Lawyer Overview

As a Partner and Founder of Pavalon, Gifford, Laatsch & Marino, Gary Laatsch ( deceased) concentrated his practice in personal injury law. Mr. Laatsch (deceased) received his bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. A native of Chicago, he received his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago in 1979.

While in his second year of law school, Mr. Laatsch (deceased) joined the law practice of Gene Pavalon as a clerk. The following year, he was hired as an associate attorney and, in 1986, he was made a partner of the firm.

An author of a number of articles concerning loss of society damages, contributory negligence, medical malpractice and products liability, Mr. Laatsch (deceased) had also been a lecturer for the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association and for the general membership of that organization. He had been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice and the Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois. As a member of the Chicago Bar Association, he had recently had served on the Hearing Division of the important Judicial Evaluation Committee.

Mr. Laatsch's (deceased) experience in defending verdicts in the appeals court began early in his law career when he wrote briefs for the firm. His strong research and writing skills, in addition to his strength as a trial attorney, had added a critical component to the firm.

In one notable example, in a case against a major automobile manufacturer, a $5 million verdict was awarded to a college student whose back was broken in a car accident. Mr. Laatsch (deceased) played a critical role in upholding the verdict during a three-year battle in the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court and U.S. District Court.

In another case, Mr. Laatsch (deceased) successfully handled the appeal of a $1.5 million verdict for the wrongful death of a female union representative killed in a commercial airline crash. In another example of his appellate skill, Mr. Laatsch (deceased) won a case against an airline in which a jury awarded several million dollars to a man who failed to receive proper medical care while in transit from Mexico to the United States. This award came in spite of a law that limits damages to $75,000 for accidents incurred during international travel. The Appellate Court held that the plaintiff was not limited to that amount.

Mr. Laatsch (deceased) had recently been appointed to the Plaintiffs' steering committee in Federal Court Multi-District litigation arising out of the crash of an American Eagle commuter flight in North Carolina. His efforts resulted in a $3.1 million settlement for the family of a passenger killed in that crash. More recently, he had represented the families of four passengers killed in a mid-air collision of private aircraft near Meigs Field in Chicago which was favorably settled during trial.

Mr. Laatsch (deceased) had argued complex jurisdictional and procedural issues in cases before the Illinois Supreme Court, including one which affirmed a $6 million jury verdict entered in favor of a client of the firm. In addition, he was trial counsel in a class action case filed on behalf of condominium owners which resulted in a multi-million-dollar jury verdict against an Illinois banking institution for fraud and breach of warranty. He also had represented a business partnership in the appeal which followed a jury's award of $54 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the partnership in a case involving fraudulent misrepresentations in the sale of a business.

Mr. Laatsch was married, the father of three children and resided in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury

Representative Cases

• Lounsbury v. Yorro, 124 Ill.App.3d 745, 464 N.E.2d 866 (1984)
• Northern Trust Company (Estate of Nardi) v. American Airlines, Inc., 142 Ill.App.3d 21, 491 N.E.2d 417 (1st Dist. 1985)
• Lee v. Hyster Co., 156 Ill.App.3d 214, 590 M/E/2d 586 (1987)
• Exchange National Bank of Chicago (Estate of Heagy) v. Air Illinois, Inc., 167 Ill.App.3d 1081, 522N.E.2d146 (1st Dist. 1988)
• John Darrill Connelly v. General Motors Corp., 184 Ill.App.3d 378, 540 N.E.2d 370 (1989)
• Henry Burke v. 12 Rothschild's Liquor Mart, Inc. and City of Chicago, 200 Ill.App.3d 192, 568 N.E.2d 80 (1st Dist. 1991)
• Colls v. City of Chicago, 212 Ill.App.3d 904, 571 N.E.2d 951 (1st Dist. 1991)
• Leone v. City of Chicago, 156 Ill.2d 33, 619 N.E.2d 119 (ITLA Amicus 1993)
• S.K. Hand Tool Corp. v. Dresser Industries, 284 Ill.App.3d 417, 672N.E.2d 341 (1st Dist. 1996)

West Practice Categories

Personal Injury -- Plaintiff

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 1979
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1979

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Illinois State Bar Association (Member)
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 1993 - Present (Member, Amicus Curiae Committee)
• American Association for Justice (Member)
• Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois (Member)
• Chicago Bar Association, 1993 - 1997 (Member, Judicial Evaluation Committee)
• American Bar Association (Member)

Honors and Awards

• Outstanding Young Men of America, 1986
• Who's Who in American Law, Eleventh Edition, 2000 - 2001
• Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, 1998

Classes and Seminars

• Lecturer, Toxic Torts, Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section Seminar, 1986
• Lecturer, Trial Lawyers Workshop, Chicago Bar Association, 1991
• Lecturer, Appellate Practice, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 1992
• Lecturer, Civil Practice Update, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 1993
• Lecturer, Civil Practice Update, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 1995
• Lecturer, Client Relations, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 1999
• Lecturer, Medical Malpractice, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 1992

Past Employment Positions

• Gene Pavalon, Clerk

Education

• Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, 1979
  J.D.
• Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, 1976
  B.A.
  Honors: cum laude
  Major: Business
  Major: Speech

Offers Free Initial Consultation

Published Works

• "A Comment on Elliot v. Willis and Its Practice Effect on Wrongful Death Actions in Illinois", Illinois Trial Lawyers Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1983
• "The Expanding Liability of Hospitals in Illinois", Illinois Trial Lawyers Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1985
• Medical Malpractice Trial Notebook (Contributing Author), Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Education Fund, 2000
• Illinois Products Liability Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1999

Address

Two North LaSalle Street
Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60602-4036

Phones

(312) 419-7400
(800) 542-0394 (Toll Free)

Faxes

(312) 419-7408

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.pgllaw.com