Michael L. Gallagher

Founding Partner, Gallagher & Kosner Law, LLC

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Michael is a highly accomplished trial attorney whose practice is focused on representing individuals in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, and medical malpractice cases. Since transitioning to plaintiff's work in 2016, he has secured over $500 million in settlements and verdicts, including more than $300 million since starting his own firm in 2023.

Michael's record of success is defined by a series of landmark recoveries in complex, high-stakes cases. His recoveries include a $50 million settlement, the largest reported pretrial personal injury settlement against an Illinois public entity; a $31.5 million jury verdict, the nation's highest line-of-duty death verdict involving a firefighter; and a $31 million settlement arising from the drowning of a seven-year-old child in the Chicago River, an Illinois record wrongful death settlement involving a minor. He also secured a record-setting $27 million wrongful death settlement against the City of Chicago arising from an unauthorized police pursuit and won a $14.3 million bad-faith verdict — including $13 million in punitive damages — against the largest medical malpractice insurer in Illinois. These results sit alongside numerous other multi-million-dollar recoveries across the full spectrum of catastrophic injury litigation.

Michael’s approach is shaped by his experience on every side of the courtroom, as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and plaintiff's advocate. That background allows him to anticipate opposing strategies and build cases that hold up at every stage.

Before focusing his practice on representing injured individuals, Michael served in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, where at age 32 he became the youngest supervisor in the State's Attorney's Office. In that role, he led the Torts and Civil Rights Section, overseeing 20 attorneys and managing the defense of over 650 state and federal lawsuits on behalf of Cook County and its approximately 22,000 employees. His work included defending claims involving wrongful death, catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and complex class actions, representing clients such as the nation's largest single-site jail, the second-largest sheriff's department, and one of the country's largest public health systems.

Michael has tried more than 30 jury trials in state and federal courts and has extensive appellate experience, having argued before state and federal appellate courts on multiple occasions and authored more than 90 appellate briefs and dispositive motions. His combined trial and appellate background enables him to advocate effectively for his clients at every stage of litigation - from initial investigation through verdict and appeal.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Michael has been named an Illinois "Super Lawyer" and Illinois "Leading Lawyer” since 2017. Michael is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, International Society of Barristers, and The Irish Legal 100. Earlier in his career, he was honored by Law Bulletin Publishing Company as one of its "Forty Under 40" lawyers and recognized by Leading Lawyers magazine as one of the "Top 10 Illinois Emerging Lawyers" in the state.

Practice Areas:

• Personal Injury
• Civil Rights
• Medical Malpractice
• Negligent Security
• Ride-share Negligence
• Maritime

Results

• $31.5 Million verdict for the wrongful death of a firefighter. Highest Line of Duty Death (LODD) verdict in the history of the United States.
• $31 Million settlement against a barge company for the drowning death of a 7-year-old on the Chicago River. The result is an Illinois and Cook County record for a wrongful death settlement on behalf of a minor.
• $27 million settlement against the City of Chicago Police Department for catastrophically injuring a single-working mother of five during an unauthorized police pursuit. Tragically, the mother ultimately died from her injuries. The settlement is a record wrongful death settlement against the City of Chicago.
• $14.3 million verdict for "bad faith" against Illinois' largest medical insurance provider, including a record $13 million in punitive damages.
• $13.5 million dollar settlement for a woman that was murdered by her estranged husband in her high-rise apartment. The settlement is Illinois' second largest negligent security wrongful death settlement.
• $10 million dollar settlement for pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle resulting in severe fractures to his ankle, leg and a single-level lumbar fusion surgery
• $9.4 million dollar settlement on behalf of a newborn that was not timely delivered despite being in distress.
• $8.5 million settlement on behalf of a 64-year-old male that was killed in a motor vehicle accident. The result was a record pre-trial settlement in Cook County for someone 60 years or older.
• $7.25 million dollar settlement for 75-year-old man whose legs were traumatically amputated as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle. The result was a record pre-trial settlement in McLean County, Illinois.
• $5 million recovery on behalf of a middle-aged mother that suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting in a brain injury and ultimately her death.
• $4.4 million settlement for a 29-year-old single male against a suburban hospital for failing to properly diagnose and treat his cancer.
• $4.2 million Resolution. Plaintiff was the passenger in a vehicle that was negligently driven off the road. Plaintiff incurred $350,000 in medical bills but fortunately made a full recovery. Defendant made no offer to settle the matter.
• $4 million recovery on behalf of a newborn that experienced complications during delivery.
• $3.5 million dollar pre-suit resolution for 38-year-old single male with no wife or children. Our client had undergone a serious cardiac procedure to correct a preexisting condition and only provided him a mortality rate of approximately 80%. During recovery period, medical personnel failed to properly monitor his blood levels resulting in a catastrophic brain bleed and our client's sudden death.
• $3.5 million dollar resolution for a 65-year-old male who was diagnosed with bladder cancer that was negligently monitored by his treating urologist. Tragically, our client's cancer spread to other organs and ultimately led to his passing.
• $2.25 million dollar recovery on behalf of a 74-year-old widow that received an excessive amount of sedatives during a medical procedure.
• $2 million dollar settlement on behalf of a 65-year-old man that was struck by a suspect fleeing the police. The result was achieved despite the pursuing officer terminating the pursuit more than 1 ½ minutes prior to the accident occurring.
• $1.95 million dollar recovery for a 55-year-old female that was improperly intubated at a suburban hospital resulting in her sudden death.
• $1.85 million for a woman that was injured when her vehicle was struck by a semi-truck. The recovery included "piercing the corporate veil" in order to recover assets from the defendant's various "shell corporations."
• A record setting settlement on behalf of a disabled 60-year-old detainee at the Cook County Department of Corrections. The plaintiff alleged the jail guards were deliberately indifferent for failing to allow him access to lower bunk as ordered by medical personnel. The detainee fell as he attempted to reach the upper bunk resulting in serious injuries to his neck.
• $1.75 million recovery for a 75-year-old widow that had experienced a sudden onset of chest pain that resulted in an aortic dissection.
• $1.7 million settlement for a 26-year-old male that committed suicide at the Cook County Department of Corrections ("CCDOC"). Michael was able to achieve the highest recorded settled for a CCDOC suicide despite the Sheriff's Office claiming "there was no indication prior to the [suicide] that he had any intention" of harming himself.
• $1.35 million recovery for a 76-year-old man that suffered a spinal infection that was improperly treated and ultimately led to his death.
• $1.3 million dollar settlement for a woman who fell approximately 5 feet after leaning against a negligently installed railing. She suffered a traumatic brain injury before ultimately recovering.

Bar Admissions

• State of Illinois
• Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois

Education

• DePaul University College of Law. Chicago, Illinois. J.D. – 2003 CALI Trial Advocacy I & II
• Drake University. Des Moines, Iowa. B.A. and M.P.A. - 2000

Honors and Awards

• Leading Lawyers magazine's 2016 "Top 10 Illinois Emerging Lawyers"
• 2016 Law Bulletin Publishing Company's top "Forty Under 40"
• Selected by his peers as an Illinois Super Lawyer (less than 5% of Attorneys in Illinois) 2020 – present
• Named a Leading Lawyer by Law Bulletin Publishing Company (less than 5% of Attorneys in Illinois) 2017 – present
• Named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers
• Pioneer League Div.1 FCS Academic All-Conference 1997-1999

Professional Associations

• American Association for Justice (AAJ)
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Assocation (ITLA)
• Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
• American Inns of Court – Chicago Chapter
• Chicago Bar Association (CBA) – Civil Practice Chair
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• International Society of Barristers (ISOB)