Daniel M. Kotin is a partner and trial lawyer in the Chicago law firm of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman. His experience in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases in the areas of transportation, product liability, medical malpractice, and construction has led to great success for Dan's client's in the courtroom. His results have earned him top positions on several mass tort litigation steering committees, and his reputation has earned him elected leadership positions in various prestigious legal and civic organizations.
Throughout his career, Dan has obtained nearly $54 million in jury verdicts and another $140 million in settlements on behalf of his clients. Many of these results have been either record-setting or particularly noteworthy for their type of case.
For example, Dan set a record for the largest verdict in Illinois for an individual injured in a mass transit crash when he obtained $29.6 million on behalf of a woman who suffered brain injuries in the derailment of a Metra train. Before that, Dan obtained the largest personal injury or wrongful death award ever received in the history of St. Louis County, Missouri when he obtained a $9.5 million verdict on behalf of a family of former Chicago Blackhawk hockey player and coach Keith Magnuson who was killed in a car crash. Years earlier, Dan held one of the top ten medical malpractice verdicts in Cook County when he obtained a $10 million verdict for a man who was paralyzed due to hospital negligence.
Many of Dan's other noteworthy successes came through settlements obtained on behalf of clients both before and during trial. In transportation cases, Dan's successes include: $43 million in combined settlements on behalf of 35 passengers injured in a commuter train crash; $8.4 million settlement with Pace Bus Company on behalf of a woman who suffered severe brain damage when she was struck by a car after the bus driver required her to disembark in a dangerous location; a $5.1 million settlement for the family of a man who was killed by a left turning Megabus while crossing the street; and a $4.5 million wrongful death settlement with the CTA on behalf of a family who lost their 10-year-old daughter when she was run over by a left turning bus while crossing the street with her mother.
Other settlements which reflect the wide-variety of Dan's practice include: $17.5 million in settlements on behalf of four victims of a hi-rise fire in downtown Chicago; $12.25 million in a product liability action against a tire manufacturer for a family who lost their father and grandmother in a vehicle rollover crash; and $10.5 million in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a U.S. Postal worker who became paralyzed due to improper medical treatment for injuries suffered in a fall while working.
Outside of the courtroom, Dan's leadership is reflected in many elected positions.
He is currently the President of The Society of Trial Lawyers, a 70-year-old invitation only organization comprised of experienced and respected trial lawyers in Chicago. He is the elected Treasurer of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) where he has a long history of service including sitting on the Board of Managers, chairing the Finance Committee, serving as a director of the Young Lawyers Section, and chairing multiple committees.
Dan is also involved in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association where he is a member of the Board of Managers and was previously the Chairman of the Association's Seminar Planning Committee. He is on the faculty at Loyola University School of Law where he teaches a course in Civil Procedure and serves as a coach of the National Mock Trial Team. He also is the Vice-President of the Board of Governors for the law school and serves as the co-chair of its Circle of Advocates. Previously, Dan was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on the hearing board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission where he helps to decide disciplinary cases against other lawyers.
Dan has testified at public hearings about proposed changes in Supreme Court rules. He regularly lectures at various bar associations and interest group seminars, and has published chapters and articles in legal books, periodicals, and newspapers.
To date, he has presented at more than 70 legal programs and has been published more than 20 times.
In addition to being frequently consulted by the media as a legal expert on contemporary legal issues and cases, Dan is regularly interviewed about the lawsuits he has handled as a personal injury lawyer. He has appeared on numerous television and radio news and talk programs, including, Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS, WGN TV and Radio, and WBBM News Radio 780.
In 2002, Dan was recognized and profiled by Chicago's Law Bulletin Publishing Company as one of "40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch". He was honored by Lawdragon as one of "500 New Stars, New World," in 2006. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers, an organization comprised of the top 100 trial lawyers from each state. He is currently profiled as one of the Top 5% of Civil Trial Lawyers in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network, has been designated an "Illinois Super Lawyer" and maintains an AV rating - the highest possible rating for any attorney - from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.