About Us
PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHIES OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS NURSING HOME ABUSE ATTORNEYS STEVEN M. LEVIN AND JOHN. J PERCONTI
FIRM ADDRESS:
Levin & Perconti
325 North LaSalle Street, Suite 450
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 866-822-0169
If you or someone you know in Chicago, Illinois, or in the surrounding counties of Illinois needs the assistance or trusted legal advice of an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer, please call the Attorneys of Levin & Perconti today at 866-822-0169, or use the contact form provided on this site to begin your free consultation with a trusted Chicago personal injury attorney.
Click here to view some of our nursing home neglect case results
Steven M. Levin, co-founder and senior partner of Levin & Perconti, is a nationally respected trial lawyer with more than 25 years of plaintiff personal injury litigation experience and success. Steve began his career as a private criminal defense attorney, during which time he gained extensive trial experience. In 1983, he founded Steven M. Levin and Associates, a firm dedicated to representing plaintiffs in substantial personal injury and wrongful death cases. In 1992, he and John Perconti founded Levin & Perconti.
Steve has obtained an extraordinary number of multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients in a variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including birth injury, failure to timely diagnose cancer and workplace negligence. His victories include a $7 million judgment for his client against a doctor who failed to diagnose postpartum bleeding, and a $6.7 million medical malpractice verdict against a hospital involving a birth injury lawsuit. Recently, he obtained a $3.3 million settlement regarding a hospital fall case in which a 52-year-old wife and mother died from her injuries. Steve has appeared on ABC, NBC and CBS news programs to comment on cases that have attracted both local and national attention.
Steve has established a reputation as one of the country's top litigators in the highly specialized area of nursing home abuse and neglect. He has represented hundreds of nursing home residents and their families who have been victimized by improper care and treatment, achieving record-setting verdicts and settlements for his clients in these cases.
More importantly, Steve's vigilance in representing victims in nursing home negligence lawsuits has brought national attention to this rampant and unacceptable problem, sending a message that mistreatment of one of society's most vulnerable groups will not go unnoticed. Steve is actively involved with the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (formerly known as the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform), an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of nursing home residents and their families. He was recently named to the organization's Leadership Council. His comments on litigation have been quoted in national news publications including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
In addition to his work on behalf of victims of personal injury, Steve is a member of the American Association for Justice and a former chairman of its Nursing Home Litigation Group. He serves on the board of the Society of Trial Lawyers, the board of the Chicago Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, and is a board member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
Steve has received an "AV" rating from the Martindale-Hubbell American Law Directory, indicating preeminent legal ability and very high ethical standards. Year after year, his peers have chosen him as one of the top 5% of Illinois lawyers in his field through the Leading Lawyers Network, and he has also been named an Illinois Super Lawyer every year since 2005.
Steve and his wife, Marsha, reside in Chicago and have four grown children and four grandchildren.
COURTS ADMITTED:
Illinois, 1976, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1976, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 1976
EDUCATION:
-
Loyola University Chicago School of Law (J.D. cum laude, 1976); Lead Article Editor, Loyola University
-
School of Law Review; Thomas Owens Award recipient (for highest grade point average) University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A. cum laude, 1973)
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS:
Attorney Steve Levin is an experienced and highly sought-after speaker who frequently addresses audiences around the country on personal injury and wrongful death litigation matters. He is particularly renowned for his expertise and insights on topics related to trial techniques and nursing home abuse and neglect. His presentations include:
-
Presentation before the Illinois Department of Aging, Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman of Illinois and Legal Assistant Providers "Issues in Nursing Home Law"; Holiday Inn Select, Naperville, Ill. - June 5-6, 2003, Litigating Nursing Home Resident Rights (a joint ombudsman legal training co-sponsored by the Illinois Department on Aging and AARP).
-
Association of Trial Lawyers of American, National College of Advocacy, Litigating Nursing Home Cases Seminar: "Depositing Home Employees"; March 19, 2004, Sheridan Yankee Trader Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
-
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Medical Malpractice Seminar, December 6, 2003 -Topic: Jury Selection.
-
Nursing Home Strategies for 2004: A Look Ahead; November 13 - 14, 2003, Ritz Carlton, Palm Beach, Fla. (Moderator and speaker on the subject of Current Trends)
-
Prairie State Legal Services special training event for Legal Services Staff, Long-Term care Ombudsmen, Hospital Discharge Planners, Social Workers and other Advocates: "Addressing Quality of Care Issues in Litigation"; September 22, 2003, Hampton Inn, Carol Stream, Ill.
-
ATLA Internet Seminar: "Life Expectancy: What Catastrophic Injury Litigation Professionals Need to Know"; April 24, 2003.
-
Indiana Trial Lawyers Association Seminar: "Successful Plaintiffs' Nursing Home Litigation"; June 14, 2002, Indianapolis.
-
Decalogue Society Legal Lecture Series: "Secrets of Winning the Nursing Home Case"; March 6, 2002, Chicago.
-
Mass Torts Made Perfect Seminar: "The Secrets to Discovering Elder Abuse: Where is the Smoking Gun?"; March 2002, New Orleans
-
ATLA Internet Seminar: "Winning Arguments for Punitive Damages" / "Why Nursing Homes are Ripe for Punitive Damages"; January 23, 2002.
-
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association: "Practicing with the Best and Avoiding the Rest," "Jury Selection, Focus Groups"; October 8, 2001, Chicago.
-
National College of Advocacy: "Maximizing Damages and Defeating the Defense Argument for Limited Damages"; October 6, 2001, Phoenix.
-
The 26th Annual Meeting of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform: "Creative Lawyering and Advocacy: Tort Reform"; September 2001, Arlington, Va.
-
The Indiana Trial Lawyers Association: "The Elder Law Seminar: From a Tort Prospective," "Distinguishing Nursing Home Litigation from Other Tort Cases"; August 2001, Indianapolis
-
Annual ABA Meeting Presidential Show Case Program: "Structured Settlements Today: How and Why"; August 2001, Chicago.
-
Association of Trial Lawyers of America Nursing Home Litigation Group: "The Unwitnessed Fall: Trying the Suspicious Injury Case Against the Big Nursing Home Chains," "How to Cross Examine a Doctor Expert in a Nursing Home Case"; July 2001, Montreal.
-
Crittenden Medical Insurance Conference: "Plaintiff Attorneys versus Defense Attorneys"; May 2001, Washington, D.C.
-
Medicaid and Elder Law Issues in Illinois, sponsored by Lorman Educational Services: "How to Obtain Substantial Damages for the Elderly in Personal Injury Cases"; May 2001, Chicago.
-
ATLA National College of Advocacy as part of Litigating Nursing Home Cases Program: "Maximizing Damages in a Nursing Home Case and Overcoming Defense Arguments for Limited Damages"; April 2001, Houston.
-
ATLA Winter Convention, Hot Topics: "Distinguishing Nursing Home Litigation from Other Personal Injury Cases: Why Nursing Homes are Right for Punitive Damages"; February 12, 2001, New Orleans
-
MTLA: "Developing an Appropriate Theme for the Trial of a Nursing Home Case"; January 2001, Novi, MI.
-
"Winning Strategies for the Nursing Home Litigator," an advanced symposium for plaintiff and defense lawyers, Andrews Publications, November 2000, Scottsdale, AZ.
-
25th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the Founding of NCCNHR: "Arbitration Clauses: Depriving Residents of Jury Trials"; October 2000, Washington, D.C.
-
Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys: "The Next Millennium of Service," "Nursing Home Litigation: A Discussion of Nursing Home Litigation Including Creative Remedies to Effectuate Law Reform," "Important Considerations in Determining Which Nursing Home Cases Should be Pursued"; November 1999, Chicago, IL.
-
Illinois Paralegal Association 1999 Education Seminar: "Creating Your Own Success"; November 1999.
-
Illinois State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Program: "Issues Affecting the Elderly: Legal and Practical Approaches for Your Practice as Well as Your Personal Life," sponsored by the Standing Committee on Women and the Law, the Elder Law Section Council and the Standing Committee on Minority and Women Participation; annual meeting, June 1999, Lake Geneva, WI.
-
Illinois State Bar Association: "Nursing Home Torts"; June 26, 1999.
-
Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys: "Litigating Nursing Home Cases"; March 19, 1999.
-
American Bar Association: "Screening the Nursing Home Case"; March 13, 1999.
-
Illinois State Bar Association: "Tort Reform Update - Impact on Litigation on Behalf of Older Adults"; June 1997.
-
Illinois State Bar Association: "Litigation to Address Abuse of Nursing Home Residents"; December 1996.
-
National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform Annual Meeting: "Litigating Pressure Sore Cases Toward Improving Resident Care"; October 1996.
-
Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Meeting - Nursing Home Litigation Group: "Litigating Pressure Sore Cases", July 1996.
-
Chicago-Kent College of Law: "Aging, Law and Public Policy - Representing Older Adults"; March 1995.
-
Life Services Network: "Use of Inspection Survey Results in Litigation on Behalf of Nursing Home Residents - What Providers Should Know"; February 1995.
-
Northwest Suburban Bar Association: "Nursing Home Litigation"; March 1994.
-
Office of the Public Guardian Seminar: "Nursing Home Care Act - Private Right of Action"; April 1992.
-
Lake County Health Department Community Seminar: "The Patient Self-Determination Act: Legal Implications for Long-Term Care Residents and Providers"; November 1991.
-
Illinois Department on Aging - Elder Rights Conference: "Litigation on Behalf of Nursing Home Residents"; August 1991.
-
Illinois Department on Aging - Elder Rights Conference: "Understanding the New Federal Residents' Rights and Legal Remedies"; August 1990.
-
Midwest Clinical Conference - Chicago Medical Society: "Impact of the New Federal Regulations on Treating Pressure Ulcers - Medico-legal Implications"; March 1990.
-
Chicago Bar Association - Young Lawyers Section: "Private Civil Damage Suits under the Nursing Home Care Act - An Underutilized Remedy"; May 1989
-
Midwest Clinical Conference - Chicago Medical Society: "Preventing Malpractice in Nursing Home Care"; February 1989.
-
National Symposium on the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: "Legal Problems Associated with Pressure Sores"; October 1988.
-
Midwest Clinical Conference - Chicago Medical Society: "Legal Implications of the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers"; March 1988.
-
Chicago Council of Lawyers - Disability Rights Committee: "Litigation on Behalf of Nursing Home Residents"; November 1987.
-
Midwest Clinical Conference - Chicago Medical Society: "What the Physician Treating Pressure Ulcers Should Know - A Legal Point of View"; March 1987.
-
National Symposium on the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: "Bed Sores: Patients' Rights and Professionals' Obligations"; September 1986.
PUBLICATIONS:
Attorney Steven Levin has authored numerous articles on topics related to personal injury and wrongful death litigation, with a particular focus on the area of nursing home negligence and abuse. His publications include:
-
"Handling Witnesses: Deposing the Medical Director, Director of Nursing, Attending Physician, Nursing Home Administrator and Nursing Staff,"
Nursing Home Litigation: Pre-Trial Practice and Trials,
Ch. 10 (2001) -
"Screening the Nursing Home Case,"
Nursing Home Litigation: Investigation and Case Preparation,
Ch. 9 (2001) -
"Litigating Nursing Home Wandering Cases,"
Elder's Advisor: The Journal of Elder Law and Post-Retirement Planning
(Fall 2000) -
"First Things First: Evaluating a Nursing Home Case,"
Illinois State Bar Journal
(July 2000) -
"Protecting the Rights of Nursing Home Residents Through Litigation,"
Illinois State Bar Journal
(January 1996) -
"Nursing Homes and Life Care Communities,"
IICLE, Advising Elderly Clients and Their Families, Ch. 8
(1991) -
"A Question of Responsibility: Part Two - An Attorney's View of the Insanity Defense,"
Loyola Magazine
(1982) -
"Libel and Slander - A State is Precluded from Imposing Liability Without Fault or Presumed or Punitive Damages in the Absence of New York Times Malice," - Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.,
Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal
(Winter 1975)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
Attorney Steven Levin is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association, as well as a current or past member of numerous professional and civic organizations including:
-
American Association for Justice
-
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
-
American Constitution Society Chicago Lawyer Chapter (Board of Advisors)
-
The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care's Leadership Council
-
Decalogue Society
-
National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and its "Committee of 20"
-
Advisory Committee of Illinois Citizens for Better Care
-
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (Steering Committee)
-
Attorney General of Illinois' Task Force on Nursing Homes
-
City of Chicago Committee on Nursing Homes
-
American Trial Lawyers Association Nursing Home Litigation Group (co-chair)
-
Board of Advisors for the Nursing Home Litigation Reporter
-
American Trial Lawyers Association Birth Injury Litigation Group
-
The American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section (Vice Chair, Medicine & Law Committee)
-
The American Jewish Committee Human Relations Award Dinner (Vice Chairman)
-
Highland Park Zoning Board of Appeals (Member and Chairman for 13 years)
-
Ad Hoc Committee on Amusement Tax on Ravinia Park
-
Illinois Super Lawyer 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
-
Illinois Leading Lawyers
-
Martindale Hubbell "AV" Rated
John J. Perconti, co-founder and senior partner of Levin & Perconti, is an acclaimed trial attorney who has practiced for over 25 years. John has dedicated his career to representing individuals and their families in personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, defective products, auto and trucking accidents, premises liability and construction accidents.
John has achieved national recognition as one of the country's leading experts in medical malpractice litigation due to his extensive civil trial experience in both state and federal courts. His in-depth understanding of complex medical issues has enabled him to attain milestone multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients and their families.
In 2000, John obtained a landmark record medical negligence verdict in Illinois of over $14 million for a 51-year-old woman as a result of failure to timely diagnose lung cancer. He also won a $5.77 million Federal Tort Claims Act bench trial verdict for a woman who became paralyzed as a result of a Veteran's Administration physician's failure to recognize worsening neurological symptoms and perform necessary surgery to relieve spinal cord compression. Further, he won a $5 million verdict against Michael Reese Hospital for losing a 21-year-old's airway, resulting in her death.
In June 2009, John settled a medical malpractice lawsuit for $5.35 million against a Chicago hospital for the family of an 18-year-old woman who died when hospital staff failed to diagnose postpartum cardiomyopathy. John also reached an Illinois record nursing home pressure sore settlement for $3 million. Further, he has obtained numerous multimillion-dollar medical malpractice settlements in cases involving failure to diagnose breast, cervical, ovarian, pelvic sarcoma and lung cancers.
In addition to medical negligence cases, John achieved a record $10 million settlement for a 5-year-old boy who lost his leg when he was run over by a fire truck. In 2007, he negotiated a $6 million settlement on behalf of two families who lost six children in an apartment fire, and in 2008 reached a record Illinois Jones Act settlement of $4.5 million for a deckhand whose leg was injured on a barge and required an above-the-knee amputation.
John is an active member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Society of Trial Lawyers and the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and has been a strong voice against tort reform.
John has received an "AV" rating from the Martindale-Hubbell American Law Directory, indicating preeminent legal ability and very high ethical standards. He has also been named one of Illinois' top litigators by Leading Lawyers Network and by Illinois Super Lawyers, a peer-recommended distinction.
John was born and raised in Chicago and resides in suburban Chicago with his wife, Toni, and daughters Morgan and Paige.
COURTS ADMITTED:
Admitted Illinois, 1982, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1982
EDUCATION:
-
J.D., John Marshall Law School, 1982,
-
B.A., University of Illinois, 1979
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
-
Levin & Perconti (1992-present)
-
John J. Perconti and Associates, practicing personal injury and medical malpractice (1991-1992)
-
Lane and Munday, practicing personal injury and medical malpractice (1986-1991)
-
Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, representing all state agencies in civil litigation (1983-1986)
PRESENTATIONS:
-
Faculty presenter for Lorman Education Services: "An Update on Supreme Court Rule 213(f) and (g) in Illinois," January 30, 2001.
-
American Trial Lawyers Association, National College of Advocacy, "Litigating Rezulin Cases"
-
Chicago Bar Association, Federal Expert Witness Practice, November 1, 2000
-
Faculty presenter for Lorman Education Services: "An Update on Supreme Court Rule 213(f) and (g) in Illinois," January 22, 1999
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
Attorney John J. Perconti is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and numerous professional organizations including:
-
American Bar Association
-
Illinois State Bar Association
-
Chicago Bar Association
-
American Trial Lawyers Association
-
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Medical Negligence Committee
-
The Society of Trial Lawyers
-
Justinian Society of Lawyers, DuPage and Cook County Chapters
-
Leading American Illinois Attorney
-
Leading Lawyers: Top Lawyers in Illinois
-
Illinois Super Lawyer 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
-
Martindale Hubbell AV Rated
S.W. v. Renaissance at Hillside, Inc.
$3,000,000.00 record nursing home pressure sore settlement against a suburban Hillside nursing home and physician for a 59 year old resident who developed multiple painful and infected bedsores which took four years to heal.
P.C. as administrator of the estate of A.R. v. Ridgeview Pavilion, Inc., et al.:
$1,500,000 settlement against a nursing home for violating the Nursing Home Care Reform Act by failing to monitor a mentally impaired resident's cigarette smoking, leading to severe burns and death.
M.P. as administrator of the estate of E.J. v. Brentwood North Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, et al.:
$1,500,000 settlement for an 87-year-old nursing home resident who suffered severe burns when seated in a steaming-hot sitz bath.
M.W. as administrator of the estate of M.W. v. Eliot Roth, M.D., et al.:
$1,500,000 settlement for an 80-year-old patient who was recovering from a stroke when a feeding tube was placed in his trachea instead of his esophagus, resulting in pneumonia, which led to his death.
J.F. v. Wedgwood Pavilion Nursing Home
1,400,000.00 verdict against a nursing home for failure to manage a nursing home resident's behavior which caused a shoving match, fall, hip fracture and death of a 79 year old fellow nursing home resident.
W.B. as administrator of the estate of W.B. v. Jackson Square Nursing Center, et al.:
$1,300,000 settlement for a 74-year-old nursing home resident who died as a result of a beating he received when the nursing home placed a younger resident with violent tendencies in his room.
T.H. v. Halsted Terrace Nursing Center, Inc.:
$1,100,000 settlement against a nursing home for a 75-year-old resident who developed multiple painful and infected bedsores, or pressure ulcers, which caused her death.
C.A. as administrator of the estate of W.R. v. Mercy Health Care Rehabilitation Institute:
$1,000,000 settlement against a nursing home for a 75-year-old resident who suffered malnutrition, dehydration and Stage IV pressure sores, resulting in death.
E.L. v. Sunrise Assisted Living
$1,000,000.00 verdict against assisted living facility who admitted liability for failing to give a proper mechanical soft diet due to understaffing and poorly trained staff resulting in choking and death of a 67 year old man.