Michael R. Grieco

Michael is a Partner and Trial Attorney at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, where he helps manage the practice areas of medical malpractice, product liability, construction negligence, toxic torts, motor vehicle collision, catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Since becoming a lawyer at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC in 2018, Michael individually and as an instrumental leader and contributor within the firm has successfully obtained numerous favorable settlements and verdicts for victims of personal injury throughout the country with tenacity and passion.

In the courtroom, Michael has obtained a $28.7 million verdict in a medical malpractice wrongful death case; a record McHenry County, IL verdict of $9.05 million for a personal injury case involving negligence by ComEd; a $1.3 million verdict in a dental practice case; and a $1.33 million verdict in a motor vehicle collision case. Outside of the courtroom, Michael’s work has helped secure multiple medical malpractice settlements in the amounts of $12.35 million, $8 million, $6.9 million, $4.25 million, and $2.875 million. Michael played a critical role in obtaining settlements alongside Founding Partner Stephan D. Blandin, including a workplace injury case for $50 million where Michael took over 40 depositions in the case and worked with and presented experts across the country. Additionally, Michael has secured millions of dollars in cases for his individual clients including: a premises liability case for $3.3 million, a product liability case for $2.675 million, a nursing home wrongful death case for $1.2 million and motor vehicle collision cases for $750,000 and $725,000.

Michael is currently litigating cases on behalf of 19 Plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with cancer or other illness from toxic chemicals that were dumped into the groundwater by two companies in Union, Illinois. Michael has appeared in the media to discuss the case. Further, Michael continues to litigate the firm’s concussion cases against the National Football League (NFL) on behalf of retired football players who sustained traumatic brain injuries. He is also helping prosecute several cases against Boeing for the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 airplane crash as well as a helicopter crash case against the helicopter’s maintenance company in Kansas. 

Michael is an active member of various professional organizations and holds leadership roles with the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Michael was elected to the Board of Governors and is on the executive committee for the Professional Negligence section. He has also been elected to the executive board of the Justinian Society of Lawyers and is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyer Association (ITLA) and Illinois State Bar Association. He also recently served in two leadership roles for the Chicago Bar Association: On the Judicial Evaluation Committee and Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Division Tort Litigation Committee. Michael regularly is asked to speak at conferences around the country by ITLA and AAJ.

He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2012, and he walked on the football team as a kicker and earned a varsity letter during his senior year. Michael earned his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University School of Law. 

Experience

• J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2017
• B.A., University of Notre Dame, 2012

• F. Scott Baldwin Award, American Association for Justice, 2023
• Named one of The Best Lawyers in America©, 2023
• The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch©, 2021-2024
• American Association for Justice, Certificate of Recognition, 2020-2022
• American Association for Justice, New Lawyers Division – Excellence Award, 2020-2021
• Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers®, 2020-2023
• Emerging Lawyer by Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2021-2023

• Anthony J. Fornelli Emerging Leader Award, 2017
• Justinian Society of Lawyers, Civil Justice Preservation Scholarship, 2017
• Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Emilie Tavoliere Furda Scholarship, 2017
• University of Notre Dame Football Monogram Recipient, 2012

• American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Board of Governors, 2022-2024
  • Professional Negligence Group Secretary 2022-2023
  • Professional Negligence Section Newsletter Editor, 2021-2022
  • New Lawyers Division Education Committee, Co-Chair, 2020-2022
• Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
  • Judicial Evaluation Committee, 2020, 2021
  • Young Lawyers Division Tort Litigation Committee, Co-Chair, 2021
• Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Member
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Member

• Joint Civil Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA), Member
• Justinian Society of Lawyers
  • Secretary, 2023 
  • Member
• National Italian American Bar Association (NIABA)
• St. Ignatius College Prep
  • Young Alumni Society
  • Monogram Club
• University of Notre Dame
  • Monogram Career Network
  • Monogram Club
• University of Notre Dame Club of Chicago

• $50 million Work Place Injury Settlement (Confidential) – Highest Non-Aviation Wrongful Death Settlement in Illinois history, 2020 
• $12.35 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Largest Medical Malpractice Settlement ever reported in Illinois for failure to diagnose breast cancer, 2019 
• $8 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Experimental Surgery results in Colostomy Bag for Minor, 2021 
• $6 million Work Place Injury Settlement (Confidential) – Plumber suffered fall leading to fusion surgeries, 2018
• $4.25 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Physician misdiagnosed 2-year old’s croup cough leading to death, 2019
• $3.3 million Premises Liability Settlement (Confidential) – Property owner allowed for dangerous condition leading to traumatic brain injury, 2019 
• $2.875 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Failure to diagnose cauda equina syndrome, 2019
• $1.33 million Verdict – Crossed examined the Defendant driver at trial in motor vehicle crash case (Cohn v. Mezyk), 2018
• $500,000 Podiatry Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Highest Lake County Podiatry Settlement in the last 7 years, 2021

• Illinois, 2018
• Northern District of Illinois, 2018
• District of Arizona, Pro Hac Vice

Blog Posts

• Presenter, Professional Negligence Section Lunch and Learn Series Part 2: Client Engagement, AAJ Sections, February 2023
• Presenter, Under Pressure: Tips for Managing Stress, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Ethics and Professionalism Seminar CLE, 2021
• Presenter, Obstruction over Zoom – How to Maintain Control, American Association for Justice, Trial Lawyer Convention, Las Vegas, NV, July 2021
• Speaker with Martin D. Gould, An injured worker comes to your office. What do you do? Key pointers to litigating the Worker’s Comp Third-Party Crossover Case, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL,  December 2019
• Speaker with Antonio M. Romanucci, The Noncredible or Unlikeable Client, How to Turn the Loser into a Winner, Frontiers in Advocacy Convention – Traumatic Brain Injury, Nashville, TN, May 2018
• Speaker, Discover Loyola, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, IL, April 2017
• Speaker, Bridging the Gap from Law School to Practice, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL, October 2016
• Speaker, Current Issues in Collegiate Athletics: Ongoing Litigation and Workable Models for the Future of the NCAA, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, IL, October 2014