Practice Areas

Our lawyers have developed extensive experience in the defense of litigated claims ranging from personal injury and property damage to professional liability, civil rights and discrimination claims. We promptly initiate a thorough investigation and work closely with our clients to formulate the best defense strategy. We attempt to dispose of every claim we can at the initial pleading stage. If settlement is the best option, we provide our frank appraisal and work with the client to effect the desired result to minimize our client’s ultimate risk. We are always mindful of the need to handle every claim in the most expeditious and cost effective manner possible and work closely with claims professionals to achieve this goal.

An important component of Gunty & McCarthy’s AV-rated defense includes the area of general negligence. Vehicular, premises and other personal injury claims are critically reviewed and often dispatched in the early stages of pleading and exhibit presentation. When necessary, intensive fact investigation is undertaken and cases readied for dispositive motion and trial practice. Successful verdicts and judgments include automobile property damage and personal injury, noxious fume inhalation and common slip and fall complaints.

Gunty & McCarthy represents major insurers through all phases of potential insurance coverage disputes, from analysis and legal opinions to major coverage litigation. The firm maintains an active insurance coverage practice involving complex insurance contract interpretation in all lines of insurance, including environmental, asbestos, multiple chemical exposure, silica, mold, commercial and residential construction, general business liability, blood factorate, medical devices, truckers liability, transportation, and general liability matters.

Gunty & McCarthy represents major insurers through all phases of potential insurance coverage disputes, from analysis and legal opinions to major coverage litigation. The firm maintains an active insurance coverage practice involving complex insurance contract interpretation in all lines of insurance, including environmental, asbestos, multiple chemical exposure, silica, mold, commercial and residential construction, general business liability, professional liability, blood factorate, medical devices, truckers liability, transportation, and general liability matters. The firm recently achieved a highly favorable result in the high profile H&R Block coverage litigation in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Missouri, affirmed by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. In another recent decision, Gunty & McCarthy succeeded at both trial court and appellate levels in the defense of a construction excess liability coverage claim.

An important component of Gunty & McCarthy’s AV-rated defense includes the area of general negligence. Vehicular, premises and other personal injury claims are critically reviewed and often dispatched in the early stages of pleading and exhibit presentation. When necessary, intensive fact investigation is undertaken and cases readied for dispositive motion and trial practice. Successful verdicts and judgments include automobile property damage and personal injury, noxious fume inhalation and common slip and fall complaints.

Our lawyers have developed extensive experience in the defense of litigated claims ranging from personal injury and property damage to professional liability, civil rights and discrimination claims. We promptly initiate a thorough investigation and work closely with our clients to formulate the best defense strategy. We attempt to dispose of every claim we can at the initial pleading stage. If settlement is the best option, we provide our frank appraisal and work with the client to effect the desired result to minimize our client’s ultimate risk. We are always mindful of the need to handle every claim in the most expeditious and cost effective manner possible and work closely with claims professionals to achieve this goal.

Gunty & McCarthy specializes in the defense of major corporations and business entities in chemical exposure claims. These cases involve representation in personal injury litigation arising from direct and secondary exposures on the job, accidental spill exposures at both commerical and industrial sites and chemical exposure claims from asbestos abatement work, as well as representation of chemical companies and business enttities responsible for the manufacture or distribution of various product lines. We work closely with top industry experts to develop our case theory, strategy and defense as well as make site visits involving chemical exposure.

Gunty & McCarthy has over 20 years of experience in asbestos litigation. We began defending these cases at our inception in 1991 with Ms Gunty having practiced in this area since 1980. Representing a wide variety of clients sued for allegedly placing asbestos products in the workplace, we have tried several of these multi-million dollar cases to a defense verdict and have resolved innumerable others by out of court settlement. We bring our knowledge and expertise to the litigation and consistently take the best interests of our clients into account when defending asbestos cases.

Gunty & McCarthy specializes in toxic tort cases and has successfully defended numerous clients in diverse areas of litigation. Our Toxic Tort practice has included cases involving chemical exposures, welding rods, benzene exposures, coal mining masks, indoor air quality, latex gloves, and mold. We combine our commitment to handling each client’s case individually with our years of experience to successfully defend these matters.

Our attorneys are experienced in a wide variety of high stakes litigation matters involving clients from as large as Fortune 500 companies to small Mom & Pop businesses. We provide our clients cost-efficient quality representation backed by our legal expertise, technical background, practical experience, litigation and trial skills and case management abilities. Our attorneys have been selected to act as national coordinating counsel and trial counsel for various companies in asbestos litigation pending across the U.S. Our clients have selected Gunty & McCarthy to represent them in litigation that usually involves substantial damages, that in many situations threatens the commercial viability of the corporation/company.

We have handled major claims in the areas of catastrophic injury including railroad/vehicular accident cases, construction/oil refinery accident cases, caustic chemical spill litigation as well as heavy construction equipment and sports equipment injuries. We also handle numerous types of toxic exposure cases in all different areas of litigation including matters involving disinfectants, mold, asbestos, silica, lead paint, solvents, latex gloves, medical devices and AIDS litigation. Bodily injury claims have involved severe caustic chemical burns, coal workers pneumoconiosis cases, neurological and immune system injuries, allergic reactions, asbestos related disease and other malignancies. We also handle property damage claims and insurance coverage litigation matters.

Gunty & McCarthy has successfully defended mold-related bodily injury and property damage lawsuits involving various types of structures, from small homes to multi-story apartment buildings, government buildings, commercial buildings. We strive to protect our clients from unfounded and unsupported claims brought by individuals who buy into the media hype about mold without realizing that mold is a natural part of the environment in which we live.

Gunty & McCarthy also practices in the area of Products Liability defense litigation. Out attorneys represent manufacturers and distributors of various products and component parts including electrical appliances, motorcycle components and sports equipment.

Gunty & McCarthy has extensive experience in handling matters involving catastrophic injury or death, cases in which potential damages are tremendous due to not only the nature and extent of the injuries sustained, but the cost of future medical care. Since so much of our practice involves work for excess insurers, we have extensive experience in these cases, no matter how the accident occurred. We are frequently asked by excess carriers to “parachute” into a case, with our goal being to assist in providing the best possible defense and the best possible resolution.

Gunty & McCarthy handles appeals in the areas in which we practice and we also have experience in criminal appeals. Our appellate attorneys have briefed and argued appeals in both Illinois and Federal Appellate Courts for cases that originated in federal district and state civil courts as well as the Illinois Court of Claims. We have also briefed and won appeals at the Illinois Supreme and U.S. Supreme Court levels. Our appellate attorneys are involved at the trial level in order to preserve appealable issues and to create a solid record that effectively supports our client’s position in the event of an appeal. We have won the overwhelming majority of our appeals and/or provided cost effective results for our clients. This includes our evaluation of whether the strength of our case warrants further appeal when weighed against the costs to our client.

Gunty & McCarthy has defended numerous transportation claims involving trucking accidents, train collisions, FELA and cargo loss claims, representing many diverse railroads and motor carriers. We are active members of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel (NARTC).

Gunty & McCarthy frequently represents general contractors, sub-contractors, owners, developers, material suppliers, architects and engineers in all areas of construction litigation, including construction defects, design defects, property damage and construction accidents. Many of these cases involve catastrophic injuries and/or death. We have defended numerous cases involving scaffolding, lifts and cranes.