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Lawyer Profile

Image of Thomas A. Demetrio

Thomas A. Demetrio

Corboy & Demetrio
  • Recognized Since:
    1987
  • Recognized in:
    Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
    Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
  • Website:
    http://www.corboydemetrio.com
  • E-mail:
    tad@corboydemetrio.com
  • Location:
    33 North Dearborn Street, 21st Floor
    Chicago, IL 60602

Thomas A. Demetrio is a trial lawyer with an emphasis on medical negligence, product liability, airplane crash and commercial litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. He is Past President of the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

He is a fellow of:

      The American College of Trial Lawyers

      The International Academy of Trial Lawyers

      The Inner Circle of Advocates

Tom has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since its inception in 1987 and was named by Best Lawyers as the Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2011. The National Law Journal has named him as one of the Nation's Top Ten Trial Lawyers and subsequently listed him as one of the top ten trial lawyers in Illinois. Since 2003, Tom has been voted by his peers in the top ten of the top 5% of all lawyers in Illinois, and has been named in the top five of the state's 80,000 lawyers since 2007.

Lawdragon has named Tom one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America since its inaugural publication, describing him as the "powerhouse" of aviation and medical negligence law. Lawdragon has said of Tom, "In the windy city, he's the name for everything from medical malpractice claims to aviation disasters. When tragedy strikes, the families of plane crash victims have no greater ally. Tom is Chicago's top trial lawyer and stands alone atop the Chicago trial bar."

He has done extensive teaching and lecturing worldwide in the field of trial techniques and has authored numerous continuing legal education articles in the field of civil litigation.

In 2010, Tom was presented with two awards from the Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter / Law Bulletin Publishing Company for Trial Lawyer Excellence: one for the largest wrongful death settlement ever in Illinois ($25.25 million) and one for acquiring five or more verdicts in excess of $5 million since 1990.

Tom has negotiated over $1 billion in settlements and has acquired over $130 million in jury verdicts which includes the largest personal injury verdict ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.  He has never lost an appeal. 

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  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Firm Details
  • Legal Insights
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  • Case History

Lawyer Bio

Thomas A. Demetrio is a trial lawyer with an emphasis on medical negligence, product liability, airplane crash and commercial litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. He is Past President of the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

He is a fellow of:

      The American College of Trial Lawyers

      The International Academy of Trial Lawyers

      The Inner Circle of Advocates

Tom has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since its inception in 1987 and was named by Best Lawyers as the Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2011. The National Law Journal has named him as one of the Nation's Top Ten Trial Lawyers and subsequently listed him as one of the top ten trial lawyers in Illinois. Since 2003, Tom has been voted by his peers in the top ten of the top 5% of all lawyers in Illinois, and has been named in the top five of the state's 80,000 lawyers since 2007.

Lawdragon has named Tom one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America since its inaugural publication, describing him as the "powerhouse" of aviation and medical negligence law. Lawdragon has said of Tom, "In the windy city, he's the name for everything from medical malpractice claims to aviation disasters. When tragedy strikes, the families of plane crash victims have no greater ally. Tom is Chicago's top trial lawyer and stands alone atop the Chicago trial bar."

He has done extensive teaching and lecturing worldwide in the field of trial techniques and has authored numerous continuing legal education articles in the field of civil litigation.

In 2010, Tom was presented with two awards from the Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter / Law Bulletin Publishing Company for Trial Lawyer Excellence: one for the largest wrongful death settlement ever in Illinois ($25.25 million) and one for acquiring five or more verdicts in excess of $5 million since 1990.

Tom has negotiated over $1 billion in settlements and has acquired over $130 million in jury verdicts which includes the largest personal injury verdict ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.  He has never lost an appeal. 

Read more on firm website
  • Education
  • Bar Admissions
  • Award List
  • Clerkships
  • Additional Information
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge

Education:

  • University of Notre Dame, B.A., graduated 1969

Bar Admissions:

  • Illinois
  • Florida

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for:

  • Medical Malpractice Law, Chicago (2011)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs

Federal Clerkships:

  • United States Court of Appeals
  • United States District Court

Special Focus:

  • Aviation Litigation
  • COVID-19
  • Medical Malpractice
 

Lawyer Client Comments

Firm Details

Image for Corboy & Demetrio View Firm Profile
Corboy & Demetrio
http://www.corboydemetrio.com
 
Headquarters
33 North Dearborn Street, 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 346.3191

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Thomas Demetrio helps passenger dragged off plane reach settlement with United Airlines

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Lawyer Case History

Thomas Demetrio Obtains Record $16.5 Million Verdict in Birth Negligence Case

Thomas Demetrio obtained a record jury verdict of $16.5 million on behalf of a 7-year-old Geneva girl who suffered brain damage after her mother's uterus ruptured at the time of the girl's birth.  The award set a record in Cook County for a verdict in an obstetric medical negligence case. The girl’s mother had a medical condition that placed her at high risk of a uterine rupture and although she complained of abdominal pain, a physician did not examine her.  The mother's uterus ruptured and an emergency C-section was performed.   The fetus was found under the mother's rib cage covered in blood. The placenta, which supplies oxygen to the baby, had pulled free from the uterine wall.  Following her birth, the girl required incubation and also suffered seizures. She has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and walks with canes and wears braces on her legs.  Her speech is very poor and she has fine-motor control problems.

Single Settlement Record of $25.2 Million Reached in US Airways Crash

Thomas Demetrio, lead plaintiffs’ counsel, negotiated a $25.2 million settlement on behalf of the estate of a Pittsburgh businessman who died in the crash of U.S. Air Flight #427, which was the highest ever negotiated settlement in a wrongful death case involving commercial aviation.  The former record was a $25 million settlement, negotiated by the late Philip H. Corboy, who was Corboy & Demetrio’s Co-founder, on behalf of the family of a victim in the crash of United Airline Flight #232 in Sioux City, Iowa in 1989.

$22.3 Million Verdict Affirmed by IL Supreme Court in Record Breaking Case

Keva Richardson was rendered a partial quadriplegic when her car was hit from behind by a semi-trailer truck at the intersection of Clavey Road and Interstate 94.  Corboy & Demetrio partners Thomas Demetrio and Michael Demetrio represented Keva at trial, which resulted in a jury verdict of $22.3 million.  The Demetrio brothers also represented Kiva on appeal, and after numerous defense challenges that the verdict was excessive, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the jury verdict.  It remains the largest compensatory verdict for an individual ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.

$75 Million Global Settlement in John Hancock Scaffolding Collapse

Thomas Demetrio, Co-founder of Corboy & Demetrio, was one of the lead attorneys in the lawsuit stemming from the collapse and fall of scaffolding from the John Hancock building in Chicago and helped negotiate a $75 million global settlement for the victims’ personal injury and wrongful death claims on the eve of trial.  Mr. Demetrio represented seven victims including the families of the two young women who were killed in the front seat of their car as their mothers witnessed their deaths in the back seat, and five others who were seriously injured.

Thomas Demetrio Obtains $29.6 Million Verdict on behalf of Metra Train Crash Survivor

The $29.6 million awarded to a seriously injured Chicago Metra train derailment passenger, represented by Thomas Demetrio, is the largest verdict in Illinois for an individual injured in a mass transit crash.  The passenger, a 25 year-old woman and graduate of Lewis University, was 13 weeks pregnant at the time. As a result of the derailment and crash, she suffered traumatic brain injury.  The verdict meant that she would receive the care she needs for the rest of her life.

 
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