You can't usually tell from the inside whether your care went wrong. You know something happened — a surgery that left you worse, a symptom brushed off until it became serious, a recovery that never made sense — but the medicine that would explain it is locked inside records you can't read and a system that closes ranks. That uncertainty is exactly what these cases are built to cut through.
I'm Scott DeSalvo. For almost 30 years I've handled serious injury cases in DuPage County, and I take medical negligence cases — the ones many firms turn away — when the evidence supports them. If you're near Lisle and something about your medical care doesn't add up, here's an honest look at how you'd actually find out. The first conversation costs nothing.
Here's the hard truth that catches people off guard: medicine carries real risk, and a disappointing outcome, by itself, isn't a case. Malpractice is narrower — it means a provider fell below the accepted standard of care, and that specific failure caused you harm. Good doctors have bad outcomes; that's not what we're talking about.
The line between the two isn't something you can eyeball, and honestly, it isn't something I can either just by hearing your story. It takes a qualified physician reviewing the actual records to say whether the care crossed the line. That review is the whole ballgame.
Illinois built a gatekeeper directly into the law. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622, you generally can't even file a medical malpractice suit without attaching a written report from a qualified health professional who reviewed your case and concluded there's a reasonable basis to believe malpractice occurred. It's called a certificate of merit.
In plain terms: before your case ever reaches a courtroom, a real doctor has to put their name behind it. That requirement keeps weak cases out — and it means a lawyer has to invest in serious expert review up front, before a single filing. Any attorney who isn't set up to do that can't properly bring one of these at all.
Most Illinois injury cases run on a clean two-year deadline. Malpractice has layers. You generally have two years from when you knew, or should have known, that an injury came from malpractice — that "discovery" piece matters, because some harm surfaces slowly. But sitting behind it is a hard four-year limit from the date of the malpractice itself, with narrow exceptions, and cases involving children follow their own rules. Miss either one and a strong case simply ends. When in doubt, ask early.
Let me be candid about the part most firms won't admit: they turn down the majority of malpractice calls not because the medicine was fine, but because these cases are expensive and hard. Every one needs paid physician experts, the litigation can run for years, and hospitals are defended by well-funded firms whose entire job is to defeat these claims. Many lawyers simply can't carry that.
I'll give you a straight answer — including when it isn't a case. And when it is, the difficulty actually cuts in your favor, because the insurer knows most opponents can't go the distance. Almost 30 years of experience and trial training through Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the Keenan Trial Institute is what makes them take a claim seriously.
When negligence causes real harm, Illinois law allows recovery for your medical costs past and future, lost income and lost earning ability, physical pain, disability and disfigurement, and the loss of a normal life. The attorney's fee on a medical malpractice case in Illinois is 33 1/3% of the recovery, and as with every case I take, you pay nothing up front and nothing unless we win.
Bottom line: these are the hardest injury cases to win, which is exactly why the lawyer you pick matters more here than anywhere else.
If something about your care feels wrong, don't sit on it — the deadlines are unforgiving and the records need a qualified eye. Call me, tell me what happened, and I'll tell you honestly whether it's worth pursuing. No cost, no pressure, no fee unless I recover for you.
I'm available around the clock. Call 312-500-4500.
Usually you can't know for certain until a qualified physician reviews the records — and neither can I from your description alone. A bad outcome isn't enough; there has to be a departure from the accepted standard of care that caused your injury. What I can do is look at what happened and, where it looks serious, have the records evaluated by an expert. Illinois law actually requires that review before a case is filed.
Generally two years from when you discovered the harm was caused by malpractice, with a hard four-year cap from the date it happened, and separate rules for children. The interaction between those two limits trips people up constantly, and missing either ends the case. That's why it's worth asking a lawyer early rather than assuming the clock hasn't run.
Cost and difficulty. Each case needs paid medical experts, years of work, and the resources to stand up to a hospital's defense team. A lot of firms aren't built for that. I take these on when the evidence supports them and tell you honestly when it doesn't.
Nothing out of pocket. I work on contingency at the standard Illinois malpractice fee of 33 1/3%, and I advance the significant costs of expert review myself. If we don't win, you owe me nothing — you're never personally on the hook for the expert bills.
Take it with a grain of salt. The hospital and its insurer say the care was appropriate in nearly every case — that's their position, not a neutral finding. What settles the question is an independent expert's look at the records, not the institution's own word. Don't let their reassurance run out your filing deadline.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
No Fee Unless You Win | Free Consultation | 24/7 Availability Call or Text: (312) 500-4500
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Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
New Cases: 312-500-4500
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