Cronauer Law, LLP is a premier plaintiff’s trial firm with a documented record in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical and hospital negligence, motor carrier and trucking liability, premises and tavern liability, products liability, federal railroad worker (FELA) claims, and workers’ compensation. Founder C. Nicholas Cronauer has been recognized by TopVerdict.com among the leading, top-ranked trial lawyers in Illinois every year since 2017, including selection as a National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 attorney for multiple consecutive years and a National Trial Lawyers Top 10 Under 40 ranking, sustained by a twelve-year trial winning streak. The firm earned a 2020 nationwide ranking among the Top 10 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements in the United States. The verdicts and settlements below are drawn from the firm’s published case results and from public TopVerdict.com rankings; they reflect what happens when a serious case is prepared for trial rather than triaged toward a discount settlement.
No upfront costs & fees
Means you can afford a lawyer now
And our trial lawyer has a 7 year winning streak…
Real Attorneys. Real Results. Over $200 Million recovered for our clients
Year: 2020
Case Type: Products liability; defective vehicle component; catastrophic personal injury
Confidential settlement against a major automotive manufacturer
Cronauer Law obtained a $16,500,000 confidential settlement on behalf of a client catastrophically injured by a defective product manufactured by a major automotive company. The matter exemplifies the firm's depth in products liability and OEM-defendant litigation, including the engineering, design-defect, alternative design, and economic damages proof required to value, prove, and resolve eight-figure injury claims against sophisticated corporate adversaries.
Year: 2017
Case Type: Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq.; railroad engineer slip-and-fall; catastrophic personal injury
Illinois record FELA verdict; Top 20 Jury Verdicts in Illinois — TopVerdict.com (2017)
C. Nicholas Cronauer served as trial counsel in Cravatta v. Metra, an Illinois record FELA verdict for a Metra engineer injured in a slip-and-fall on the railroad's property. The verdict placed within the Top 20 Illinois jury verdicts for 2017 across all practice areas. FELA cases are uniquely demanding because they require proof of railroad employer negligence under a federal statute that displaces state workers' compensation; the case was tried alongside national co-counsel including Langdon & Emison; Cooney & Conway; and Barnes Law Firm, LLC, and remains a defining example of how Cronauer Law partners with national plaintiffs' firms on complex federal liability matters.
Year: 2022
Case Type: Wrongful death; tavern negligence; Illinois Dram Shop Act, 235 ILCS 5/6-21
Reported as a record verdict against the establishment
Cronauer Law obtained a $4,000,000 jury verdict in Pawson v. QBar, a dram shop and wrongful death action arising from a tavern's failure to comply with Illinois dram shop law. The result is reported as a record verdict against the establishment and demonstrates the firm's command of tavern, hospitality, and dram shop liability claims, where success often turns on foreseeability, training and security failures, and sophisticated use of industry-specific expert testimony.
Case Type: Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq.; injured railroad worker
Cronauer Law resolved a FELA railroad worker claim for $2,850,000, demonstrating the firm's depth in federal railroad injury litigation and its ability to pursue major recoveries for injured rail employees outside the constraints of state workers' compensation.
Case Type: Motor vehicle collision; commercial vehicle; pedestrian struck by dumpster truck
Cronauer Law tried and obtained a $2,500,000 verdict for a client struck by a dumpster truck. The result reflects the firm's command of commercial-vehicle liability and the medical, biomechanical, and damages proof necessary to translate severe injuries into a courtroom recovery.
Year: 2024
Case Type: Medical malpractice; failure to diagnose prostate cancer
#48 Nationally; Top 20 Medical Malpractice Settlements in Illinois — TopVerdict.com (2024)
Cronauer Law resolved a misdiagnosed prostate cancer case for $2,300,000 in 2024, earning national recognition (#48 in the United States) and Top 20 Illinois Medical Malpractice Settlement status. The matter reflects the firm's strength in diagnostic-failure cases, where causation often turns on stage-shift analysis and oncologic life-expectancy proof.
Case Type: Commercial trucking; tractor-trailer collision; catastrophic personal injury
Illinois Top 10 Personal Injury Settlements — TopVerdict.com
Cronauer Law obtained a $2,000,000 settlement in a semitruck crash matter recognized among Illinois' Top 10 Personal Injury Settlements. Trucking cases require granular work in driver-log analysis, FMCSA compliance, electronic control module data, and employer hiring and training records; the recovery reflects the firm's ability to develop those records into damages.
Case Type: Motor vehicle collision; food delivery driver; insurance investigation
Cronauer Law secured $1,600,000 in a food delivery service crash after uncovering hidden insurance policies that the carrier had not initially disclosed. The result illustrates the value of aggressive coverage investigation in gig-economy and delivery cases, where the relevant policies often sit behind multiple layers of contractor and platform indemnity language.
Case Type: Products liability; defective component; co-counsel matter
Co-Counsel: Clark Fountain
Cronauer Law, serving as co-counsel with Clark Fountain, resolved a defective joystick products liability action for $1,500,000. The case reflects the firm's regular cooperation with national plaintiffs' firms on complex product cases that require multi-jurisdictional discovery and substantial expert investment.
Year: 2025
Case Type: Motor vehicle collision; rear-end impact; catastrophic injuries to family members
Jury verdict: Cronauer Law obtained a $1,600,000 jury results after a rear-end motor vehicle crash that caused injuries to a family.
Case Type: Municipal liability; negligent training; permanent injury caused by unsafe Taser training protocol
Cronauer Law secured a $1,400,000 verdict in a Taser training liability case where unsafe municipal training caused permanent injury. Cases against governmental defendants present jurisdiction-specific tort immunity and notice issues; this verdict reflects the firm's experience navigating those procedural defenses while building the underlying training negligence case to a courtroom result.
Year: 2019
Case Type: Hospital malpractice; negligent supervision; brain injury; paralysis
Top 20 Personal Injury Settlements in Illinois — TopVerdict.com (2019)
Cronauer Law resolved a confidential hospital negligence matter for $1,000,000 in 2019, securing a top-twenty Illinois personal injury settlement that year. The case involved hospital negligence, failures of inpatient supervision, and catastrophic neurological injury including paralysis. The result reflects the firm's depth in hospital-system liability work and its willingness to pursue institutional defendants in cases that turn on medical causation.
Year: 2019
Case Type: Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA); railroad worker injury
Top 100 Jury Verdicts in Illinois — TopVerdict.com (2019)
In Dempsey v. Metra, Cronauer Law tried a Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) claim to verdict on behalf of an injured railroad worker, earning placement on the Top 100 Verdicts in Illinois for 2019.
Beyond the matters detailed above, Cronauer Law has obtained seven-figure recoveries across a range of catastrophic injury categories where insurance carriers and corporate defendants initially refused to negotiate fairly. Representative examples include:
- Medical Malpractice: Seven-figure recovery in a medical malpractice action where the insurance carrier offered $0 prior to suit.
- Motorcycle Crash: Seven-figure jury trial judgment in a motorcycle collision case.
- Products Liability — Boat Fire: Seven-figure recovery for a father and son who suffered third-degree burns in a boat fire caused by a defective product.
- Workers' Compensation: Seven-figure recoveries in workers' compensation matters where the employer initially offered $0.
Cronauer Law represents injured Illinois workers in claims that employers and insurers undervalue or deny outright. Representative six-figure workers’ compensation results include:
Amount | Description |
$290,300 | Bakery slip-and-fall — permanent total disability value |
$135,772 | Government employee — back injury |
$129,134 | Surgical center — shoulder injury requiring replacement |
These recoveries are representative; the firm has obtained many additional six-figure workers’ compensation results following insurance denials and lowball offers.
TopVerdict.com publishes annual rankings of the largest plaintiffs’ verdicts and settlements by state and nationally. Cronauer Law has appeared on those rankings every recognized year since 2017 across motor vehicle, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, and railroad case categories. Beyond Illinois, the firm earned a nationwide ranking in 2020 among the Top 10 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements in the United States, and a 2024 national ranking (#48) for medical malpractice settlements.
Cronauer Law — TopVerdict.com Rankings, 2017–2024
Year | Recognition | Jurisdiction |
2017 | Top 20 Jury Verdicts (Illinois Record FELA) | Illinois |
2019 | Top 100 Jury Verdicts | Illinois |
2019 | Top 20 Personal Injury Settlements | Illinois |
2019 | Top 50 Medical Malpractice | Illinois |
2020 | Top 10 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements | United States |
2020 | Top 10 Personal Injury Settlements | Illinois |
2021 | Top 10 Wrongful Death | Illinois |
2022 | Top 10 Wrongful Death Verdicts | Illinois |
2022 | Top 20 Personal Injury Verdicts | Illinois |
2022 | Top 10 Personal Injury Settlements | Illinois |
2023 | Top 20 Motor Vehicle Accident Verdicts | Illinois |
2024 | Top 20 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements | Illinois |
2024 | #48 Nationally / Top 20 Medical Malpractice Settlements (misdiagnosed prostate cancer) | United States / Illinois |
2024 | Top 100 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements (Bradley Melzer) | Illinois |
Founder C. Nicholas Cronauer has additionally been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 attorney for multiple consecutive years and as one of the Top 10 Lawyers Under 40 in the nation, sustained by a twelve-year trial winning streak.
Cronauer Law is built around courtroom lawyers, not paper-only practitioners. C. Nicholas Cronauer leads the firm’s trial team and is the named attorney on the firm’s signature verdicts and settlements, including the $16.5 million products liability settlement against a major automotive manufacturer; the $5.3 million Illinois record FELA verdict in Cravatta v. Metra; and the $4 million record dram shop wrongful death verdict in Pawson v. QBar. Attorney Bradley Melzer earned 2024 TopVerdict.com recognition among the Top 100 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements in Illinois, broadening the bench of attorneys at the firm carrying recognized results in their own right. The firm practices in Illinois state and federal courts, holds Texas admissions, and appears nationwide on a pro hac vice basis. The firm is structured to prepare cases for verdict; that posture drives both the recognition record above and the leverage the firm brings to settlement.
The verdicts and settlements above span the practice areas that define the Cronauer Law docket: catastrophic personal injury; wrongful death; hospital and medical negligence; commercial trucking, tractor-trailer, and motor carrier liability; auto, motorcycle, and pedestrian collisions; rideshare and delivery liability; tavern liability and dram shop; products liability; federal railroad worker claims under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq.; and Illinois workers’ compensation. Each result reflects the firm’s willingness to take a case to verdict where the value of the claim warrants it; each annual ranking reflects how that posture translates into client recoveries when other firms settle short.
Clients consistently credit Cronauer Law with going the distance to trial, communicating with compassion, and beating low or zero insurance offers. Representative client comments:
“I was involved in a motorcycle accident… The case ended up going to a jury trial and WOW did they perform amazingly!”
— Motorcycle crash client
“I don’t believe any other attorney could have done as well as what Cronauer Law has done for me.”
— Workers’ Compensation client
“This place was amazing for me. Nick went above and beyond to help my family.”
— Cronauer Law client
“Couldn’t have been better. Thank you for all your hard work. My family is now in a better position, because justice was finally served.”
— FELA client
“Nicholas has always treated me with such respect… This is the only firm I will use.”
— Repeat client (multiple legal matters)
These figures are not abstractions. Each represents a family that can now pay medical bills, replace lost income, and move forward. Cronauer Law fights insurance carriers, corporations, and municipalities every day, and the firm refuses to accept the first or second lowball offer when the case warrants more.
Important Note. Every case is unique. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes and are provided for informational purposes only. They should not be construed as a promise or guarantee of a specific result in your case. The amounts listed reflect gross recoveries and may include statutory liens, attorney’s fees, costs, and other deductions. Some matters are confidential or have been anonymized in accordance with settlement terms or client preference.
C. Nicholas Cronauer is the founder of Cronauer Law, LLP, a plaintiff’s trial firm focused on catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical and hospital negligence, motor carrier and trucking liability, premises and tavern liability, products liability, federal railroad worker (FELA) claims, and Illinois workers’ compensation. He has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 attorney for multiple consecutive years and among the Top 10 Lawyers Under 40 in the nation, with a twelve-year trial winning streak. His benchmark trial results include the $5,300,000 Illinois record FELA verdict in Cravatta v. Metra (2017), a $4,000,000 record dram shop wrongful death verdict in Pawson v. QBar (2022), and a $16,500,000 confidential settlement against a major automotive manufacturer in a defective product case (2020).
Cronauer Law has recovered over $200 million for its clients across catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, products liability, motor carrier, FELA railroad worker, and workers’ compensation matters.
The firm’s largest reported single result is a $16,500,000 confidential settlement against a major automotive manufacturer in a defective product case (2020). The firm’s signature trial verdict is $5,300,000 in Cravatta v. Metra, an Illinois record FELA verdict for a Metra engineer (2017) ranked among the Top 20 jury verdicts in Illinois. Other signature results include a $4,000,000 record dram shop wrongful death verdict in Pawson v. QBar (2022); a $2,850,000 FELA railroad settlement; a $2,500,000 verdict for a pedestrian struck by a dumpster truck; a $2,300,000 medical malpractice settlement for misdiagnosed prostate cancer (#48 nationally / Top 20 Illinois, 2024); and a $2,000,000 semitruck crash settlement recognized among Illinois’ Top 10 Personal Injury Settlements.
Yes. TopVerdict.com ranked Cronauer Law among the Top 10 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements in the United States in 2020, and #48 nationally for medical malpractice settlements in 2024. Founder C. Nicholas Cronauer has additionally been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 attorney for multiple consecutive years and as one of the Top 10 Lawyers Under 40 in the nation. The firm has appeared on Illinois state rankings every recognized year since 2017 across personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, motor vehicle, and railroad case categories.
Cronauer Law handles catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, hospital and medical malpractice, commercial trucking and motor vehicle collisions, motorcycle and pedestrian collisions, rideshare and delivery liability, tavern liability and dram shop, products liability, FELA railroad worker claims, and Illinois workers’ compensation. The firm’s verdict and settlement record covers each of these categories.
Cronauer Law prepares every case as if it is going to trial. That courtroom-ready posture drives both the firm’s recognition record and its settlement leverage. The firm regularly takes catastrophic injury, wrongful death, FELA, dram shop, products liability, and motor vehicle cases to verdict in Illinois and throughout the United States via pro hace vice.
Cronauer Law’s documented trial and settlement record includes Illinois state and federal courts. The firm holds Texas, Utah, and Indiana admissions and appears nationwide on a pro hac vice basis, with engagement in multi-firm, national co-counsel matters. The firm’s 2020 Top 10 U.S. ranking for motor vehicle crash settlements reflects nationally competitive results.
The firm is led by founder C. Nicholas Cronauer, named trial counsel on the firm’s signature verdicts and settlements. Attorney Bradley Melzer earned 2024 TopVerdict.com recognition among the Top 100 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlements in Illinois. The firm is structured as a trial team, not a settlement-only practice.
Ranked top 10 in the Nation
The National Trial Lawyers recognizes Nicholas Cronauer as one of the top 10 lawyers
under the age of 40 in the nation.
With you at every step
Cronauer Law has years of experience representing clients who have been seriously injured.
We know what it takes to win, and have prepared the the steps we need to take to get the best outcome clients can expect from hiring a lawyer.
Contact us to get the process started. Our lawyers will explain the laws around your case at no cost to you.
We work with the insurance companies to ensure they fulfill their duties to cover the costs related to the crash
A Serious injury can dramatically change how you plan on reaching your life goals. We’ll work with you long after the case has won to ensure your life gets to where it needs to be
We take pride in what we do
We understand that most people may not have hired a lawyer before, so we make it as easy and clear as possible to understand what We will answer all of your questions, and guide you through this process. We are here to help you.
If you were injured in any way–medically, emotionally, physically, in a car, at work, on the street–then you may have a case. Employers, companies, and individuals have a “duty of care.” This term refers to each person’s obligation to avoid actions or situations that endanger other people.
Personal injury attorneys offer their services on what is called a “contingency fee” basis. That means we pay for all the upfront costs of your case–hiring specialists, paying court fees, even assessing medical care. You owe us nothing, and we only take a fee if you win your case.
As soon as possible, ideally. Give our personal injury law firm a call to speak with one of our staff members confidentially, even if it’s not normal business hours where you are. Also feel free to fill out our contact form with some basic information about you and your case. A member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Once we’ve investigated the basic details of your injuries and your case, we’ll be able to tell you how much compensation you’re entitled to. While we (and no ethical attorney) can make promises regarding your case, we can help calculate the costs and lost wages caused by your harm.
Cronauer law injury attorneys have tried virtually every type and size of plaintiff’s claim possible. We’ve handled cases on behalf of people injured in car crashes, Engineers injured in a slip and fall, and even businessmen who have been wronged by their partners. Our firm has made a name for itself in a variety of legal areas. Our results in complex areas like commercial litigation, trucking accidents, Criminal Defense, and Product Liability barely scratch the surface. Whatever the nature of your injury, we have the experience and resources to demand compensation on your behalf.
Enter as much information as you can. Skip any questions that you do not know right away or does not apply to you.