Kenneth Chessick

Kenneth C. Chessick, MD, JD, is a medical malpractice trial lawyer with decades of extensive training and experience in both the practice of medicine and surgery and trial law, dedicated to obtaining justice for innocent victims of medical negligence.

Dr. Chessick was certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Chessick obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree with scholarships from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1968 and served a straight internal medicine internship at Michael Reese Hospital in 1969, and a four-year general surgery residency at Hines VA Hospital and at the prestigious Boston City Hospital, where he served as Chief Surgical Resident in 1973. He trained as a Resident in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Florida Shands Teaching Hospital in 1979. Dr. Chessick obtained his Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Psychology and Zoology from the University of Illinois in 1965.

Dr. Chessick obtained his Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1984. Today, Dr. Chessick is an experienced trial and appellate attorney, admitted to the State Bar of Illinois. Dr. Chessick has used his extensive medical, surgical, and legal training and experience to obtain record verdicts and settlements for his clients in several Illinois jurisdictions, including a record $10 million verdict in Ogle County and an $11.1 million settlement in Winnebago County. Consistent with his specialized medical and surgical training and broad experience, Dr. Chessick is dedicated to achieving justice for victims of medical and hospital negligence. Dr. Chessick has published numerous articles on these topics in both the medical and legal literature. Clients of Dr. Chessick have received well- deserved compensation for catastrophic injuries far exceeding $100 million in the Illinois counties of Cook, Winnebago, Ogle, Boone, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Lake, Lee, Stephenson and Whiteside.

Dr. Chessick maintains a close affiliation with Northern Illinois University and has been awarded the prestigious NIU Alumnus of the Year award in 2001, the NIU College of Law Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2012, and the NIU Foundation Award for High Impact Philanthropy, 2012. Dr. Chessick was a member of the Board of Directors of the NIU Foundation for twenty years, a member of the NIU Alumni Association, and an active member of the Board of Visitors to the NIU College of Law. Dr. Chessick has taught or been moderator of a number of law seminars on Medical Negligence Law, Personal Injury Law and Trial Technique attended by the practicing legal community. Generous donations from Dr. Chessick and his wife, Ellen, created the Kenneth Chessick, M.D., J.D. Legal Skills Training Center at the NIU College of Law, designed to help train law students and lawyers in the use of technology in the practice of law and in the courtroom. Dr. and Mrs. Chessick helped create the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center, a state-of-the-art 87,000-square-foot practice center used by Huskie student-athletes and students, which features a full-size, 120-yard football practice field with two end zones, batting cages for men’s baseball and women’s softball, long jump pits and four lane running tracks for the men’s and women’s track teams, a retractable center net to allow multisport use, field goals and wall protection nets. Dr. Chessick established the Kenneth C. Chessick Scholarship Program at the NIU College of Law in the name of several of his clients, which ensures that many of his clients leave a legacy to prevent similar injuries to others, and educate law students that passionately practice with the conviction that The Law can make the world a safer place for everyone.