James Power

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Power Rogers, LLP

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Power Rogers, LLP

Chicago,

IL

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James I. Power is a Partner at Power Rogers LLP, one of Illinois’s premier plaintiff’s personal injury and wrongful death firms. Mr. Power joined the firm in November 2016 and has rapidly established himself as one of the most accomplished trial lawyers of his generation in Illinois. He focuses his practice on personal injury and wrongful death litigation, with particular expertise in medical malpractice, trucking and automotive negligence, products liability, premises liability, construction accidents, breach of contract, and professional malpractice.

Since joining the firm, Mr. Power has successfully secured or assisted in securing over $500 million on behalf of the firm’s clients — a remarkable achievement that spans jury verdicts, pre-trial settlements, and appellate recoveries across a wide range of practice areas.

Among his most significant recent recoveries, Mr. Power served as co-counsel in obtaining a $229 million settlement — the largest pre-trial single-claimant recovery in Illinois history — on behalf of a 16-year-old boy who was rendered an incomplete quadriplegic when a vehicle crashed into a gravel mound placed in the roadway without proper traffic controls during an AT&T utility project on Cermak Road in Chicago.

Mr. Power also played a central role in securing a $91 million settlement on behalf of a man who suffered bilateral above-the-knee amputations after being pinned against a 7-Eleven storefront by a vehicle — the highest premises liability and highest amputee settlement ever recorded in the Jury Verdict Reporter.

In 2025, Mr. Power helped achieve a $32 million settlement on behalf of a husband and wife who were struck by a vehicle during a police chase on the corner of Ohio Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago, resulting in the husband’s bilateral below-the-knee amputations.

In the area of trucking and transportation negligence, Mr. Power has compiled an extraordinary record. He secured a $25 million settlement for the family of a truck driver who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and functional quadriplegia after colliding with a stopped tractor-trailer on the fog-covered I-57 bridge over the Kankakee River, and who died after eleven months in an emerged-plus state.

Mr. Power was co-counsel in a $27.375 million recovery for the estates of a father, mother, and their young daughter — all killed when a chronically sleep-deprived truck driver fell asleep and rear-ended their vehicle on I-55 in Channahon.

He also co-counseled a $19.4 million aggregate recovery for multiple passengers of a church van traveling to Disney World, which was struck head-on by a tractor-trailer that crossed the median on I-75 near Gainesville, Florida, resulting in three deaths and numerous other serious injuries.

Mr. Power has also distinguished himself in complex medical malpractice and wrongful death matters. He secured a $2.4 million settlement for the estate of a 23-year-old college student who died from a probable seizure disorder after physicians failed to diagnose her condition and a federally-funded clinic prescribed bupropion — a medication contraindicated for patients with seizure disorders — at maximum therapeutic levels.

He co-counseled a $4.5 million settlement on behalf of the family of a pedestrian killed when Chicago police officers wrongfully pursued a vehicle that ultimately struck and killed her.

Mr. Power has significant jury trial experience that is rare among attorneys of his tenure.

In December 2017, in his first year of being a licensed attorney, Mr. Power served as first chair and secured a $5.05 million verdict for a legal secretary who was shot during a workplace violence incident at a downtown Chicago high-rise, as part of an overall $33.45 million verdict against the building’s negligent security contractor.

He was also part of the trial team in a Cook County medical malpractice case involving the failure to timely diagnose prostate cancer, a matter that resulted in a $2 million mid-trial settlement.

He served as second chair in a Cook County trial resulting in an $85.9 million verdict — the fourth-largest plaintiff verdict in Illinois history at that time — in a products and premises liability case involving bilateral above-the-knee amputations suffered by a truck driver when improperly loaded steel tubing fell on him during unloading.

He was second chair in a $21.6 million products liability verdict on behalf of a truck driver who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury after a defectively designed grab handle on his Navistar truck detached and caused him to fall.

Mr. Power’s results span virtually every area of serious civil litigation. He co-counseled the $50 million settlement for a man who lost both legs and an arm in an accident involving electrical utility lines while trimming trees. He helped achieve a $17.5 million settlement — the largest bicycle accident recovery in Illinois history — for a Special Education teacher who suffered a below-the-knee amputation after a semi-truck turned into her bicycle path. He also obtained an $8 million settlement for a patient who contracted a bacterial infection during surgery that went undiagnosed, resulting in multiple revision surgeries and a lifetime of aggressive antibiotic treatment. Among his other notable results: a $7.5 million recovery for a passenger in a church van struck by an 18-wheeler in Florida; a $6.5 million settlement for an acrobat with the Jesse White Tumblers who was rendered quadriplegic during a movie shoot; a $5.15 million settlement for a pedestrian killed when a crane-equipped truck clipped him and ran him over; and a $3.5 million settlement for a Chicago police officer whose spinal injuries were exacerbated in a collision with a truck driver on LaSalle Street.

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Power grew up on the North Side of Chicago and attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science in 2012. He returned to Chicago to attend Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he focused his studies on civil litigation and trial advocacy while working full-time as a law clerk for Power Rogers. In 2016, he received his J.D. from Loyola and was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the school’s Trial Advocacy Program.

Mr. Power is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, and serves as a Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Selected Results

• $229,000,000 — Construction/Premises Liability — Incomplete quadriplegia suffered by a 16-year-old passenger in a vehicle that struck an unmarked gravel mound in a construction zone on Cermak Road in Chicago. Largest pre-trial single-claimant recovery in Illinois history.

• $91,000,000 — Premises Liability — Bilateral above-the-knee amputations suffered by a man pinned against a 7-Eleven storefront by a vehicle. Highest premises liability settlement and highest amputee settlement in Jury Verdict Reporter history.

• $85,929,718 (Verdict) — Products/Premises Liability — Bilateral above-the-knee amputations sustained by a truck driver when improperly loaded steel tubing fell on him during unloading at a Rockford facility. Fourth-largest plaintiff verdict in Illinois history at the time.

• $50,000,000 — Personal Injury — Severe burns and loss of both legs and an arm suffered in an accident involving utility lines while trimming a tree. Paid by multiple confidential defendants.

• $33,624,045 (Verdict/Settlement) — Wrongful Death/Negligent Security — Fatal shootings at a Chicago Loop office tower. Mr. Power secured a $5.05 million verdict for a legal secretary who was shot and witnessed the deaths of co-workers; overall verdict against negligent security contractor was $33.45 million.

• $32,000,000 — Civil Rights/Personal Injury — Bilateral below-the-knee amputations and emotional distress suffered by a husband and wife struck by a vehicle fleeing police on the corner of Ohio Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago. City of Chicago paid.

• $29,400,000 — Products Liability — Quadriplegia sustained by a yacht passenger who fell approximately 30 feet due to inadequate safety railings. Complex post-trial litigation including vacated settlement, defense verdict, reinstatement, and appeal.

• $27,375,000 — Trucking/Wrongful Death — Three members of the same family killed when a chronically sleep-deprived truck driver fell asleep and rear-ended their vehicle on I-55 in Channahon. $9.125 million apportioned to each estate.

• $25,000,000 — Trucking Negligence/Wrongful Death — Severe traumatic brain injury, functional quadriplegia, and eventual death of an over-the-road UPS driver who struck a stopped tractor-trailer on the fog-covered I-57 bridge over the Kankakee River. Defendants violated Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

• $21,620,018 (Verdict) — Products Liability — Severe traumatic brain injury and permanent disability suffered by a truck driver after a defectively designed grab handle on his Navistar tractor detached, causing him to fall backwards and strike his head.

• $19,400,000 — Trucking/Wrongful Death — Multiple recoveries on behalf of passengers in a church van traveling to Disney World, struck head-on by a tractor-trailer that crossed the median on I-75 near Gainesville, Florida; three passengers were killed.

• $17,500,000 — Bicycle Accident — Below-the-knee amputation, right arm fracture, and pelvic fracture suffered by a Special Education teacher whose bicycle was struck by a semi-truck making a right turn onto Roosevelt Road. Largest bicycle accident recovery in Illinois history.

• $10,000,000 — Wrongful Death/Construction — Death of a sewer bricklayer killed when a trench wall collapsed on top of him. Confidential construction company paid policy limits.

• $8,500,000 — Construction/Wrongful Death — Death and serious injury to two demolition workers when a section of concrete parapet capstones fell on them during a restaurant buildout at a Vernon Hills mall.

• $8,000,000 — Medical Malpractice — Bacterial infection contracted during surgery that went undiagnosed and untreated, resulting in multiple revision surgeries and a lifetime of antibiotic treatment causing progressive hearing loss and renal damage.

• $7,500,000 — Trucking Negligence — Multiple fractures, traumatic brain injury, and significant scarring suffered by a passenger when a church van was struck by an 18-wheeler that crossed the median on I-75 in Florida.

• $7,000,000 — Wrongful Death/Products Liability — Death of a truck driver crushed by bundles of large plastic PVC piping that fell from his flatbed trailer during unloading by a forklift.

• $6,500,000 — Personal Injury — Incomplete quadriplegia sustained by a Jesse White Tumblers acrobat on a movie set in Vernon Hills when an improperly staged scene caused him to make in-air contact with another performer and land on his neck.

• $5,150,000 — Wrongful Death — Death of a pedestrian who was clipped by a crane mounted on a truck and run over by its rear tires while crossing North Avenue in Chicago. Tractor-trailer was not properly marked with required flags and placards.

• $4,500,000 — Civil Rights/Wrongful Death — Death of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle fleeing a police chase on a Chicago street. City of Chicago paid.

• $3,500,000 — Trucking Negligence — Exacerbation of cervical and lumbar injuries rendering a Chicago Police Department officer disabled and unable to continue his law enforcement career.

• $2,600,000 — Trucking Negligence — Multiple serious injuries including a burst lumbar fracture, fractured sternum, punctured lungs, and cardiac arrest sustained by a husband and wife rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on I-290 in Roselle.

• $2,400,000 — Medical Malpractice/Wrongful Death — Death of a 23-year-old college student from a probable seizure disorder after physicians failed to diagnose her condition and prescribed a contraindicated medication at maximum therapeutic levels.