Kenneth C. Chessick

Dr. Kenneth C. Chessick, Of Counsel to Clifford Law Offices, is a well-respected and well-known lawyer and doctor. Principal partner of the Law Office of Kenneth C. Chessick, M.D. for nearly 30 years. In particular, he has made his mark in the area of fighting for patients’ rights in medical malpractice cases, having obtained numerous record verdicts and settlements.

For example, he obtained a $5.95 million record verdict in Cook County in a wrongful death case for the failure to diagnose breast cancer in a cancer survivor. He obtained a $2 million record verdict in Cook County at the time for the failure to diagnose breast cancer in a lady who did not survive. He obtained a $10 million record verdict in a birth injury case in Ogle County. He obtained a $1.2 million record verdict in DuPage County involving the vascular injury treatment in a medical negligence case. He obtained a $1 million record verdict in Winnebago County in a dental negligence case. His achievements in the courtroom also include a $7.6 million verdict in Cook County involving the negligent administration of a tube feeding.

Kenneth Chessick obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Psychology and Zoology from the University of Illinois in 1965. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree with scholarships from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1968. He served a straight internal medicine internship at Michael Reese Hospital in 1969, and four years of general surgery residency at Hines VA Hospital in 1970 and the prestigious Boston City Hospital in 1973. He then served a fellowship in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Florida Shands Teaching Hospital in 1979. Dr. Chessick is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Kenneth Chessick obtained his Juris Doctor cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1984. Kenneth Chessick, M.D., J.D., is an experienced trial and appellate attorney, admitted to the State Bars of Illinois and Nevada. Dr. Chessick has achieved record verdicts in several jurisdictions, including a $10,000,000.00 verdict in Ogle County in 2001. Consistent with his specialized medical training and broad experience, his main focus is medical and hospital negligence that caused catastrophic injuries to innocent patients. Dr. Chessick has published numerous articles on these topics in both the medical and legal literature. Clients of the Law Office of Kenneth C. Chessick, M.D. have received well-deserved compensation for catastrophic injuries exceeding $100,000,000 in the counties of Cook, Winnebago, Ogle, Boone, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Lake, Lee, Stephenson, and Whiteside.

Dr. Chessick maintains a close affiliation with Northern Illinois University. Dr. Chessick has been given the prestigious NIU Alumnus of the Year award in 2001. Dr. Chessick is a member of the Board of Directors of the NIU Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the NIU Alumni Association, and Chair of the Board of Visitors to the NIU College of Law. Dr. Chessick has taught or been the moderator of a number of law seminars on Medical Negligence Law, Personal Injury Law and Trial Technique attended by the practicing legal community. A generous donation from Dr. Chessick helped create the Kenneth Chessick, M.D., J.D. Technology Center at the NIU College of Law, designed to help train lawyers in the use of technology in the practice of law and in the courtroom.

Dr. Chessick gives back to the community in many ways. His legacy is the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Facility at his alma mater, Northern Illinois University. With a generous multi-million-dollar gift to the school, Dr. Chessick and his wife’s donation allowed for the building of a state-of-the-art practice facility for athletes at the university. The school opened the last weekend in October 2013, just as the Huskies’ football team was 7-0 in their conference and were ranked 18th in the country as they appeared headed to another bowl game. The Chessicks’ strong belief in the value of a successful athletic program is only surpassed by their firm commitment to a strong academic program, something that goes hand in hand in enhancing the entire college experience for all students, faculty, administrators, and alumni. “We are dedicated to helping to provide the best possible college education experience for our NIU students, and our student-athletes are instrumental to that positive experience,” Dr. Chessick said.

As a 1984 graduate of the NIU College of Law, Dr. Chessick established the Kenneth C. Chessick Legal Training Skills Center in 2004, providing students with experience and expertise in using computerized software to present ideas. Three years later, he created a series of academic scholarships named in honor of his clients, and there are now five endowed scholarships in the Kenneth C. Chessick Civil Justice Endowed Scholarship Program, which is presented annually at the school. In 2001, he was named NIU Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, and in 2012, he was named the NIU College of Law Alumnus of the Year. He serves on the Board of Directors of the NIU Foundation, and in 2013 he was selected to give the figurative “Last Lecture”, a speech delivered to the public annually. Dr. Chessick’s topic is “How an Ordinary Guy Can Do Extraordinary Things”.

Dr. Chessick is a physician and surgeon since 1968, and a surgeon, certified by the American Board of Surgery in 1974. In 1999, Dr. Chessick was one of the creators of an internet marketing organization for restaurants and restaurant consumers, Restaurant.com. Dr. Chessick is now CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Restaurant.com, which has tens of thousands of restaurant partners in all fifty states in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, 350 full-time employees, and more than 1,000 independent consultant partners.

Kenneth Chessick is also chairman of the Board of Directors of Restaurant.com, a highly-successful, national restaurant internet corporation.