Practice Areas
Attorney Robert Phillips has a quarter-century of experience in handling personal injury, wrongful death and medical malpractice cases. By age 26, Mr. Phillips began successfully serving as Lead Trial Counsel in complex medical malpractice cases.
Mr. Phillips is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum is restricted to attorneys who have served as lead counsel in cases involving multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts. Less than 1% of all attorneys in the United States are members. Many "top" or "leading" attorney lists consist of members who nominate their own colleagues and associates. Membership in the Multi-Million Dollar forum is based upon results.
Mr. Phillips has obtained numerous record-setting jury verdicts and settlements for clients in various types of cases including matters involving medical malpractice, product liability and nursing home neglect.
In order to maintain an active law license in the State of Illinois, attorneys are required to attend Continuing Legal Education courses. Mr. Phillips has served as an instructor, teaching Advanced Trial Techniques to experienced lawyers.
For additional information regarding Robert B. Phillips & Associates, LLC's practice areas, please click on the individual practice areas in the left-hand column.
Automobile Accidents
Attorney Robert Phillips has been representing individuals and families who have suffered wrongful death and personal injuries resulting from automobile accidents and transportation collisions for over twenty-five years. Many motor vehicle collisions involve straightforward issues related to a motorists' failure to comply with traffic signals, speed restrictions or the general failure to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a vehicle. However, many cases require in-depth investigation and coordination with accident reconstruction experts, involving crush-point analysis with utilization of computer re-creation simulation.
Robert B. Phillips & Associates, LLC works closely with some of the nation's leading experts in presenting evidence in transportation cases involving heavy equipment tractor/trailers and railroad crossing collisions. These cases often involve complex analysis of the maintenance and operation of commercial vehicles and locomotives.
The investigation of vehicular and heavy equipment collisions may require the preservation of time-critical evidence, which should be promptly secured. The failure to take immediate steps to preserve evidence can result in difficulty proving claims for injuries or wrongful death. Individuals or families involved in serious vehicular collisions should promptly retain legal counsel for the purpose, of preserving any necessary evidence.
Attorney Robert Phillips has been representing individuals and families who have suffered wrongful death and personal injuries resulting from automobile accidents and transportation collisions for over twenty-five years.
Medical Malpractice
An Institute of Medicine Report revealed that medical errors cause between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths each year in American hospitals. According to this study, between 120 and 268 people die each day in America as a result of medical negligence. The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that based upon the IOM Report, hospitals and the healthcare profession should be working to make hospitals safer.
Attorney Robert Phillips has been representing individuals and families in complex medical malpractice matters for over twenty-five years. He has been successful in securing record-setting jury verdicts and record-setting settlements on behalf of his clients.
Mr. Phillips' results include a settlement which exceeded 4 million dollars on behalf of a woman who suffered a bowel perforation during a laparoscopic procedure. This recovery ranked among the highest settlements in Will County, Illinois.
Mr. Phillips secured the highest jury verdict in the history of The State of Illinois, for all breast implant surgery cases, on behalf of a woman who sustained disfiguring injuries resulting from improper surgical technique.
Attorney Robert Phillips works closely with many of the nation's most respected physicians and medical experts in representing individuals and families with serious and meritorious medical malpractice claims.
Attorney Robert Phillips works closely with many of the nation's most respected, physicians and medical experts in representing individuals and families with serious and meritorious medical malpractice claims.
Cerebral Palsy & Birth Injuries
Each year, an unfortunate number of infants and children sustain permanent brain injury and cerebral palsy due to inappropriate monitoring and medical care during the course of labor and delivery. Parents with children who suffer from brain injuries and cerebral palsy are rarely informed by physicians and hospital staff when such injuries were caused by negligent care.
Chicago Lawyer Magazine reported that Mr. Phillip's recovery on behalf of an eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy ranked in the top ten settlements for an individual in the State of Illinois. The settlement included an initial payment of $8,500,000.00 with combined future payments exceeding $12,000,000.00.
Attorney Robert Phillips works closely with many of the nation's most respected physicians and medical experts in representing individuals and families with serious and meritorious medical malpractice claims.
Attorney Robert Phillips works closely with many of the nation's most respected, physicians, obstetricians, maternal fetal experts and other medical experts in representing individuals and families with serious and meritorious medical malpractice claims.
Transportation & Railroad Accidents
While many passenger vehicle collisions involve less complex issues regarding fault, accidents involving large commercial trucks and railroad crossing train collisions often require expert forensic investigation related to hydraulic braking systems, event data recorders, (i.e. Black Box information) review of driver log information, and skid mark and crush point analysis. Railroad crossing collisions often involve civil engineering analysis and the analysis of the design of the crossing and adequacy of warning devices.
Attorney Robert Phillips has represented individuals and families throughout the United States in cases involving negligent operation of tractor-trailers, negligent operation of train locomotives and unsafe railroad crossings lacking adequate warning devices. Mr. Phillips has been featured on NBC Television in a multipart "Unit 5 Investigation" related to dangerous railroad crossings and featured in Reader's Digest Magazine in relation to a high-speed fatal collision at an Amtrak railroad crossing which did not have any automatic warning devices in place.
Attorney Robert Phillips has been representing individuals and families who have suffered wrongful death and personal injuries resulting from automobile accidents and transportation collisions for over twenty-five years.
Defective & Dangerous Products
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission weakened reporting regulations upon manufactures, which required the reporting of information related to potentially dangerous or deadly products. "The move eliminates a key incentive for corporations to act responsibly and represents a backward step in the effort to protect the American public," said the Executive Director for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Attorney Robert Phillips represents individuals who have suffered serious personal injury or death related to unreasonably dangerous or defective products. Mechanical Engineers and/or design expert witnesses are often utilized to establish when dangerous or defective products are responsible for causing serious injuries or death.
Mr. Phillips secured over 3 million dollars of present and future payments, on behalf of a child who was struck in the eye by an air-powered toy rocket. Although the product was the subject of litigation through the country, Mr. Phillips was the first attorney to research the origin of the product and locate the inventor of the product. Through these efforts, it was discovered that the inventor's product was originally designed and marketed as a 'hobby shop" product with an age restriction of "12 and up". Further, the original instructions and box required the use of construction grade eye protection. Mr. Phillips' investigation revealed that the company's new owners intentionally removed the eye protection warnings, lowered the age restriction, and marketed the product through major retail and toy stores to young children.
As a result of Mr. Phillips' efforts and the litigation, the dangerous product was removed from the shelves of many major retail stores. The settlement was the highest recovery in Illinois for a non-blinding eye injury.
Mechanical Engineers and design expert witnesses are often utilized to establish when dangerous or defective products are responsible for causing serious injuries or even death.
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
As the average life expectancy of Americans continues to increase, the number of nursing homes and senior assisted living facilities continues to increase at a rapidly growing rate.
Although many nursing homes provide good healthcare, experienced staff and properly equipped facilities, many have become "warehouses" of the elderly, resulting in the neglect or abuse of senior residents.
The most frequent incidents of nursing home neglect include improper protocols to prevent risks of serious falls and fractures, the failure to prevent bedsores (decubitus ulcers), and incidents of residents suffering from malnutrition.
Mr. Phillips represented a nursing home resident at trial before a jury in a claim for damages stemming from numerous infected bedsores, which the staff had neglected for a number of months. The jury's verdict, in favor of the nursing home resident, was the highest verdict in Illinois history for injuries related to bedsores.
Mr. Phillips also obtained a record-setting settlement on behalf of a nursing home resident who had suffered an amputation of her leg due to infection caused by numerous bedsores that were neglected by the facilities' staff.
Although many nursing homes provide good healthcare, experienced staff and properly equipped facilities, many have become "warehouses" of the elderly, resulting in the neglect or abuse of senior residents.
Construction Site Accidents
Commercial and residential construction sites can be inherently dangerous places of work. General Contractors and Sub-Contractors, operating within a competitive bidding system, often work under strict time deadlines and schedules.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proscribes safety standards and regulations designed to protect the American construction worker from risk of injury or death. Efforts to complete construction projects "on-time" and "on-budget" often results in contractors failing to comply with safety regulations and standards. Further, a failure to provide proper training, and a failure to utilize proper safety equipment, also contributes to serious injuries and deaths at construction sites.
Attorney Robert Phillips represents individuals and families who have sustained serious personal injuries or death resulting from dangerous construction sites and unsafe practices. In representing individuals and families, Mr. Phillips utilizes some of the nation's leading experts in the construction industry, including former and retired OSHA compliance officers and officials.
Mr. Phillips has secured millions of dollars on behalf of families who have suffered personal injuries, wrongful death and lost career income due to injuries related to scaffold accidents, electrical code violations and other negligent acts of general contractors and subcontractors.
Mr. Phillips obtained a $2,100,000.00 recovery on behalf of an injured worker who sustained a complex foot fracture due to a wall which collapsed under high wind conditions. This recovery was the highest reported settlement in Illinois history for this type of injury.
In representing individuals and families, Mr. Phillips utilizes some of the nation's leading experts in the construction industry, including former and retired OSHA compliance officers and officials.
Premises Liability
Illinois law provides that businesses are required to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition in order to prevent injuries to customers. The Law Firm of Robert B. Phillips & Associates, LLC provides representation on behalf of individuals and families who have suffered personal injury or wrongful death resulting from unreasonably dangerous conditions existing on property.
The Law Firm of Robert B. Phillips & Associates, LLC has successfully represented an individual who suffered injuries caused by an unmarked area of construction at a grocery market, a child impaled by an uncapped screw at a children's amusement center, and numerous clients who have sustained injuries due to unsafe conditions existing on commercial and residential properties.
Twenty-one individuals lost their lives at the Chicago E2 Nightclub when patrons attempted to exit the club following an altercation. Mr. Phillips was the only attorney who immediately preserved and secured the critical evidence necessary to prove and establish the numerous building code violations which created many of the hazards which contributed to the tragic events.
Mr. Phillip's recent representation of a child who sustained facial injuries due to a dog bite resulted in a settlement which exceeded $500,000.00.
Illinois law requires businesses to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for their customers.