Timothy J. Cavanagh

Founder of Cavanagh Sorich Law Group, Timothy J. Cavanagh handles cases of wrongful death, medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents and other personal injuries. The rights of the people of Cook County and Chicagoland are his priority anytime an injury has occurred because of the negligence of another party, and he works to secure compensation for the injured. Mr. Cavanagh has obtained over $900 million in verdicts, settlements and judgments in his career.

In 2025, Cavanagh took the helm as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), further solidifying his leadership within the state’s legal community. He has served on the ITLA Board of Managers for more than 25 years, and on ITLA's Executive Committee for more than 10 years. “I am honored and excited to be President,” said Cavanagh.

Cavanagh has consistently obtained multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients including record-breaking results. In 2025, Cavanagh led his team to a $104 million verdict, the largest verdict or settlement in a road construction case in Illinois history, concluding a nine-and-a-half–year legal battle. The jury found the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority negligent in the design and construction of the temporary traffic zone and in failing to install the required warning signs. These factors were determined to be major causes of the crash that left the plaintiff a quadriplegic.

He won a $55 million verdict against the Canadian National Railroad, which was recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the top 100 verdicts in the nation.  His landmark $20 million settlement during his closing argument in Cazares v. City of Chicago successfully compelled the Chicago Police Department to acknowledge its long-entrenched “code of silence.” 

Cavanagh was named the Best Lawyers® 2022 Personal Injury Litigation — Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Chicago. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® every year since 2015 in the field of personal injury litigation – plaintiffs and he has been one of Lawdragon's top 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers since 2019. Cavanagh has been named an Illinois Leading Lawyer by the Leading Lawyers Network every year since 2003; the list is reserved for the top five percent of attorneys in the state. Thomson Reuters has named Cavanagh a Super Lawyer every year since 2005. He also has been included on the annual Irish Legal 100 list since 2010.

Cavanagh Sorich Law Group was given a “Tier 1” ranking by U.S. News & World Report and has been included in the publication’s annual Best Law Firms list since 2016.

Notable results include:

• $104 million verdict, the largest verdict or settlement in a road construction case in Illinois history. Negligent construction safety precautions led to a crash, leaving the plaintiff a quadriplegic.
• $55 million railroad crossing verdict (recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the top 100 verdicts in the country in 2002)
• $50 million settlement in a FELA railroad injury case for a young man who underwent more than 30 surgeries following a devastating accident in a Chicago rail yard. 
• $27 million settlement in Federal Court for the families of two young adults killed in a trucking crash just weeks before trial
• $20 million “code of silence” case against the city of Chicago, an off-duty Chicago police detective killed two men while driving drunk on an interstate.
• $14 million settlement for a 5-year-old boy who sustained a severe brain injury during birth after hospital staff confused his heart rate with his mother’s pulse.
• $13.7 million verdict for a deadly automobile crash where the defendant was driving 95 miles per hour.
• $12.5 million settlement in a medical malpractice case and $5.3 million in a premises liability case and $1.7 million in a motorcycle/auto crash. 
• $11.1 million product liability settlement for a young man who lost five digits of his left hand in an unguarded pinch point
• $9.75 million settlement for a triathlete who was hit by a truck and severely injured while riding her bike in downtown Chicago. The settlement was the largest in state history involving a vehicular collision with a bicycle.
• $9.1 million settlement for a woman who suffered nerve and brain damage after a train collided with her car at a broken crossing gate
• $7.5 million settlement on behalf of a woman who sustained traumatic injuries caused from a passing commuter train.

Tim is the husband of Stacey Feeley Cavanagh and the proud father of six children.