Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Products Liability, Aviation & Aerospace; view more
Licensed in Illinois since: 1990
Education: The John Marshall Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2013, 2016 - 2025 Call today:
800-349-2414
Kupets & DeCaro, P.C.
161 N Clark StSuite 1800
Chicago, IL 60601 Visit website
Details
David J. Kupets is a partner with Kupets & DeCaro, P.C., located in Chicago, Illinois. He focuses his practice exclusively on personal injury law, representing plaintiffs throughout the area who have been harmed by the negligence of others in motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, construction accidents, premises liability, workplace accidents, aviation accidents and products liability.
Mr. Kupets earned his Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School in 1988. While in law school, he was a member of Phi Delta Phi, the international legal honor society, and was appointed as the chief justice of the school's moot court program. Admitted to practice in Illinois, Mr. Kupets is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Northern and Central Districts of Illinois. Early in his career, he became known for his extensive work on behalf of plaintiffs in several airline disasters, and he was appointed a member of the plaintiffs' steering committee in multidistrict litigation arising out of a 1994 Flagship Airlines crash.
Mr. Kupets has won numerous multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of his clients, including a jury verdict of more than $5 million for a motor vehicle accident involving his client and an on-duty police officer. As a testament to his superb track record and high ethical standards, he has received an AV Preeminent* peer-review rating through Martindale-Hubbell, and the significant awards and settlements he has obtained for his clients has led to his membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Active in several professional organizations, Mr. Kupets serves on the board of managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and is a member of the American Association for Justice.
*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards. David has been selected as a member of the nation's top one percent of lawyers by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel Distinguished and a charter member of the Rue Ratings Best attorneys of America.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff, Aviation and Aerospace, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: PlaintiffFocus areas
Animal Bites, Aviation, Aviation Accidents - Plaintiff, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Dram Shop Laws, Informed Consent, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Toxic Mold, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 60% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 20% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
- 10% Aviation and Aerospace
- 10% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1990, Illinois
Professional Webpage: https://www.kupetsdecaro.com/attorney/david-j-kupets/
- Adams County Bar Association
- Gavel Society, Member
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America ("ATLA"), Member and Membership Chairman for ITLA
- Roscoe Pound Foundation, Member
- John Marshall Law Scholl Alumni Board of Managers, 2015
- American Bar Association, National Trial Advocacy Team from John Marshall, Member
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association ("ITLA"), Member and Board of Managers
- Continuing legal education program, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Moderator, 1997
- United States District Court: Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois, Federal Trial Bar Northern Distict of Illinois
- Phi Delta Phi, Member
- Illinois
- Association for Transportation Law, Logistics and Policies, Member
- Leigh v. Renaissance Roofing - motor vehicle - $500,000 settlement - Winnebago County (Rockford). Mendoza v. Birdbrain - product liability, burns from Firepot spill - $1,175,000 settlement. Withrow v. Rockford Mass Transit - motor vehicle - $350,000 settlement. Winnebago County (Rockford). Witt v. Borys - motor vehicle - $600,000 settlement. Northern District of Illinois. Arbetman v. Waste Management - pedestrian/motor vehicle, $850,000 verdict. Circuit Court of Cook County. $1,250,000 Settlement - paramedics contributing to death of young man having an epileptic seizure. Northen District of Illinois 3,700,000 Settlement at Trial - construction worker injured by semi-truck. Case settled on fourth day of trial. Semi-truck company’s last offer before trial was $2,000,000. Foreshew v. US Air - air disaster, $8,100,000 jury verdict. Federal Court, Cleveland, Ohio. Two combined cases, one a wrongful death action accounting for $7,350,000 of the verdict, the other a personal injury case accounting for the remainder. Krall v. City of Des Plaines - left-turning driver involved in crash with Des Plaines patrol car. $5,008,000 verdict (settled during appeal). Circuit Court of Cook County. Anderson and Kite v. Hills Department Stores - work injuries, construction - $2,395,700 jury verdict. Vermilion County, Danville, Illinois. Offer $180,000. Benard v. Gena Laboratories, et al. - products liability - $1,015,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Cook County. Payne v. Robs - premises liability and medical malpractice - $360,000 settlement for fall in restaurant and $1,150,000 verdict for medical malpractice. Circuit Court of Cook County. Townsend v. Fassbinder Builders, et al. - construction fall from 1st floor to basement - trial verdict $2,176,237.77. Circuit Court of Lake County. Hill v. Labanon Chemical - product liability, work injury industrial machine - $850,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Vermilion County. Abrassart v. Terminal Five Venture, et al. - construction injury, cement finisher fell through floor opening at O’Hare expansion project, injured back - $750,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Cook County. Bayne v. Hinkley Prachute - one of lead attorneys in case - crash of plane on takeoff for parachute jump. All aboard were killed. Confidential settlement. Circuit Court of Kane County. Mindak v. Antioch Tire Co. - truck tire explodes after repaired - $650,000 plus partial waiver of workers’ compensation lien. Laube v. Baker Construction - construction case, cement finisher injures knee on fall in wire mesh. $600,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Cook County. Brooks v. ICX Trucking - construction workers hit by truck. Settled one week into trial, $3,700,000. Circuit Court of Sangamon County. Thornton v. Firestone - product liability, work injury industrial machine - $700,000 settlement. Federal Court, Springfield (accident in Quincy). Berkley v. Vermilion County Nursing Home - medical malpractice - $500,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Vermilion County. Tribley v. Fairbury Fair - motor vehicle, knee of volunteer worker injured by fellow volunteer while preparing race track - $170,000 settlement. Circuit Court of Livingston County. Jane Doe v. Cicero School District - improper school procedures, 7 year old girl released to neighbor who assaulted her. Settlement amount cannot be disclosed. Circuit Court of Cook County. Zumbahlen v. Toro Lawn Mowers - product liability, defective mower controls. Confidential settlement. Effingham County. Johnson v. Chrysler Mowers - product liability, defective vehicle. Confidential settlement. Vermilion County (Danville). Buchholz v. USA - flight attendant injured while passing through secuirty. Settlement following liability trial. $390,000. Northern District of Illinois. Steven Rice v. Edmonds, MD - medical malpractice, misdiagnosis of shoulder injury - $175,000 settlement. Adams County (Quincy). Larry Davis v. Rexworks v. R.L. Brink - product liability, design/manufacturer of cement mixer - unguarded mixer drum, arm fractures - $220,000 settlement. Aguilar, Zorinana and Ramirez v. Hexagon, et al. - exposure of workers and their families to toxic chemicals without proper safety equipment. Confidential settlement. Circuit Court of Cook County. Paul Giless V. Happ Builders Cook County Construction Accident Settlement- $1,750,000 and waiver of workers compensation lien. Straight v Gatta et al, Cook County product liability- settlement $580,000 plus waiver of approx. 75% workers compensation lien. Jenkins v Aqua et al.Construction slip and fall Cook County settlement. $220,500 plus waiver of workers compensation lien.
- Numeroud verdicts and settlements are listed on the firm's website www.kupetsdecaro.com
- Chicago Epilepsy Foundation
- Named in Outstanding Young Men in America, 1987-88
- "Illinois Super Lawyer", Honored in periodical: The "Chicago Magazine", February, 2006
- Top 100 Trial Lawyers
- Member of the Alumni Board of Managers for 3 year term, JMLS Alumni Board of Managers, The John Marshal Law School, 2015
- Chief Justice, Moot Court program, John Marshall Law School
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Member
- One of Chicago's more prominent attorneys, Honored by "Chicago Lawyer Magazine"
- Lifetime Charter Member Best Attorneys of America, Rue Ratings
- Named in Who's Who of American Law Students for two years
- Named to the National Registry of Who's Who of Honored Professionals in America
- Martindale AV Rating
- Member of Nations Top 1% Attorneys, American Association of Distinguished Counsel, 2015
- Speaker, National Convention for ATLA in San Diego, California
- Invited lecturer, National conference on Toxic Torts held in West Palm Beach, Florida
- Lecturer, Chicago Kent Law School
- Invited lecturer for ITLA Continuing Education over several years
- Adams County Bar
- American Association Of Justice
- ATLA
- ISBA
- ITLA
- Vermillion County Bar
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2013, 2016 - 2025
