Elgin Medical Malpractice Lawyer

This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founder, Joseph Conboy who has years of legal experience. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.

Joseph Conboy | June 30, 2025
Elgin Medical Malpractice Lawyer

When we trust doctors, nurses, and other health care providers, we expect safe care. But sometimes, that trust is broken. Medical mistakes can lead to serious injury, lasting complications, or even death. When this happens, you have the right to ask questions and seek help.

Conboy Law Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers helps you fight back after medical errors. Our team understands how devastating these cases can be. We work hard for injured patients and their families. If you were hurt by a medical mistake, we can help you file a claim, gather strong evidence, and hold the responsible party accountable.

We’re proud to offer personal attention, simple explanations, and tough legal representation. Our goal is to protect your rights and pursue the full compensation you deserve. Let our Elgin, IL medical malpractice attorneys guide you. We offer a free consultation, and we don’t charge any fees unless we win your case.

What Is Considered Medical Malpractice in Illinois?

Medical malpractice happens when a medical professional fails to follow the accepted standard of care, and a patient gets hurt. This could mean a misdiagnosis, surgery mistake, or failure to treat a condition. Not every bad outcome is malpractice, but when a health care provider acts with medical negligence, the patient may have a right to sue.

Why You Need an Attorney for These Complex Cases

Medical malpractice claims are not like regular personal injury cases. They require medical knowledge, expert witnesses, and experience in working with hospital systems. An experienced medical malpractice attorney knows how to investigate, collect records, and prove what went wrong.

Our Experience With Hospitals, Clinics, and Individual Providers in Elgin

Our malpractice lawyers have handled cases against doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals in Elgin. We’ve worked with local clinics, urgent care centers, and major hospitals. We understand the medical systems in Kane County and how to build strong cases for medical malpractice victims.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle
  • Surgical Errors: Mistakes made during surgery that harm the patient, such as operating on the wrong site or leaving instruments inside the body.
  • Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: When a doctor fails to identify a condition in time, which leads to serious harm or death.
  • Medication Errors: Giving the wrong drug or dosage, or failing to notice dangerous drug interactions.
  • Anesthesia Errors: Poor monitoring or incorrect dosage during procedures that lead to injury or death.
  • Birth Injuries: Harm caused to a baby or mother during labor, often due to poor decisions or lack of care.
  • Failure to Treat: When a provider identifies a problem but does not take proper steps to treat it.
  • Lack of Informed Consent: Performing a procedure without fully explaining the risks to the patient.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

  • Doctors and Surgeons: These professionals are often the main party responsible for medical mistakes.
  • Nurses and Technicians: Their actions during treatment, medication administration, or follow-up care can cause harm.
  • Hospitals and Clinics: These institutions may be liable for hiring unqualified staff or failing to follow safe procedures.
  • Other Health Care Providers: This includes radiologists, pharmacists, and specialists who made errors in diagnosis or treatment.

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice in Illinois?

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice in Illinois_

To succeed in a medical malpractice case in Illinois, it’s not enough to simply prove that a doctor made a mistake. You must show that the care you received fell below accepted medical standards and that this failure directly caused your injury.

This legal process can be complex and often requires testimony from qualified medical experts and thorough reviews of your medical records. Each step must be handled carefully to meet the strict rules under Illinois law, and working with an experienced medical malpractice attorney gives you the strongest chance at justice.

Establishing the Standard of Care

The standard of care is the level of skill, attention, and treatment that a similarly trained medical professional would have provided under the same or similar circumstances. In medical malpractice claims, proving this standard is essential.

It becomes the baseline for comparing what your doctor did (or didn’t do) to what should have been done. Your attorney will often rely on expert opinions from other doctors to define this standard clearly.

Showing a Breach of That Standard

Once the standard of care is established, your legal team must prove that your provider failed to meet it. This could involve missed diagnoses, improper medication, surgical mistakes, or a failure to respond to symptoms appropriately. A breach means that the provider acted in a way no reasonable medical professional would have, or failed to act when they should have, and that failure resulted in harm.

Connecting the Breach to Your Injury

Even if there was a breach in care, you still need to prove that the breach directly caused your injury or made your condition worse. This connection is known as causation and can be one of the most disputed parts of a medical malpractice claim.

Your medical malpractice attorney will use testimony, timelines, and records to show that your injuries were the result of the provider’s actions, not something else.

Using Medical Experts to Strengthen Your Case

Medical malpractice cases in Illinois typically require expert witnesses to explain complicated medical concepts to the court. These experts are often other doctors who can testify that your care was substandard and that the doctor’s mistake led to your injuries. A strong expert opinion can make the difference between winning and losing a case.

That’s why it’s important to work with a malpractice lawyer who has access to reliable, credible professionals who are willing to testify on your behalf.

Illinois Medical Malpractice Laws to Know

When pursuing a medical malpractice claim in Illinois, it’s critical to understand the state laws that may affect your case. These laws set strict rules and deadlines for filing, and if you miss a requirement (even unintentionally) you could lose your right to seek justice.

That’s why working with an experienced medical malpractice attorney is so important. A few of the legal details that every medical malpractice victim should know include:

Statute of Limitations for Filing

Under Illinois law, you generally have two years from the date you knew (or should have known) about the injury to file a medical malpractice claim. However, no claim can be filed more than four years after the actual act of malpractice, regardless of when it was discovered.

In cases involving minors or victims with a disability, special exceptions may apply. Missing this deadline usually results in the court dismissing the case entirely, so timing is crucial.

Affidavit of Merit Requirement

Illinois requires plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases to file an affidavit of merit. This is a legal document confirming that a qualified medical professional has reviewed the facts of your case and believes that malpractice may have occurred.

This affidavit must be submitted within 90 days of filing the lawsuit. It shows the court that your claim is valid and not simply based on dissatisfaction with your care.

Damage Caps and Special Considerations in Illinois

Illinois does not currently enforce caps on compensatory damages in medical malpractice claims, which means there’s no state-imposed limit on how much you can recover for things like medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

However, the law in this area can shift with future legislation or Supreme Court rulings. Some malpractice lawyers may also advise on how prior court decisions could impact your specific claim based on precedent or ongoing legislative debates.

How Our Elgin Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help You

How Our Elgin Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help You

When you’re dealing with the effects of a medical mistake, you shouldn’t have to face the legal process alone. Our Elgin medical malpractice lawyer will guide you every step of the way, ensuring nothing is missed. Conboy Law Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers provides client-focused legal services with the goal of helping you pursue justice and recover what you’ve lost.

Here’s how we support medical malpractice victims in building strong cases from the very beginning:

Conduct a Thorough Medical Record Review

Our legal team starts by carefully reviewing your medical records to understand exactly what happened and when. We examine treatment notes, doctor communications, and test results to find inconsistencies, missed diagnoses, or delays that point to medical negligence.

A deep understanding of your records allows us to uncover what health care providers may not have done properly and lay the foundation for your medical malpractice claim.

Work With Expert Witnesses

We collaborate with trusted medical professionals who can explain the proper standard of care in your situation and how that standard was breached. These expert witnesses are often doctors or specialists who provide credible, unbiased testimony to strengthen your case. Their opinions are especially important in proving that a medical error directly caused your injuries or made your condition worse.

File Timely Claims and Handle All Legal Paperwork

Our team ensures all deadlines and technical requirements are met under Illinois medical malpractice law, including submitting your affidavit of merit and filing before the statute of limitations expires. We take care of all forms, filings, and responses to motions so you can focus on your recovery while we handle the legal details.

Negotiate or Litigate for Maximum Compensation

Whether it’s through a negotiated settlement or courtroom litigation, our medical malpractice attorney fights to recover the full value of your damages. This includes medical expenses, lost income, future care needs, and emotional losses. We are not afraid to take your case to trial if that’s what’s necessary to secure a result that truly reflects your suffering and losses.

FAQs

A medical malpractice issue occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in injury or death. An Illinois medical malpractice attorney can evaluate your case by reviewing medical records and expert opinions. These claims often involve spinal cord injuries, surgical mistakes, or failure to diagnose a serious condition, all of which may lead to devastating consequences for injury victims.

At our law firm, we have a team of personal injury lawyers, including a successful medical malpractice attorney with an Illinois bar membership and active involvement in both the Illinois state bar association and the Illinois trial lawyers association. Our experienced personal injury attorney also belongs to the Chicago bar association and is recognized by the national trial lawyers and leading lawyers networks. We use this experience to represent clients in both personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout the northern district court and united states district court systems.

Yes. In addition to malpractice claims, our lawyer serving Elgin also handles a wide range of personal injury cases. This includes car accidents, product liability, and workplace injuries. Whether the injuries involve broken bones or spinal cord injuries, our experienced attorney is committed to seeking justice and aggressive representation for every client.

A successful medical malpractice attorney should have more than just a law degree. Our lead lawyer holds an undergraduate degree in a related field, maintains active membership in the Illinois lawyers professional groups, and is certified to practice law in multiple jurisdictions, including the northern district court.

New proposed legislation in Illinois can impact damage caps, filing deadlines, or evidence requirements in medical malpractice and personal injury cases. As members of the Illinois trial lawyers association and other legal bodies, our attorneys stay informed and adjust strategies to protect your rights. These changes could affect the outcome for injury victims and those filing wrongful death claims, so it’s critical to work with a team that stays current on legal reforms.

Contact Our Elgin Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation

Contact Our Elgin Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation

If you or a loved one suffered harm due to a medical mistake, you deserve answers and support. Conboy Law Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers takes every medical malpractice issue seriously. Our team works hard to protect your rights and pursue the full compensation you deserve. Whether your case involves surgical errors, delayed diagnosis, or failure to treat, our attorneys offer the guidance and strength you need.

We know how overwhelming it is to deal with medical malpractice claims while facing personal injury and emotional stress. That’s why we provide a free initial consultation to help you understand your legal options. We are proud to be a lawyer serving Elgin and surrounding communities with trusted, results-driven legal help.

Let a proven medical malpractice attorney review your case and explain your next steps. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation with our team. You don’t pay unless we win.

Joseph Conboy
Founding Attorney

Joseph M. Conboy, founder of Conboy Law, represents victims of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, securing numerous multi-million-dollar results. Recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2019–2022), he is a member of the American Association for Justice and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Conboy earned his J.D. from DePaul University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado.

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