David E. Rapoport

Practice areas

Aviation and Aerospace, Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Products: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Transportation/Maritime

Focus areas

Admiralty & Maritime Law, Aviation, Aviation Accidents – Plaintiff, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Informed Consent, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury – Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Transportation Law, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death

David E. Rapoport, the founding and managing partner at Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C., boasts a 37-year tenure as a dedicated trial attorney. Throughout his extensive career, he has consistently achieved favorable outcomes, securing multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements for individuals who have suffered wrongful injuries and the families of those wrongfully deceased. Notably, David recently acted as the lead trial attorney, achieving groundbreaking jury verdicts and settlements for his clients. In 2018, he successfully negotiated a $7.5 million settlement in cases involving lead poisoning from maritime work and a $6 million settlement in an aviation-related case. In 2017, his expertise led to a combined $6.4 million settlement for medical malpractice and product liability, and he secured a landmark $3 million jury verdict against a pharmaceutical company in a wrongful death case resulting from drug-induced suicide. In 2016, his client’s $4.3 million jury verdict in an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit was upheld upon appeal. Further highlighting his prowess, his clients received a $3.4 million jury verdict in a truck-pedestrian collision case in Chicago in 2015.

Among his notable accomplishments, David secured a $7.1 million jury verdict in a wrongful death case stemming from an airplane crash in Kentucky. Additionally, he orchestrated a $6.9 million settlement during jury deliberations for a semi-tractor-trailer/automobile collision case in Wisconsin, achieved a $1.942 million jury verdict in another semi-tractor-trailer/automobile collision case in Wisconsin, and successfully negotiated a $13 million settlement in a semi-tractor trailer truck crash case in Chicago. David’s leadership as the lead or managing trial attorney has led to cumulative jury verdicts and settlements exceeding $250 million.

David’s legal representation extends to various areas, including air crashes, motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, product liability incidents, boating accidents, premises liability cases, work injuries, and construction accidents. He has earned appointments from federal judges to serve on plaintiffs’ steering committees for airline disaster cases, solidifying his national reputation for advocating on behalf of injured victims and families affected by air disasters.

Within the realm of aviation law, David has played integral roles on court-appointed plaintiffs’ steering committees for significant air disaster cases. These cases have seen him represent passengers, their families, crew members, and their families. He also held the position of Chair for the Chicago Bar Association’s Aviation Law Committee from June 2017 to June 2018.

David’s commitment to holding responsible parties accountable translates into making the community safer. He offers personalized services to each client, combining compassion and skill to achieve just outcomes while ensuring clients feel at ease with the legal process.

David is a distinguished member of the exclusive American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an association comprising premier trial attorneys dedicated to upholding the right to trial by jury. ABOTA’s overarching mission is to enhance ethical and technical standards in advocacy, thereby providing more effective representation for litigants and promoting more efficient administration of justice based on established principles of litigation.

Since 1990, David Rapoport has held Board Certification* in Civil Trial Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), a prestigious certification program accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). NBTA-certified attorneys demonstrate specialized skills through written examinations, meeting stringent criteria for trial experience and ethical ratings. David’s recertification by NBTA in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 attests to his ongoing trial expertise. He also holds NBTA certification in Civil Practice Advocacy.

David is a driving force behind the push for board certification among trial lawyers. His leadership as President of the NBTA from August 2013 to August 2016 underscores his commitment to this cause. He remains actively involved as a Director, member of the Executive Committee, and Chair of the Appeals Panel and Communications Committee. David emphasizes the importance of board certification programs in aiding consumers of legal services to make informed choices, especially in an era marked by misleading lawyer advertising.

Furthermore, David is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA) and is Board Certified* by the ABPLA in Medical Malpractice. He holds the unique distinction of being the sole plaintiffs’ attorney in Illinois with dual board certification* in Civil Trial Advocacy and Medical Malpractice. Similar to NBTA, the ABPLA is a nonprofit organization accredited by the ABA to grant attorney board certifications.

David’s outstanding legal acumen has earned him recognition as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers. He holds the “AV Preeminent” rating, Martindale Hubbell’s highest professional accolade. Additionally, he has maintained an Illinois Super Lawyer designation every year since the inception of the Super Lawyer program, and Avvo rates him as “10.0 Superb,” their highest attorney rating. The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers has acknowledged David as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Illinois.

As a testament to his engagement in the legal community, David is a member of the President’s Club and Leader’s Forum of the American Association for Justice. He also holds memberships in the state trial lawyer associations of Illinois and Wisconsin, the Chicago Bar Association, and the exclusive Economic Club of Chicago.

• Note: Board certification is not mandatory for practicing law in Illinois, and the Illinois Supreme Court does not officially recognize legal specialties.