sheldon started his legal career as a law clerk with Burger Law in 2019 while pursuing his Juris Doctor degree at St. Louis University School of Law. In 2021, Michael received his Missouri law license and has since specialized in personal injury claims, including product liability, premises liability, dog bites, medical malpractice and workers' compensation. He has gotten great results in multiple bench trials and has recovered innumerable large settlements for his clients. He firmly believes that those injured through the negligence of another receive full compensation and a lasting sense of justice. Before joining Burger Law, Michael worked...

Frank J. Bertuca, an aggressive litigator, has obtained millions of dollars in benefits on behalf of his clients. He is one of a select group of lawyers to obtain rarely awarded penalties and attorneys’ fees against United Airlines, American Airlines and major automotive manufacturing and insurance companies for their unreasonable conduct denying benefits to injured workers.

He proudly represents injured workers in courts throughout Illinois, including those in the airline, automotive, manufacturing, construction, law enforcement and fire protection industries. Frank has numerous trial victories and settlements for members of the AFA, ALPA, APFA, FOP, Grain Millers, IAFF, lEA, MAP, SEIU, Teamsters,...

JOHN R. WALKER is a Partner in SBSB's Houston office. For the past almost twenty-five years, it has been my privilege to represent insurance and employer interests focusing on the defense of claims brought under the Longshore and Harbor Act, the Defense Base (DBA), the Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF) Instrumentalities Act, the Jones Act, and General Maritime and Admiralty Law. Additionally, John also has extensive experience in First Party Insurance Defense matters, representing employers, insurance carriers, and third parties in State, Federal and Appellate courts. Prior to joining the firm, John handled First Party Insurance Defense,...

Attorney Robert R. Duncan is founder of the Chicago personal injury law firm Duncan Law Group. As a passionate advocate for injured victims and their loved ones, Mr. Duncan has successfully represented numerous injured residents throughout Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the Midwest. His extensive experience and professional abilities have earned him a positive reputation throughout the local and legal community, success in State and Federal Courts, and recoveries in the millions of dollars on behalf of his clients. Attorney Duncan began his legal career after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois...

David Abels became a lawyer in 1994 and has focused his law practice on helping accident and injury victims since 1997. Much of his work revolves around motor vehicle related accidents, such as car crashes, bicycle accidents, motorcycle collisions, pedestrian accidents, truck accidents and assisting those involved in ride-share collisions (Uber & Lyft). He also spends a significant amount of time working on premises liability claims and sex abuse cases.

Years ago David started representing personal injury victims with the following philosophy: work hard on every case, and do such a good job that each client would want to use...

Don Kurasch was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1972, following his graduation from the University of Illinois College of Law. He limits his practice to civil litigation, including plaintiff’s personal injury, medical malpractice, corporate litigation, nursing home negligence, auto accidents, premises liability, FELA, products liability, and wrongful discharge.

Don has won many millions of dollars for his clients over the years, including two recently litigated cases resulting in settlements of 7.5 million dollars and 4.8 million dollar, in addition to a trial verdict of $4.8 million. He has been a frequent speaker in the field of injury law over the...

Christopher Johnson has spent a significant part of his career obtaining compensation for the harms and losses suffered by workers on the job. He has litigated across the State of Illinois against various employers such as: AT&T; Chicago Transit Authority; City of Chicago; Cook County; State of Illinois; Johnson Controls; Tyson Foods; Lowe’s; Home Depot; and Walmart. He has also represented nurses who were hurt on the job. While many of the injury cases that he has litigated have involved torn ligaments and tendons in the shoulders and knees, he also has years of experience handling cases involving disc injuries...

My legal experience includes trying over seventy cases to verdict before juries in Illinois. In addition to the Circuit Court of Cook County, I have tried cases to verdict before juries in the Circuit Courts of DuPage County, Will County, Lake County, Kane County and Jackson County. Moreover, I have tried cases to verdict before juries in federal court both in Chicago and in Danville, Illinois.

In addition to my experience at the trial court level, I have argued numerous appeals before the First District of the Appellate Court of Illinois

I am in private practice at 120 West Madison Street in...

Chris Norem has recovered over $100 million dollars in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from transportation disasters, construction site accidents, medical negligence, dangerous property conditions and code violations, unsafe products, and many other cases.

With undergraduate training in both biology and chemistry, Christopher Norem is unafraid to rigorously cross-examine medical experts to prove the seriousness as well as the cause of a client’s injuries in any personal injury lawsuit. His legal work has helped change the policy of a national rail system and has served as a deterrent to numerous businesses and individuals who might be tempted to...

Athena Farmakis was born and raised in the Chicagoland area, graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University, and received her law degree from DePaul University College of law. With over 25 years of litigation experience, Athena has tried 67 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials in complex and media-sensitive cases. Athena currently practices in all areas of personal injury including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, product liability, construction accidents, animal attacks, negligent security, wrongful death, nursing home abuse and medical malpractice.

As a former prosecutor, Athena dedicated much of her legal career to serving the public for over 20 years...

Since 1999, Lawrence Maya has focused his practice on representing injury victims in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Licensed in both state and federal courts, he has successfully prosecuted a wide array of cases, including medical malpractice, automobile accidents, food poisoning, products liability and toxic mold exposure. Mr. Maya also remains active in the community. He has served as a member of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce in Chicago. He has also written a legal column for a local area newspaper. In 2017, Mr. Maya was asked to appear in and recorded a videotaped discussion on the Concealed...

LARRY WINS!
Chicago personal injury, disability, workers’ compensation and employment lawyers. Disparti Law Group has recovered over 1 Billion dollars for our clients and named one of the most influential law firms by Trial Lawyer Magazine. Our top-rated lawyers have represented those injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip & fall, work injury and social security disability. No fee unless we win. Have you been injured? Call now Chicago (312) 600-6000. Tampa (727) 600-6000.