Kelly Sabo Gaden is a fierce advocate for victims of long term care abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, catastrophic trucking and auto accidents, birth injury, and various other personal injury matters. With more than 15 years of experience in handling personal injury matters, Kelly has secured more than $125 million in jury verdicts and settlements for people who have been seriously or fatally injured.
Kelly works hard to protect her clients’ interests and is dedicated to guiding them through every step along the way through litigation and settlement to ensure that they receive the compensation they deserve and the justice to which they are entitled.
Before joining Levin & Perconti, Kelly led the long-term care and medical malpractice group at another prominent Chicago personal injury law firm, where she obtained several record-setting verdicts on behalf of her clients. She continues to be a leader in long-term care at Levin & Perconti successfully prosecuting and resolving claims.
Kelly is dedicated to mentoring young lawyers, particularly women, to develop and maximize their talents. A board member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Kelly helps organize events to provide networking opportunities for women lawyers to connect and learn from one another. She is also involved with the Illinois Trial Lawyers’ Association, the American Association for Justice and its Nursing Home Litigation Group, and the Illinois State Bar Association.
While in law school, Kelly contributed to the article, “Kelo vs. City of New London: An Argument for Banning Economic Development Takings,” which was published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She also received the CALI Award for Property. Kelly is a graduate of Augustana College, where she had the honor of serving as the 144th Annual Commencement Student Speaker.
She spoke at the Illinois Trial Lawyer’s Association on May 10, 2024, on selecting expert witnesses for litigation. Recently, she was admitted to the Northern District of Illinois and the Northern District of Ohio. And on May 24, 2024, she was sworn in by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Originally from south suburban Orland Park, Kelly lives in Chicago with her husband, Brian and daughters, Charlotte (“Charlie”) and Amelia. A sports enthusiast, Kelly enjoys cheering for Chicago sports teams, particularly the Chicago Bears. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys experiencing different cultures through travel and cuisine.
Some of Kelly's notable achievements include:
$5M
settlement for a young woman who was admitted to a Chicagoland hospital psychiatric unit where due to an unknown trauma suffered a spinal cord injury with delayed diagnosis resulting in quadriplegia
$3M
medical malpractice settlement after doctors failed to promptly identify the cause of post-operative bleeding and did not properly rule out infection following a robotic kidney transplant
$2.835M
settlement for a 29 year old who developed bedsores at a Chicagoland hospital that deteriorated and became infected at a local nursing home
$2.1M
settlement against a nursing home for improper Coumadin administration resulting in a stroke
$1.75M
settlement on behalf of a 15 month old baby who died who died three days after admission to a care facility, following complications from NG tube feeding and the ingestion of a foreign object.
$1.675M
settlement against an assisted living facility (ALF) settlement for a 93-year-old resident who died after being left outside unassisted for several hours in 90-degree heat
$1.5M
settlement against a community integrated living arrangement (CILA) on behalf of the family of a 31-year-old who sustained traumatic brain injuries and died
$1.475M
settlement against a Coles County community integrated living arrangement (CILA) for a client who choked while the DSP failed to perform life-saving care and treatment
$1.225M
settlement against a supportive living facility (SLF) and a nursing home for the death of an 87-year-old who fell down a flight of stairs and died several months later from unrelated causes
$1.011M
in a record-setting verdict against a nursing home for a resident who fell during a transfer. This is the highest verdict ever awarded in Illinois for a hip fracture without a death.
$972K
jury verdict against a downstate nursing home and management company for the death of a 93 year old nursing home resident who fell resulting in a brain bleed and death
$895K
settlement against a nursing home facility for a resident who abscond from the facility and froze to death due to hypothermia
$875K
settlement against a medical group for failure to diagnose appendicitis leading to death
Education
J.D., Capital University Law School, 2007
B.A., Augustana College, 2004
- Illinois, 2007
- Northern District, Illinois
- Northern District, Ohio
- American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- AAJ Nursing Home Litigation Group (NHLG)
Elected Executive Committee Member at Large, 2020-2021 - American Bar Association (ABA)
- Illinois Trial Lawyer Association (ITLA)
Board of Managers, 2020-2024
Board of Advocates, 2019-2020
Women’s Caucus, 2017-2024 - Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI)
Second Vice President, 2025
Elected to the executive board as Financial Secretary, 2024
Board of Directors, 2022-2024
TWILL Co-Chair, 2022-2023
Civil Litigation Co-Chair, 2018-2021, 2022-2023
Judicial Reception Co-Chair, 2020-2021, 2022-2023
Annual Dinner Co-Chair, 2020-2023
- Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
- United States Supreme Court
- Chicago Lawyer Magazine:Â Women Leaders: Top Lawyers in Illinois, June/July 2024 issue
- Illinois Super Lawyers®: Medical Malpractice, 2023-2025
- Illinois Super Lawyers®: Rising Stars, Medical Malpractice, 2016-2017, 2021-2022
- Leading Lawyers: Leading Lawyer, 2020-2023
- Leading Lawyers: Top Lawyer: Leading Women, 2021-2023
- Leading Lawyers: Emerging Lawyer, 2018-2019
- Chicago Law Bulletin Publishing Company: Top “40 Attorneys Under 40 to Watch” in Illinois, 2021
- Chicago Lawyer: Top Women Lawyers, 2019, 2021-2023
- Chicago Lawyer: Top Personal Injury Plaintiff’s Lawyers, 2019-2022
- Chicago Daily Herald Business Ledger: Top Women Lawyers in Chicago, 2018-2019, 2021-2022
- Chicago Daily Herald Business Ledger: Top Suburban Business Lawyers, 2020
- The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40: Civil Plaintiff, 2019
- Jury Verdict Reporter: Top 100 Verdicts, 2016, 2018
- Lawyers of Distinction: Medical Malpractice Law, 2019
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Ethics & Professionalism Seminar, “Attorney Professionalism,” March 2023
- Breaking the Glass Gavel, WBAI Judicial Reception recognizing the Women of Illinois Supreme Court, 2023
- Strafford Webinar, Nursing Home Depositions: Establishing Liability, June 2022
- Presented at the Exigent Medical Litigation Summit on “Nursing Home Litigation,” February 2020
- WBAI Judicial Reception 2021 – Interview with Judge Van Tine
- Illinois Trial Lawyer’s Association, Selecting Expert Witnesses for Litigation – May 10, 2024
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