John K. Hughes

John Hughes is a founding member of the firm. Since 1974, Mr. Hughes has been engaged in civil litigation in both state and federal courts at the trial and appellate level. He has extensive trial experience, particularly in the area of personal injury; professional, product and municipal liability; medical malpractice, and insurance coverage.

Experience:  Mr. Hughes has defended physicians, attorneys, therapists and hospitals from claims of deviation from the standard of care owed to patients or clients, wrongful death and violation of statutory duties. He has also tried cases involving product liability, admiralty, industrial accidents and other personal injury matters. His municipal liability practice involves defending local governmental entities from tort claims. Mr. Hughes has served as coordinating counsel of insurance programs for both physicians and attorneys, and represented professionals before the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. Mr. Hughes' "not guilty" verdicts include: Defense of health care providers in the care of a 13-year-old girl who died immediately after a second trimester abortion; Alleged failure to give antibiotics prior to an abdominal hysterectomy. The plaintiff required two subsequent surgeries and sixteen more hospitalizations; Alleged negligence in performance of right antecubital cut down and failure to monitor administration of narcotic drugs, resulting in left hand amputation and drug dependency; Alleged excessive administration of steroids, resulting in bilateral avascular necrosis, causing need for bilateral hip replacement; and Defense of cardiologist to whom a patient with a positive treadmill test was referred who discharged patient after a negative arteriogram and discontinued medications. Patient died shortly thereafter of heart attack.

Honors, Education, and Activities: Mr. Hughes is a 1974 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. He has been a member of the Illinois Bar since 1974 and the Wisconsin Bar since 1986. He is admitted to the state and federal courts of Illinois and Wisconsin and is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State and American Bar Associations; the Legal Club of Chicago, the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel; the Defense Research Institute; the American Board of Trial Advocates; the Society of Trial Lawyers and the State Bar of Wisconsin. Mr. Hughes is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a Best's Listed Recommended Attorney. He has been designated an Illinois Leading Lawyer in both general personal injury defense and professional liability defense as well as insurance and re-insurance.In these same areas he has been designated an Illinois Superlawyer. Only the top 5% of Illinois attorneys are eligible to be considered for these peer-designated honors.