Overview


Dan serves as a Shareholder at Nyhan litigating numerous matters before the Workers’ Compensation Commission and successfully representing clients in the Appellate Court. He represents both insured and self-insured businesses of all sizes and across most industries, including manufacturing, construction, healthcare, shipping/logistics, retail, and professional institutions.

Dan’s strength is adapting his approach to each client’s particular needs in a case. He first develops an understanding of the company’s business and then adjusts his handling of each case based on his client’s best interests for that particular matter. Additionally, Dan’s experience over the years has provided him with a significant foundational understanding of other areas of law, including employment, civil litigation, and Medicare to help his clients identify issues in cases outside of workers’ compensation.

In addition to his law practice, Dan represents the people of the 65th District as a State Representative in the Illinois House of Representatives. Within this position, Dan serves on multiple committees, including Labor & Commerce, Judiciary Civil, Energy & Environment, Transportation – Roads & Bridges, and Police & Fire. Working in this capacity allows Dan to not only represent his constituents, but also give a voice in Springfield to his clients as they navigate the regulatory landscape across the State providing the people of Illinois with the goods, services, and jobs they need.

In his free time, Dan volunteers at and with his church, including mission trips in the United States. His past activities have included that of a volunteer firefighter and an active volunteer at his alma mater, where he served on the Alumni Board, including as Past President.

Professional Organizations

  • Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
    • Medical Fee Advisory Board – Past Member
  • Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association
    • Past President
  • Chicago Bar Association(past)
    • Past Chair and Legislative Liaison Workers’ Compensation Committee
  • Illinois Bar Association
    • Past Section Council Member Workers’ Compensation Committee
  • Justinian Society of Lawyers
  • (Chicagoland Chamber, Illinois Chamber, Illinois Manufacturers and Valley Industrial Association)

Community Involvement

  • Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church
  • United Methodist Church Geneva

Presentations

  • Frequent Lecturer, Illinois Workers Compensation Commission for Judicial Training
  • Frequent Lecturer, Illinois Self-Insured Association
  • Frequent Lecturer on Workers’ Compensation, Subrogation and related Employment Issues:
    • Illinois State Chamber
    • Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association
    • Illinois State Bar Association
    • Chicago Bar Association
    • Various employers and insurers throughout Illinois

Representative Matters


  • Represented a cab company in a workers’ compensation case involving a claim for death benefits. Disputed issues included employment, accident, dependency, and Statute of Limitations. Through exceptional coordinated investigation and partnership with the client, we obtained the first finding from the Appellate Court in almost 50 years of case law that the cab driver was an independent contractor – resulting in no liability for the company.
  • Represented a roofing company in the third of three repetitive trauma cases against different roofing companies. While there was no dispute, the injured worker suffered from a condition caused by one (or more) of the companies, and all companies denied their liability. While exposure was significant for this high wage-earning commercial roofer, Dan successfully defended the most recent roofing company and obtained a finding of no accident before the Arbitrator – resulting in no liability for the company.
  • Represented a company in a case where the injured worker suffered severe and extremely debilitating injuries, unfortunately rendering him a paraplegic. In a civil case that involved millions of dollars in liability and extremely high exposure for a workers’ compensation matter, Dan represented the company and their insurer in the Workers’ Compensation case. Dan was asked to provide a legal opinion and advise to the insurance company regarding set offs against the lien for attorney fees and other items that was contrasted to one provided the insurance company by a previously retained outside national subrogation firm. Dan’s legal advice allowed a settlement to be negotiated to resolve the workers’ compensation case and the company and its insurer to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars more on their lien than originally advised by other counsel.