Charles Candiano

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  Our fee on Personal Injury cases is 1/3 of the recovery and costs. Our fee on Workers' Compensation cases is set by statute at 20% of Settlement or Award and costs

Illinois

Since 1995

Indiana

Since 1996

Federal Circuit

Since 1995

Owner

Candiano Law Office

2013 - Current

Trial Attorney

The Margolis Firm, PC

2004 - 2013

Trial Attorney

Margolis & Velasco

2001 - 2004

Trial Attorney

Rusin, Patton, Maciorowski & Friedman

2000 - 2001

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Lake County Indiana

1996 - 1999

The John Marshall Law School

J.D. (1995)

Chicago Bar Association

Chair Professional Fees Committee

2017 - Current

Indiana State Bar

Member

2006 - Current

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

2001 - Current

Q. Do I have a case for lymphedema caused by medical negligence?

June 13, 2025

A: I agree with much of what my colleague wrote. That said, I must point out that someone with a severe allergy to peanuts bears the responsibility of asking whether food contains peanuts before they ingest it. You cannot charge the entire world with the responsibility of knowing that you have an allergy/sensitivity to peanuts. Similarly, if you have undergone a procedure to remove lymph nodes, you should know to prevent any medical team member from doing anything to the affected area that would further increase your likelihood of developing lymphedema. The fact that you underwent the procedure makes you an exponentially Higher risk for developing lymphedema, irrespective of whether someone placed a compression sleeve on that arm. Legally, it would be difficult or impossible for you to prove that taking your blood pressure resulted in the lymphedema because it could have resulted from the lymphectomy, even without the blood pressure cuff being applied. Moreover, as implied above, if something as innocuous as taking your blood pressure could be directly linked to lymphedema, the oncologist who performed the lymphectomy was obligated to advise you so that you could take care against such actions. Once placed on notice, you would be responsible for telling people to leave that arm alone. After undergoing a major surgery, it is difficult to imagine any post-surgical consult where the patient wouldn't ask questions like "is there anything that I should be careful of" or "is there anything I should or shouldn't do?"

Pragmatically, for your lawsuit to be viable, anyone in a clinic, hospital, or doctor's office who touches you would be responsible for reviewing your entire chart beforehand. That is ridiculous. Nobody would be able to afford healthcare. Additionally, placing you at a high risk for lymphedema will be one (of the many) foreseeable consequences of the lymphectomy that were listed on the waiver you signed prior to surgery.

Lastly, how would you convince a medical malpractice attorney to represent you, unless you funded a retainer? Your medical special damages are limited to the compression sleeves that you will need to purchase. Even if you are a young woman, your lifetime expense will almost certainly be much less than the cost of retaining a medical expert and preparing the matter for trial. Though it is true that most matters are settled, if you don't bother to prepare matter for trial, the insurance company has very little incentive to pay you money, beyond nuisance value. ... Read More

Q. Settlement delay: lawyer not informing about lien resolution process.

June 8, 2025

A: You provide none of the details necessary to provide any meaningful answer to your question. Liens and subrogation interests can be complicated and are easily confused. Why didn't you ask these questions when you authorized the settlement? In my experience, clients don't care whether their claim is settling for $50,000 or $500,000. My clients only care about how much they get to keep. If your attorney was not able to provide you with that information or an estimate based on your attorney's prior experience, you should never have authorized settlement. Your instinct is correct that nothing takes 10 months. If you had an outstanding hospital lien or other medical lien, your attorney could have requested the Court to adjudicate it (if appropriate). If Medicare is involved and your attorney did not previously notify Medicare that your claim was about to be settled OR if Medicare's lien included fees for medical care that was unrelated to your injuries, the process of submitting revised paperwork to Medicare and securing permission to revise the amount payable to Medicare can take several months. If Medicare is not involved, I cannot think of any reason for such a lengthy delay. The fact that you state your medical bills are on "payment plans" suggests that Medicare is not involved.

If there were any liens on your file, they needed to be negotiated BEFORE settlement. If there is a legitimate lien on your file at the time the case was settled, your attorney has a legal obligation to satisfy that lien BEFORE any of the money is distributed to you. After the case is settled, the lienholder has little to no incentive to reduce the lien. Moreover, your attorney's lien for his/her attorney fees is superior (takes precedence) to any other lien. That means that liens do not prevent or delay payment to your attorney. Your suspicion is certainly warranted. The question that you need to ask is the same question that you should have asked before you authorize settlement. You should request a draft settlement statement that lists the amount for which the claim settled and each lien or other encumbrance on the file as well as how much the attorney reasonably believes you will have to pay to satisfy them. If your total liens were = or greater than 40% of your settlement, The Illinois Healthcare Lien Act applies. Under that Act, the providers' liens are capped AND YOUR ATTORNEY'S FEE IS REDUCED TO 30%. ... Read More

Q. Is my landlord allowed to damage my belongings after eviction in Illinois?

June 6, 2025

A: If you are within the city limits of Chicago, your landlord had a duty to protect your property for 7 days under local ordinance. Elsewhere in Illinois, unless there is a provision to the contrary in the rental agreement, Landlords should follow a "best practice" scenario of storing property for 30 days unless the property is either perishable or a very low value. In either of those cases, the landlord is within its rights to discard the property. You say that your landlord sprayed lighter fluid on your belongings. Lighter fluid is naptha, A petroleum distillate long used as a spot remover. Accordingly, spraying lighter fluid on your belongings was not likely to damage them unless they were subsequently ignited. If that is what happened to your belongings during a period when the landlord should have stored them, you may have an action against them, IF and only IF YOU HAVE THE RECEIPTS - NOT PICTURES WITH CURRENT RETAIL. Expect a Court to assess a value of 10% to 50%, depending on age, condition, and type of belonging. ... Read More

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