David A. Statham

Attorney Profile

1 S. Wacker Dr.
Suite 3140
Chicago, IL 60606

Communication center

Mr. Statham received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from St. Mary's College in 1980 and his Juris Doctor from De Paul University in 1983. He has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1983 and is also licensed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where he is a member of the Federal Trial Bar. He is also licensed to appear before the United State Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Mr. Statham has argued several cases before the Illinois Appellate Court and a significant life insurance case in front of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals which granted a beneficiary triple indemnity benefits to the mother of a son who was killed in an automobile accident.

Mr. Statham is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the South Suburban Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association and the Will County Bar Association.

Mr. Statham is a partner of The Law Offices Newman, Boyer, & Statham, Ltd. He concentrates on civil trial practice in state and federal courts, including personal injury, wrongful death, construction accidents, products liability, premises liability, automobile and truck collisions and physician and hospital negligence.

Other experiences

David is the third oldest of 10 children. His father was born in England and his mother was born in Ireland. His father was a brick layer. David attended Our Lady of the Ridge grammar school in Chicago Ridge, Illinois and high school at Leo High School.

David has been married for 31 years to Kathleen Statham, also one of 10 children. They have four children. David has a passion for youth sports. In 2002, his local little league team was a runner-up in the Illinois State Championship which included 244 teams from across the state. David participated in the Chicago Golden Glove Boxing Tournament as a 30 year old.

The following lists some of the recent settlement/verdicts obtained by Mr. Statham:

Railroad worker injury

A railroad worker, age 35, injured his back lifting an eight-pound oil filter with a pitchfork. The plaintiff underwent three back surgeries. The railroad made no settlement offer until case was assigned out to trial. Mr. Statham rejected the railroad's offer of $250,000 and the jury awarded a verdict of $5.385 million. The railroad appealed the verdict arguing that the plaintiff was negligent in causing his injury and that the verdict was excessive, but the verdict was unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Court. The railroad filed a petition for leave to appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court which was denied on March 24, 2010. Within 30 days, Union Pacific paid the entire verdict plus interest for a total payment of $6,382,495.20.

Fall down/premises liability

The plaintiff, age 52 a homemaker, was a customer at Home Depot shopping for patio furniture. One of Home Depot's employees left a hose running in the nursery department causing a puddle of water to accumulate on the floor. She fell in the water causing her to suffer a broken ankle, herniated disc and an injury to her knee which resulted in an eventual knee replacement. She incurred nearly $250,000 in medical bills. Home Depot denied there was water on the floor and claimed to have lost the original accident report that documented the water. After four years of litigation, Home Depot offered to pay her medical expenses on the day before the trial was scheduled to start. At trial, Home Depot blamed the cause of the fall on her failure to see the water and blamed all of her injuries on her weight and pre-existing conditions. After a six-day trial, a jury awarded her $2,250,310.65. Home Depot filed an appeal, which was denied by the Illinois Appellate Court almost two years later. Home Depot paid the full judgment with interest for a final pay out of $2.6 million. This verdict is one of the largest verdicts in the state of Illinois arising out of a slip and fall accident.

Steel worker injured on the job

A 39-year old steelworker was seriously injured while working at Acme Steel in Riverdale, Illinois. While repairing a furnace, a 400-pound piece of molten steel fell on him resulting in a complete paralysis of both his legs. There were no witnesses to the occurrence. Mr. Statham filed a lawsuit against a company that was supposed to clean the steel off the walls surrounding the furnace. The defendant claimed that the steelworker caused the accident by negligently operating his equipment and by failing to make sure his work site was safe. The defense hired an expert who contended that the accident was caused when a cable snapped, which caused the steel to fall from the wall. Unfortunately, the plaintiff's doctor agreed with the defense expert and was prepared to testify that his injury occurred when the cable snapped and was not caused by the large piece of steel striking him after it fell from the wall. Despite this testimony, Mr. Statham was able to negotiate a settlement for $2.3 million which, at the time, was one of the largest settlements in Cook County.

Automobile collision

The plaintiff, age 20, was a unseatbelted passenger in a vehicle driven by his friend. The vehicle collided in the middle of an intersection at 183rd and Governors Highway in Homewood, Illinois with a vehicle making a left turn. Both drivers claimed they had a green light. The independent eyewitnesses gave conflicting testimony. He suffered a broken nose with a deviated septum with several facial lacerations caused by his face coming in contact with the windshield. He was not wearing a seatbelt. The plaintiff had several reconstructive surgeries and incurred $25,000.00 in medical bills. His doctor testified that he would need several more surgeries costing approximately $100,000. Farmers Insurance, which insured the car in which he was a passenger, offered to settle for $100,000 (policy limits) prior to trial. The case proceeded to trial against the left-turning co-defendant who was insured by State Farm. State Farm offered $75,000 prior to the start of the trial which Mr. Statham rejected. The jury awarded $1,253,400. State Farm paid the entire judgment within three weeks of the verdict.

Premises liability, Will County

The 63-year old plaintiff slipped and fell on ice that had accumulated on a section of indoor carpeting that an employee of the landlord placed near the trash disposal area. She sustained a fractured right shoulder with a rotator cuff injury. She incurred medical bills in the amount of $40,000. She had no lost wages. Pekin Insurance offered $50,000 prior to trial ,which Mr. Statham rejected. After seven days of trial, a jury awarded her $500,000. This was one of the largest verdicts from a slip and fall case in Will County.

Premises liability

The plaintiff, age 64, tripped and fell in a parking lot at a commercial shopping center in Country Club Hill. She sustained a fractured left ankle. She incurred medical expenses in the amount of $30,000. She had lost wages in the amount of $2,200. Safeco Insurance offered $150,000 during trial to settle the case which Mr. Statham rejected. After a three-day jury trial, a jury awarded her $379,366. Within two weeks, the insurance company paid the verdict.

Construction injury

A 56-year-old female fell through an improperly covered stairwell opening while visiting a friend's new home during construction. The plaintiff initially suffered a broken leg but died at the hospital from a pulmonary embolism. The plaintiff's family sued the general contractor and subcontractor. The defendants claimed that the plaintiff was a trespasser. Parties reached a settlement of $1.7 million several months before trial.

Drowning in park district pool

The plaintiff, age 12, drowned while swimming with her friends at the Stanton Park Swimming Pool in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Park District agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle the case four weeks before trial.

Mr. Statham has also obtained outstanding results in the following cases:

• $1 million – A 43-year-old forklift driver for a warehouse was injured when he fell four feet after a dock support broke. The plaintiff had back surgery three years after the incident and was unable to return back to work.
• $950,000 – Settlement for 29-year-old man who committed suicide while in police custody.
• $950,000- Settlement for a 61-year-old man who died after surgery because of improper medication. The policy limits were $1 million. Another prominent personal injury law firm had previously rejected the case.
• $900,000 – Settlement for a construction worker who fell off a first story roof crushing his ankle. James Hamman negotiated a $200,000 workers compensation settlement for the same client.
• $500,000 – Settlement for a child who suffered learning disabilities from exposure to lead paint in her apartment building.
• $585,000 – Settlement for a truck driver who was injured when his truck was rear-ended by another truck in a low-speed collision. James Hamman negotiated a workers compensation settlement of $170,000 for the same client.
• $475,000 – Verdict in Will County for a forklift driver who injured his back in a work accident.
• $450,000 – Settlement for the family arising out of a death of an elderly wife and mother from India who died in a roll-over car accident on Interstate 57.
• $315,000 – Settlement for a 61-year-old woman who fell on ice and snow outside of a Maggiano's restaurant.
• $350,000 – Settlement for a 41-year-old who had an unnecessary hysterectomy because her doctor misdiagnosed her with cervical cancer.
• $475,000 – Settlement for a 44-year-old woman who had her colon perforated by her gynecologist.
• $225,000 – Settlement for a woman hit in the back by a grocery cart by a Jewel employee.
• $90,000 – Settlement against anesthesia for an injury that occurred during shoulder surgery.
• $85,000 – Settlement for a four-year-old child bitten by a dog and suffered facial lacerations.

Areas of practice

• Civil trial practice
• State and federal courts
• Personal injury
• Products liability
• Professional malpractice litigation

Litigation percentage

• 100 percent of practice devoted to litigation

Bar admissions

• Illinois, 1983
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit

Education

• DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, 1983
  Juris Doctor
• Saint Mary's College, 1980
  Bachelor of Arts
  Major: English literature

Professional associations and Memberships

• Federal Trial Bar
  Member
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
  Member
• American Association for Justice
  Member
• Illinois State Bar Association
  Member