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PRACTICE AREAS

Defense Counsel in America's Heartland

DeFranco & Bradley, P.C. concentrates its practice on the areas of civil litigation which most frequently result in a jury trial. Its attorneys staunchly defend the right to trial by jury because it recognizes the essential function of the jury in our system of justice.

DeFranco & Bradley, P.C.'s practice areas are grouped in three distinct areas: personal injury and employment cases, insurance coverage analysis and litigation, and complex litigation arising out of construction design and defect cases, class action lawsuits, and mass and toxic tort litigation.

At the law firm of DeFranco & Bradley, P.C., in Swansea, Illinois, we defend clients throughout the heartland litigation triangle of St. Clair County, Illinois; Madison County, Illinois; and St. Louis, Missouri. Contact us to schedule a confidential consultation.

Our practice areas include:

Personal Injury and Employment

The firm defends motor vehicle, premises liability, premises security, construction accident, product liability and professional liability cases. The firm represents the largest retailers in the area in a variety of personal injury and employment litigation, including personal injury cases, wrongful arrest cases, retaliatory discharge cases, and employment discrimination cases. The firm also represents some of the largest manufacturing and construction concerns, defending those clients in cases arising out of construction and industrial accidents.

Insurance Coverage

Bodily Injury

The firm provides coverage opinions to its insurers and defends declaratory judgment actions and third party claims filed against them arising out of personal injury claims. The firm has partnered with some of its insurers to provide efficient handling of low-impact soft-tissue claims brought by individual insureds on their automobile policies.

Property Damage

The firm has defended its insurers in fraud, arson, mine subsidence, construction defect, and environmental contamination cases. The firm's president authored Examinations Under Oath, a book analyzing the case law from all federal and state jurisdictions relating to the procedure and, as well as successfully trying numerous arson cases, has authored articles analyzing issues directly affecting property insurers.

Complex Litigation

Construction

The firm defends builders, engineers, architects, and subcontractors in construction defect litigation. The firm represents the world's largest provider of geotechnical engineering services and has defended engineers and architects in construction design defect cases, including a case arising out of one of the largest gasoline spills in eastern Missouri.

Class Action Suits

The firm has served as both lead counsel and local counsel in a variety of class action lawsuits filed in St. Clair and Madison Counties. The firm has partnered with firms from Chicago, Pittsburgh, Wichita, New York, and Washington, DC. to protect the interests of its clients in the county that has been described as the "class action capital" of the country.

The firm's president, a former law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, has practiced his entire professional career in the litigation triangle of the heartland and tried over 70 cases in the area. The firm's vice president, a life-long resident of Southern Illinois, has tried over 35 jury trials in southern Illinois and eastern Missouri. The firm utilizes its extensive experience in the area to successfully defend class action lawsuits brought in the litigation triangle.

Mass and Toxic Torts

The firm defends cases in which numerous claimants allege injury from the same occurrence or chemical exposure. The firm has experience defending claims arising out of exposure to asbestos, cigarette smoke, ingredients to popcorn, and other chemical exposures. The firm combines extensive experience in the cross-examination of personal injury claimants on damages with a sophisticated database to expose the inconsistencies of symptoms and damages of multiple claimants relating to the same exposure.

Contact DeFranco & Bradley, P.C., to schedule a confidential consultation.