Melanie VanOverloop
Top rated Personal Injury attorney in Chicago, Illinois
Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C.
Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability; view more
Licensed in Illinois since: 2011
Education: Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2022 - 2025 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2014 - 2021 Call today:
312-327-9880
Free Consultation Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C.
20 North Clark StreetSuite 3500
Chicago, IL 60602 Visit website
Details
Melanie VanOverloop has earned a reputation for her tenacious representation of accident victims. An attorney at Chicago, Illinois-based Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C., she practices plaintiff's personal injury law with an emphasis on medical malpractice, aviation and motor vehicle accidents, construction negligence, and defective products. Clients from throughout Cook County have benefited from her ability to communicate in the courtroom and extract settlements from responsible parties.
Ms. VanOverloop obtained a $8.65 million settlement for a woman injured by a defective motorcycle. She obtained $ 7.6 million settlement for a group of tradesmen who were poisoned by lead. She also participated on legal teams that won settlements for injured workers. Two of those cases produced settlements in excess of $3 million for each client. In the case of a woman killed in a semitruck accident, she oversaw a victory that resulted in a $1.5 million settlement, even when the defendant tried to shift blame onto the victim.
Her accomplishments in personal injury litigation have qualified her to write for professional organizations. She authored the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education chapter on construction negligence and co-authored trial notebook chapters on settlements and limitations for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Other professional organizations that count her as a member include The Chicago Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the American Bar Association and the American Association for Justice.
Her higher education began at Purdue University, which granted her a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science. She then enrolled at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and earned a Juris Doctor in 2011. Admitted to practice in Illinois, she is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: PlaintiffFocus areas
Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 80% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 10% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 10% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 2011, Illinois
Professional Webpage: https://www.rapoportlaw.com/our-attorneys/melanie-vanoverloo...
- Illinois, 2011
- Founding Chair, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Young Lawyers Division
- American Association for Justice
- Chicago Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 2011
- Women's Bar Association of Illinois, Civil Litigation Committee
- $3,900,000.00 – Settlement package for a Local 1 ironworker who suffered an L5-S1 disc herniation and labral hip tear while he was attempting to move a 1,000 lb. steel beam on his own and he tripped on a piece of plywood decking
- $1,375,000.00 – Settlement for a 95-year old man who was attempting to leave his condo building when he was caused to slip and fall on a freshly mopped floor in the lobby of the building. This is the highest settlement in Illinois for an individual over the age of 90
- $870,000.00 – Settlement package for a Local 448 painter who injured his back while carrying a spray pump up several flights of stairs. The plaintiff was denied access to use the elevator to move the spray pump
- $1,500,000.00 – Settlement for a young female that was rear-ended by a semi-truck and caused to suffer injuries which led to her death. The truck driver contended that the plaintiff suddenly moved in front of his truck and slammed on her brakes. There was evidence that the plaintiff’s vehicle ran out of gas which caused her to slow down
- $958,303,38.00 - Verdict in Cook County for a mason that was injured when the brick wall he was working on collapsed due to high winds. The pretrial offer was $50,000.00
- $360,000.00 – Settlement package for a Local 1 ironworker who tripped on an anchor bolt and suffered from left shoulder subacromial impingement. He was off of work for four months and returned to work with no restrictions for his left shoulder
- $3,200,000.00 – Settlement package for a Local 1 ironworker who suffered extensive nerve damage on his dominant right arm while installing rebar in an unsafe work area. The package included the $2,000,000.00 policy limits, a waiver of the $668,172.71 workers compensation lien and a medical set aside in the amount of $530,956.74. This settlement was reached after a week and a half long trial in front of Judge Susan Zwick
- $1,000,000.00 – Policy limits settlement for an elderly woman who was repeatedly abused by a nursing home and suffered injuries which ultimately led to her death
- $524,608.82 – Verdict in LaSalle County for a laborer who was electrocuted while directing a crane operation near power lines. The plaintiff lost his left fifth digit but was returned to work full duty within five months of the occurrence. This is the second highest verdict in LaSalle County for a construction case
- Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star, 2014, 2015 and 2016
- Named as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers magazine, 2015
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, B.A. in History and political Science, 2007
- Author, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Chapter on Construction Negligence
- Co-Author, ITLA Medical Malpractice Trial Notebook Chapter on Settlements
- Co-Author of the Chapter on Limitations
Office location for Melanie VanOverloop
20 North Clark Street
Suite 3500
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-327-9880
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2022 - 2025
- Rising Stars: 2014 - 2021
