Practice Areas: Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Products Liability; view more
Licensed in Illinois since: 2000
Education: DePaul University College of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2025 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2009 - 2012 Call today:
312-638-2407
Gill Ports, Ltd.
One East Wacker DriveSuite 3310
Chicago, IL 60601 Visit website
Details
A valuable attorney at Gill Ports, Ltd., and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Matthew D. Ports is experienced in handling personal injury cases, particularly those related to motor vehicle accidents and medical malpractice in the Cook County area of Chicago. Devoting 100 percent of his practice to litigation, he has handled cases in both federal and state courts.
Admitted to practice in Illinois by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Mr. Ports is a passionate advocate for those who have been injured by the negligent actions of another. His practice areas extend to construction negligence, defective products and legal malpractice.
He began his education at the University of Colorado at Boulder, moving on to earn a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. Since then, he has received many honors and awards, including induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates, named to the Leading Lawyers Network and inclusion in the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 in 2012. Mr. Ports is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Attorneys Association, the CBA/Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, the American Constitutional Society for Law and Policy and the American Association for Justice.
Also participating in many pro bono activities, Mr. Ports was a tutor and volunteer for the Midtown School for Boys tutoring program and a president, volunteer and associate board member of Literacy Chicago. He was also the co-chair of the Well-Read Ball for the organization in 2006.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: PlaintiffFocus areas
Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Informed Consent, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 40% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 30% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 30% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 2000, Illinois
Professional Webpage: https://www.pfaffgill.com/attorney/matthew-d-ports/
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Illinois
- American Association for Justice
- Illinois State Bar Association
- ITLA, Amicus Curiae Committee
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois Trial Attorneys Association
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
- American Constitutional Society
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Member, 2014 - Present
- Chicago Bar Association, CBA/Young Lawyers Section – Co-Chair of the Tort Litigation Committee, 2005 - 2006
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
- Estate of J.B v. Chicago area health care facility: $2,950,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a 51 year old male with an untreated cardiac condition. He was survived by his 21 year old twin sons and wife of 2 years.
- J.H. v. Anderson, et al: $5,968,822.77 jury verdict for 33 year old man injured when the aerial lieft he was working on failed causing him to fall 20-25 feet
- M.G. vs. Zurawski, et al: $12,261,131.00 medical malpractice jury verdict in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois for a 49-year-old gentleman who died after failing to receive emergent plasmapheresis for thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (TTP).
- Does v. Minor Perpetrator and his Mother: $2,550,000 settlement for four children molested by a neighbor’s child. Multiple events over a six month period, the victims were 5 and 6 years old and the perpetrator was 11. Claims were against the neighbor’s child and his mother for negligent supervision because the mother was aware of previous accusations against her child and had been warned by her child’s therapist that the 11-year-old was not to be left alone with younger children because of his propensity to commit such acts. During pendency of case, we were able to prove that the child perpetrator and his mother were covered by the renters policy the mother had on the apartment.
- Estates of D.S. and F.R. v. Agridyne, LLC. - $6,000,000.00 settlement to the families of a 32-year-old man and a 29-year-old man who died from poisonous gas exposure in a railroad car while working at Agridyne, LLC's livestock feed facility in Pekin, Illinois. The $3 million settlement to each estate represents the second highest wrongful death awarded in Tazewell County as of 2018.
- O.R. v. Dri-Tec Manufacturing, Inc.: $8,104,001.35 judgment against Dri-Tec Manufacturing, Inc. for a 24-year-old machine operator who died of compartment syndrome when his arm was crushed between two rollers of a 1990 coating and laminating machine that was designed without proper safety guards for operators. He was survived by his wife and 2-year-old son.
- E.O. v. Edgewater Medical Center: $9,346,933.64 jury verdict for a 42-year-old man who died in 2000 as a result of unnecessary heart surgery.
- D.B. v. Advocate Medical Group, S.C.: $10,500,000 jury verdict for a 72-year-old woman who suffered an above knee amputation of her leg due to a failure of the emergency room doctor to diagnose bacterial cellulitis.
- D.S. v. MiTek Industries, Inc. v. C.I.T. Industries, Inc.: $13,544,172 jury verdict in the Circuit Court of Tazewell County, Illinois for a product liability case involving a 19-year-old young man who suffered an above-knee amputation of his left leg due to a defectively designed and manufactured Roof Glider machine
- M.S. v. Kindred, et al: $5,008,921.72 jury verdict for the estate of a 36-year-old woman who bled to death during at DaVinci robotic hysterectomy procedure at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois.
- Estate of Markman v. Okner, et al: $2,243,493 verdict against two doctors for the death of a 54 year old man after his coronary vessels were dissected causing cardiogenic shock and death.
- P.D. v. Comed, et al: $3,600,000 verdict following the death of electrician who fell 30 feet to his death after defendant pipfitters removed a 3x8 grating from the mezzanine creating an open hole in the walk way.
- A.J. v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, et al: $1,700,000 settlement related to the death of a 64 year old woman following a liver transplant. Plaintiff's estate alleged plaintiff died because she was over-anticoagulated as a result of a Vitamin K deficiency coupled with Heparin.
- B.B. v. City of Chicago: $1,500,000 settlement for a 23 year old recent college graduate, was riding his bicycle along Damen Avenue at 1:40 a.m. when he came upon a large hole around a catch basin in the roadway near the curb. The hole had been present for more than two months and the City had actual notice of the defect. Streets and Sanitation were scheduled to repair the hole the next day. On the evening of the occurrence, there was one unlighted sawhorse in the hole. City employees admitted that such a configuration was out of conformity with the City’s practices but denied that it was in that condition when they last saw it. Plaintiff had a substantial blood alcohol level, 0.23. His bicycle did not have brakes (it was a messenger-style bicycle), nor did it have a light. Plaintiff was also un-helmeted. He went over the handlebars after contacting the sawhorse in the hole and struck his head, suffering a very substantial closed head injury. He presently resides with his parents who provide the majority of his care.
- S.B. v. YCM.: $1,520,000 plus waiver of $260,000 worker's compensation lien for a 22-year-old who lost his non-dominant arm below the elbow in a work mishap. In an attempt to determine the cause of imperfect drilling by the machine, he slipped into the spinning drill. The defendant's machine did not have an automatic shut-off when the doors were open and did not have adequate safety guards to protect workers from the spinning drill.
- J.D. v. G.K., et al.: $1,222,000 settlement for the estate of a 33 year old man working on a construction site on a lift doing steel erection when the boom hoist wire rope of the crane working nearby snapped and the boom collapsed and fell on him killing him instantly. Case was against the general contractor and an inspection service. The decedent was survived by his 1 year old daughter and posthumously born son.
- T.M. for Jane Doe, a minor, v. Jackson, et al: $950,000 jury verdict for a 14 year old minor, presented to Family Planning Associates for an elective suction termination of pregnancy at 7-8 weeks. Initially, the doctor was unable to locate the pregnancy. Shortly after he finally did locate it, Jane Doe’s vitals dropped dramatically and she had to be rushed to Northwest Memorial Hospital where she needed to have a supracervical hysterectomy to save her life. Plaintiff alleged that during the seven minute procedure, Dr. Jackson should have heeded several warning signs that the pregnancy was ectopic, or outside of the uterus, and she should have been sent to another provider where they could do further testing. Plaintiff also alleged that Dr. Jackson tore Jane Doe’s uterus multiple times and started a massive bleed. Had her condition been discovered beforehand, Jane Doe likely would have undergone a resection surgery that would have preserved her ability to have her own children on one side of her uterus. She cannot bear children, but because her ovaries were saved, she is eligible for surrogacy. Defense made no offer ever.
- A.S. v. OB/GYN Surgeon and her Hospital Employer: $950,000 settlement for a 51-year-old woman against her surgeon and her surgeon’s hospital employer. Surgeon was attempting operative treatment for a fibroid uterus and menorrhagia. During the surgery, the surgeon injured the plaintiff’s colon requiring another surgeon to step in and emergently attempt to repair the injuries. As a direct result of the doctor’s negligence, plaintiff required a hysterectomy, was forced to have a colostomy bag for three months and suffered from a recto-vaginal fistula for seven months. She now has diet restrictions and intermittent abdominal discomfort.
- Doe v. Tejpal: Confidential settlement to a three-year-old boy, John Doe, who was injured when defendant's maintenance man entered the boy's apartment and sexually molested him. Plaintiffs brought suit against the apartment owner for giving the maintenance man a pass key for all the apartments without doing a criminal background check, which would have revealed a prior similar conviction.
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Literacy Chicago, President, 2006 - 2008
- Literacy Chicago, Associate Board Member/Volunteer, 2004 - 2008
- Midtown School for Boys Tutoring Program, Volunteer/Tutor, 2001 - 2004
- Literacy Chicago, Co-Chair of Literacy Chicago's 2006 Well-Read Ball
Honors/Awards:
- American Board of Trial Advocates Member 2014-present
- Named to Illinois Super Lawyers, 2016-present
- Named to the Leading Lawyers Network, 2013 - present
- Named a Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
- Named to The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, 2012
Educational Background:
- University of Colorado at Boulder
Industry Groups:
- American Association For Justice
- American Constitutional Society
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Office location for Matthew D. Ports
One East Wacker Drive
Suite 3310
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-638-2407
Selections
10 Years Super Lawyers
4 Years Rising Stars
- Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2025
- Rising Stars: 2009 - 2012
