Michael T. Mertz has been a partner with Hurley McKenna & Mertz since 2004.  He has practiced with the firm since graduating from law school in 1997.  Mr. Mertz limits his practice to the representation of injured persons in all types of injury cases, including medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, product liability, construction accidents, automobile collisions, and premises liability. 

Mr. Mertz has extensive trial experience and has obtained impressive results for his clients through record-setting verdicts and through record-setting settlements.  Mr. Mertz has successfully resolved cases in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Tennessee. 

Through his extensive experience in complex cases, Mr. Mertz has developed impressive litigation and negotiation skills.  Mr. Mertz continually demonstrates his skill by constantly evaluating each case and quickly identifying successful theories and arguments.  His tireless and aggressive advocacy, coupled with his flexibility throughout each phase of litigation, allows Mr. Mertz to achieve maximum recoveries on behalf of his clients.

Through relentless and comprehensive advocacy on behalf of his clients, Mr. Mertz has obtained impressive recoveries for his clients, including the following:

• $12,000,000.00 – For three children who were abused by their foster parent while in the defendants’ foster care system. 
• $7,200,000.00 – For the family of a 48-year-old woman who died because her doctors failed to diagnose and treat her pneumonia.
• $4,750,000.00 – For a woman who suffered end-stage kidney disease because her doctor failed to diagnose her kidney disease during her pregnancy.
• $2,550,000.00 – For the family of a 19- year-old man who died because his doctors failed to recognize that he was not being properly oxygenated after elective surgery.
• $1,750,000.00 – For the family of a man who was killed as a result of the failure of a medical device and as a result of medical malpractice.
• $1,400,000.00 – For the child of a woman who was killed because her doctors failed to properly treat her heart condition;
• $1,096,000.00 - For a 41-year-old man injured by a defective table saw.
• $1,000,000.00 - For a woman whose husband was killed by his doctor's failure to recognize that his heart valve was malfunctioning.
• $975,000 - For the family of a man who died because his doctors failed to adequately treat his aspirin overdose.
• $900,000 - For the family of a 68 year old man who died because his doctor failed to diagnose and treat his infection.
• $900,000.00 - For a man whose hand was injured by a defective product.
• $700,000.00 - For the family of a man who was killed by a nurse's drug overdose while he was in the hospital.
• $650,000.00 – For a man who suffered herniated discs because of a defective product. 
• $510,000.00 - For a young man who suffered legal blindness in one eye after being struck by a plastic star.
• $500,000.00 – For a woman who fractured her hip when she slipped and fell on water at her workplace.
• $500,000.00 - For a woman whose breast cancer diagnosis was delayed for thirteen months. 
• $500,000.00 - For a man after his doctors failed to diagnose and treat his stroke.
• $500,000.00 - For a man killed by a defective product.
• $470,000.00 - For a woman whose doctors failed to diagnose her coronary artery disease.
• $450,000.00 – For a child who suffered a brachial plexus injury at birth due to her doctor’s negligence.
• $450,000.00 – For a woman who suffered facial injuries in an automobile collision.
• $415,000.00 – For the family of a man who suffered a fractured hip after he fell in his nursing home.
• $415,000.00 – For a woman whose doctor failed to properly treat her fractured leg.
• $400,000.00 - For a man wrongfully terminated by his employer.
• $350,000.00 – For a man who was shot by an unknown assailant in the defendant’s parking lot.
• $315,000.00 – For a 24-year-old man injured in a head on auto collision.
• $300,000.00 – For the family of a girl who drowned in the defendants’ pool.
• $270,000.00 - For a woman who suffered a herniated disc in an automobile collision.
• $250,000.00 – For a man whose leg was fractured in a car accident.
• $230,000.00 - For a man who was struck in the arm by a stray bullet as he drove through rural Wisconsin.
• $200,000.00 - For a man who lost three teeth and lacerated his lower lip and mouth while using a defective product.
• $200,000.00 – For a woman who suffered rheumatoid arthritis after receiving a vaccination. 
• $194,143.86 - For a 63 year old man who injured his knee and shoulder when he fell through a trap door immediately after he entered a restaurant while on vacation. 

Mr. Mertz also serves as his clients’ appellate lawyer.  In 1999, Mr. Mertz argued before the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, and won a reversal of a jury's verdict entered against his client. The case settled shortly after Mr. Mertz convinced the Appellate Court to rule in his client's favor.  In 2001, Mr. Mertz again successfully appealed the dismissal the complaint in one of his cases by convincing the Illinois Appellate Court, First District to reverse the lower court's ruling.

Mr. Mertz is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, where he recently served as the chair the Young Lawyer's Division's Tort Law Committee.  Mr. Mertz is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Mr. Mertz also authors the weblog http://www.chicagoaccidentandinjurylawblog.com where he shares his impressions and opinions concerning a variety of issues personal injury matters.