Paul S. Steinhofer

• B.S., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1988.
• J.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1993.
  
• Admitted to the Bar of Indiana, 1993.
• Admitted to the Bar of Illinois, 1997.
• United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, 1993.
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2003.
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, 2007.
  

Practice Areas:

Insurance Defense Construction Defect Catastrophic Injury Transportation Product Liability Premises Liability Toxic Tort Professional Negligence, Legal and Medical Malpractice

Cases:

As a prosecutor, I tried over fifty major felony and murder cases to verdict. As a civil attorney, in addition to trying many more cases to verdict, I have worked extensively with Special Investigation Units of major insurance carriers on matters of fraud. I am licensed and try cases in Indiana and Illinois in the areas of transportation, construction, catastrophic loss and professional negligence. Some recent results include:

• Earsie Smith v. Rayfield Padgett, Lake County, Indiana, a personal injury case which resulted in a verdict for the defense.
• Susan Capsay v. Gabriel Backstrom, Cook County, Illinois, an automobile accident involving serious orthopedic injuries. The demand was $250,000, the jury returned a verdict for $90,000.
• Reginald Johnson v. K&G Transportation Co., Lake County, Indiana, a trucking accident which resulted in a verdict for the defense.
• Edward Chavin v. Richard King, Cook County, Illinois, a personal injury case which resulted in a verdict for the defense.
• Joan Evoy v. CRST Van Expedited (second chair), U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, a catastrophic trucking accident involving a traumatic brain injury. A demand of $85 million was made, the jury returned a verdict for $23.5 million. The case was eventually settled prior to appeal.
• Karl A. Gawlik v. Turner Construction Company, Cook County, Illinois, a construction accident where a pipefitter suffered serious orthopedic injuries and permanent disability and was never able to return to work. The case settled favorably at mediation for less than one half of the initial reserve amount.
• Estate of Lawrence Gross v. ATS Specialized, Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, a trucking accident with a demand of $500,000. I successfully mediated and settled the case on the eve of trial for $60,000.

Professional Memberships:

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
• Indiana State Bar Association
• Lake County Indiana Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
  • Trucking Law Committee Member
  • Construction Law Committee Member
    

 

Community:

• Knights of Columbus, youth baseball and soccer coach, Oak Park, Illinois.