Michael Wierzbicki
Trial Attorney
Mike is an aggressive trial attorney who is passionate about helping those who have been seriously injured.
A graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Mike practiced commercial litigation and represented physicians and hospitals in medical malpractice defense before joining the Horwitz team.
Since 2002, Mike has become a force with distinction, consistently fighting for the little guy against major insurance companies, corporations, and government agencies, annually exceeding $1 Million in client settlements.
While fair and just settlements out of court are always desirable, Mike’s decision to join the firm was due to his interest in complex litigation surrounding difficult cases of serious injury; an area of law for which he is both uniquely qualified and skillful.
Mike’s successful and impressive jury trials include obtaining a $1,838,462.00 jury verdict in Cook County for a client who suffered chronic neck pain and post-concussive syndrome after striking his head on a doorframe at a retirement facility that was lower than allowed by local municipal code requirements. Due in part to the lack of any objective tests showing an injury, the Defendant offered just $50,000.00 to settle the claim and withdrew its settlement offer before the jury rendered its verdict.
Mike’s is the first case known in Illinois where a jury verdict was found to be binding on the underinsured carrier.
Of further distinction, Mike obtained a $585,390.00 jury verdict in Lake County for a union plumber who suffered chronic pain due to an auto accident. Again, due to a lack of objective medical tests, the insurance company claimed the client’s injuries were minor and short-term and offered only $17,000.00 to settle the claim. After the Appellate Courts upheld the verdict, the insurance company for the Defendant paid the limits of its $100,000.00 insurance policy. Mike then filed and won a suit against the plumber’s underinsured motorist carrier for the remaining amount of the judgment. Mike’s is the first case known in Illinois where a jury verdict was found to be binding on the underinsured carrier.
Proving that no entity is beyond his just reach, Mike obtained a $335,520.00 jury verdict for a 92 year-old woman who sustained a fractured hip when she fell because a handicap ramp located outside of her CHA senior living facility was twice as steep as allowed by City of Chicago municipal ordinance. The City denied it built the handicap ramp, denied the ramp was dangerous, claimed the fractured hip occurred because the elderly woman had osteoporosis and offered her $0. The jury found for the resident and awarded her every penny of compensation she requested, specifically finding the ramp was built by the City and was unreasonably dangerous. Within days of the verdict, the City tore out and reconstructed the ramp.