Michael Mertz
Partner | Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C.
Michael Mertz is a medical malpractice, sexual abuse and nursing home abuse trial lawyer and partner at Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois. J.D., DePaul University College of Law (1997).
Meet Michael
Contact
Suite 2250
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Stay Connected
"A case is not a set of facts, it’s an experience our client has gone through."
Michael T. Mertz is a partner at Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois. He represents injured people and their families in medical malpractice, sexual abuse, nursing home abuse, product liability, construction accident, automobile collision and premises liability cases.
Mertz graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1997 and has practiced with the firm since then, becoming a partner in 2004. The firm says he has recovered more than $400 million for clients and has resolved cases in Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Tennessee, Nevada, Indiana and Oklahoma.
His results include more than $20 million in settlements for a group of women abused by a physician, a $12 million settlement for three children abused in a foster care system and a $7.2 million wrongful death verdict that remains the record for DuPage County. In April 2022, he obtained a $5.412 million Cook County verdict for a tenant attacked after a building owner failed to maintain a security door. He has also argued two successful appeals before the Illinois Appellate Court, First District.
Mertz serves on the Executive Committee of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and is slated to serve as its president for the 2026-2027 term. The National Trial Lawyers named him to its Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Illinois in 2021.
Experience and Expertise
Qualifications
Timeline
- DePaul University College of Law, J.D. (1997)
Practice Areas
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (Executive Committee; President for the 2026-2027 term)
- The National Trial Lawyers
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Illinois (2021)
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 (2012)
- Super Lawyers (2012, 2013)
- Super Lawyers Rising Star (every year from 2009 until 2012)
- $20 Million Physician Abuse Settlements: More than $20 million in settlements for a group of women abused by a physician.
- $12 Million Foster Care Abuse Settlement: Settlement for three children abused by their foster parent while in the defendants' foster care system.
- $7.2 Million Wrongful Death Verdict: Verdict for the Roth family in a medical negligence wrongful death case, the record high for wrongful death cases in DuPage County, Illinois.
- $6 Million Ambulance Collision Settlement: In June 2022, a $6 million settlement for a 55-year-old Chicago man injured in a 2019 head-on collision with an ambulance in Birmingham, Alabama.
- $5.412 Million Premises Security Verdict: In April 2022, a Cook County Circuit Court jury verdict of $5,412,000 against a Chicago apartment building owner and property management company that failed to maintain the building's front security door.
- $5.3 Million Wrongful Death Settlement: Settlement for the Medina family after a forensic audit of a hospital charting system showed a doctor had opened an MRI scan earlier than claimed.
Print is Alive
Trial Lawyer's Journal sets a new standard for law journal publications. With limited ads and one-of-a-kind content, it was created to celebrate wins both in and outside the courtroom.