I have over 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer, almost all of it spent exclusively handling medical malpractice cases. After getting my law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, in 1988, I moved to Arizona where I worked as a medical malpractice defense lawyer. I stayed there until 1994 when I returned to Chicago and worked briefly for Chicago’s Seyfarth, Shaw doing general commercial litigation work. I quickly discovered that big, commercial case litigation as well as the large law firm life were not for me.
In 1995, I returned to my trial lawyer roots and joined Cirignani, Heller & Harman where I once again specialize in medical malpractice cases. Both of my law partners have medical backgrounds: Stan is a medical doctor, and Jim was once a respiratory therapist. When I say that I specialize in medical malpractice I mean that it is the only kind of work my firm and I do. We don’t handle auto accidents, slip and falls, product liability, truck accidents, plane and train accident cases-only medical malpractice.
Personally, I made the choice to focus my efforts on medical litigation alone because when I was a defense lawyer representing doctors and hospitals I saw first-hand how the experience and expertise of the plaintiff’s lawyer mattered more than anything else to a successful outcome for victims of medical malpractice. My experience has also taught me that an important part of my job is to help my clients deal with the incredible stress and hardship that comes with suffering catastrophic injuries and bringing a law suit. In fact, I see it as my job to help clients not only win, but to move forward with their lives and cope with their future.
Since returning to medical litigation, I’ve successfully handled a wide variety of medical malpractice cases, including: birth injuries like cerebral palsy, operating room fires, brain injuries, hospital mistakes, medication mistakes, misdiagnoses, stroke injuries, spinal cord injuries, paralysis injuries, anesthesia injuries, and wrongful death. I’ve helped my clients get settlements or verdicts well in excess of a million dollars, several over $10 million dollars.
