Elworth and Greubel to Speak at Illinois Defense Counsel’s Medical Malpractice Seminar

Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP attorneys Robert E. Elworth and William Greubel, III will speak at the Illinois Defense Counsel’s (IDC) Medical Malpractice Seminar on October 9, 2025, in Chicago.

Their presentation, “Johnson v. Advocate: The Amendment to the IPIs, the Holding of the Case, How Lawyers Should Be Handling the Sole Proximate Cause Issue in the Wake of Johnson, and the Use of Special Interrogatories,” will explore:

• History of sole proximate cause jury instructions (IPI 12.04 and 12.05)
• Illinois Supreme Court Committee’s withdrawal of those instructions in favor of revised IPI 15.01
• The implications of Johnson v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation, 2025 IL App (1st) 230087
• Strategies for litigators navigating the issue post-Johnson
• The role of special interrogatories in future cases

Elworth, who authored IDC’s amicus brief in Johnson, will provide insights from the defense perspective in this critical appellate decision.

In addition to his speaking role, Elworth has been elected Co-Vice Chair of IDC’s Amicus Committee for the 2025–2026 term. He previously served as Chair from 2022 to 2025 and will continue working with the committee to identify significant legal issues and coordinate amicus filings that reflect the interests of the Illinois defense community.

The Illinois Defense Counsel is a statewide organization of civil defense attorneys focused on promoting fairness, professionalism, and integrity in the civil justice system. Its members represent business, corporate, insurance, professional, and individual defendants in civil litigation. To learn more and register, click here.

The mission of the IDC is to advance the interests of the defense bar by ensuring civil justice with integrity, civility, and professional competence. The IDC is an association of attorneys in Illinois who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing business, corporate, insurance, professional, and other individual defendants in civil litigation. Learn more about Illinois Defense Counsel.

Robert E. Elworth is a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, focusing on appellate practice and the defense of insurance producer errors and omissions claims. He received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1992. He has briefed more than 50 appellate cases in the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts, the United States Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Iowa Supreme Court, and the Nebraska Court of Appeals. Learn more about Robert E. Elworth and his practice.

William P. Greubel is a trial lawyer who has taken more than 50 cases to verdict before juries in Cook, Will, DuPage and McHenry Counties. Will focuses on the defense of professional negligence claims; representing physicians, medical groups, hospitals and other allied healthcare providers in a wide range of complex personal injury and wrongful death matters. Learn more about Will and his practice.