Terence Brendan Kelly

Mr. Kelly is an accomplished trial attorney concentrating his practice in the areas of Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, Employee Rights and Workers Compensation. He has been selected a "Leading Lawyer" in 2011 through 2018 by the Leading Lawyer network, the Nation's Top Lawyers, Based upon a Survey of their Peers.  Mr. Kelly is also an invited member of the National Trial Lawyers 100 Top Trial Lawyers.  Mr. Kelly is among a select group of trial lawyers who have obtained jury verdicts in excess of $1,000,000 in contested malpractice cases.  

After graduating from the University of Iowa Law School, “with distinction,” Mr. Kelly practiced for six years for a large insurance defense firm in a metropolitan area where he honed his trial and litigation skills.  During this time, Mr. Kelly gained valuable insight into how insurance companies and employers defend and litigate claims.  This experience has proven invaluable in litigating claims against such entities.  Since coming to central Illinois in 1995, Mr. Kelly has represented the rights of the injured and victims of medical negligence in across the State of Illinois. He has tried over twenty-five cases to verdict, including successful Medical Malpractice cases with near record verdicts for the county.  As examples, Mr. Kelly has obtained a verdict in excess of $1 million against an orthopedic surgeon who negligently performed a total knee replacement, a near $1 million verdict against a psychiatrist whose inadequate treatment of a depressed patient lead to suicide, and a substantial six-figure verdict against a doctor whose treatment of a leg injury leg to an amputation.  Please note that these past verdicts and settlements were based on the facts of each case and do note guarantee future results. Each case depends on its own merits and value. Through his trial practice,  Mr. Kelly has become a well-respected litigator with proven results.

The measure of any trial attorney is his ability to handle a case at every stage of litigation. In addition to his extensive experience in trial work, Mr. Kelly has also actively handled cases through the appellate process. When a party receives an adverse decision at the trial level, he or she has the option to “appeal” that decision to an appellate court and, ultimately if accepted, the Supreme Court. These decisions, if reported, become the law of land for not only the parties involved, but all cases within the court’s jurisdiction. Many attorneys “farm” this appellate work out. Mr. Kelly does not. He has personally handled numerous appeals in both state and federal court. He has argued before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Third District Appellate Court of Illinois, the Fourth District Appellate Court of Illinois, the Workers Compensation Division of the Appellate Court of the Illinois, the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Illinois Supreme Court. Very few trial lawyers can make this claim. And, most importantly, his cases have resulted in reported decisions that have help establish significant rights for the injured. Mr. Kelly’s reported decisions are listed below.

Mr. Kelly was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1962 and graduated from Kutztown University in 1985 with his Bachelor of Arts. In 1989, he graduated with his J.D., with distinction, from the University of Iowa and was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar and the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin in 1989.  In 1995, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern and Central Districts of Illinois. Mr. Kelly is the author of "Condition Verses Cause: A Doctrine Whose Time Has Passed?" published in the Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 84, in March 1996. Finally, Mr. Kelly, is an active member of the McLean County and Illinois State Bar Associations, as well as the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.   Mr. Kelly has been selected as a “Leading Lawyer” through the peer reviewed Leading Lawyer Network and is an invited member of the National Trial Lawyers 100 Top Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Kelly would be happy to talk with you about your personal injury, workers compensation or malpractice case.  Feel free to email him at  or call his 24-hour injury hotline at.

Reported Decisions
Farris v. Industrial Commission, 357 525, 829 N.E.2d 372, 293 . 789 (4th 2005)
Flynn v. Industrial Commission, 211 546, 813 N.E.2d 119, 286 Ill. Dec. 62 (Supreme Court of Illinois, 2004), reversing 339 Ill. App. 3d 994, 791 N.E.2d 1301, 274 Ill. Dec. 890 (3rd Dist. 2003)
Thompson v. Country Mutual Ins. Co., 319 158, 744 N.E.2d 1271, 253 Ill. Dec. 207 (4th Dist. 2001).
Seaman v. Thompson Electronics, 325 Ill. App. 3d 560, 758 N.E.2d 454, 259 Ill. Dec. 331 (3rd Dist. 2001)
Gallianetti v. Industrial Commission, 315 Ill. App. 3d 721, 734 N.E.2d 482, 248 Ill. Dec 554 (3rd Dist. 2000)
Tom Lange Co. v. A. Gagliano Co., F.3d 1305 (7th Cir. 1995)
Smith v. Industrial Commission, 308 Ill. App. 3d 260, 719 N.E.2d 329, 241 Ill. Dec. 468 (3rd Dist. 1999)
Markunas v. Sentry Insurance Company, 185 852, 519 N.W.2d 688 (Ct. App. 1994)
Peterman v. Midwestern National, 682, 503 N.W.2d 312 (Ct. )
Grotelveschen v. Dimmer, 171 437, 492 N.W.2d 131 (1992)