Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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DMAA is an ingredient of pre-workout energy boosters. A recent Chicago Tribune article describes DMAA supplements (a/k/a 1, 3-dimethylamylamine or methylhexaneamine) as being marketed as a natural substance that comes from geraniums. But substantial evidence negates that assertion.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now calling on the manufacturers of DMAA to verify the safety of their products. The regulators are saying that DMAA is a pharmaceutical compound marketed as a natural ingredient. This has led to renewed calls for federal regulations for dietary supplements.

Users of the products containing DMAA claim that it brings renewed energy, especially to competitive bodybuilders and athletes.

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In this case the parties fought over the insurance policies arising out of the wrongful death of Daniel Zacha, an employee of S&S Service Co. Mr. Zacha was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Coca-Cola Enterprises back to the S&S garage for repairs; in the process, he caused a head-on crash with the driver of a minivan, which resulted in that driver’s death.

Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, insurance companies are generally required to extend protection under liability policies to persons who are driving insured vehicles with express or implied permission of the owners.

The Illinois Supreme Court explained the statutory requirement of the Illinois Vehicle Code naming it “omnibus coverage,” which means “primary liability is generally placed on the insurer of the owner of an automobile rather than on the insurer of the operator” – unless a statutory exception applies.

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The World Health Organization has declared that diesel fumes cause lung cancer. The announcement is important for people who are exposed to diesel exhaust in their work places. In the announcement, experts said diesel fumes were more carcinogenic than secondhand cigarette smoke.

Diesel exhaust now shares the W.H.O.’s Group 1 carcinogen status with smoking, asbestos, ultraviolet radiation, alcohol and other elements that pose cancer risks.

The United States and other developed nations require modern diesel engines to burn much cleaner than they did a decade ago. Most industries, like mining, already have limits on the amount of diesel fumes to which workers may be exposed.

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A Cook County jury has found in favor of Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Group Inc., Illinois Harvey-Davidson Sales Inc. and Nissin Brake Ohio Inc. after the death of a husband and wife who were killed in a motorcycle accident on May 23, 2006.

The husband and wife, G.R. and S.R., were traveling northbound on Houbolt Road in Joliet, Ill., on a green light when a southbound car driven by an uninsured motorist made a left turn in front of them to access the eastbound Interstate 80 entrance ramp. A collision occurred that killed both G.R. and S.R.

The husband was operating a 2005 Harvey-Davidson 1200R Sportstar Motorcycle. He sustained multiple traumatic injuries and died a short time later in the emergency room. His wife, age 57, died at the scene of the crash. The couple had no children.

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A recent story by The Baltimore Sun shows that thousands of lives have been saved over the years because Americans now routinely use seat belts and don’t drive drunk. In the meantime, a new crisis has arisen with driving, and that seems to be the use of texting and cell phones. Overdoses of prescription medicine have also affected car safety.

Andrea Gielen, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research & Policy, co-authored a report released by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report brings to the fore the identification of ten important injury prevention measures. Some states have adopted many of these provisions. The report aims at influencing public policy and laws to change the behavior of individuals.

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In Illinois, judges regularly run for judicial positions. Seeking office carries with it the cost of operating a political campaign, which includes fundraising. So the question becomes: How does a judge who runs for a judicial post keep court decisions separate from collecting campaign contributions from individuals and companies?
The answer was given by Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the New York state Unified Court System. Judge Lippman said, “We may as well throw off our judicial robes.”

The judge spoke about this issue at The Union League Club of Chicago on May 23. The event was co-sponsored by Justice at Stake, an organization focused on keeping courts fair and impartial. It is based in Washington, D.C. Some local groups, including the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, were co-sponsors.

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On Memorial Day 200, M.P. was severely injured when her car was hit by a sheriff’s officer who was driving his car at about 75 mph through a red light on the Midlothian Turnpike. M.P. suffered partial paralysis and has since lived in a nursing home. She is paralyzed below her neck and unable to speak. The crash killed M.P.’s passenger.

Approximately 90 minutes after the crash, a blood exam revealed that M.P. had exceeded the legal limit of alcohol. M.P.’ s lawyers argued that her body was still absorbing the alcohol when the blood test was done and that her intoxication level was lower at the time of the crash. Cook County countered that M.P. was eliminating the alcohol at the test time, so her alcohol content was actually higher at the time of the crash.

The lawsuit was brought by M.P. against the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, but the trial judge excluded evidence of M.P.’s alcohol consumption. In that jury trial, it was found that M.P. was 25 percent responsible for the crash, but the jury awarded her $26.8 million.

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Robin R. Foreman v. Gunite Corporation, 2012 IL App. (1st) 091644U.

Robin Foreman was a truck driver employed by Distribution Services, Inc. (DSI). He had a regular truck route transferring material from Gunite Corporation‘s Illinois facility to its Indiana location.

Foreman was traveling eastbound on I-290 near its intersection with the Tri-State Tollway when the load in his trailer shifted, causing the truck to roll over.

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Rhonda Williams was an employee of Superior Air Ground Ambulance Service and was driving an ambulance when her vehicle crashed into a car driven by the plaintiff, Karen Wilkins. Williams was taking a patient on a non-emergency basis to a nursing home. The ambulance was not using its emergency lights or sirens at the time.

Deposition testimony showed that the crash took place at westbound 95th Street in Oak Lawn, Ill. At that intersection, there were three west-bound lanes. The ambulance was in the outside right lane. The traffic on the left and center lanes had stopped for a red light. The right lane had no stopped traffic because it was primarily used as a right-turn lane.

Just before the crash, Wilkins was turning left from the eastbound lanes of 95th Street. Wilkins proceeded past the left and center westbound lanes before she was hit by the ambulance. According to some testimony, the ambulance driven by Williams did not stop for the red light. Wilkins suffered brain injuries from the crash.

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A recent Cook County lawsuit was reviewed by the Illinois Appellate Court, which found that the trial judge had erred in dismissing the plaintiff’s personal injury claim. While the judge had held that the case facts supported a summary judgment in favor of the defendant hospital, the appellate court found that there was sufficient evidence to support some of the plaintiff’s claims. Caburnay v. Norwegian American Hospital, 2011 IL App. (1st) 101740 (Dec. 23, 2011).

The injury in question occurred at Norwegian American Hospital. The plaintiff, Dr. Fernando Caburnay, was an anesthesiologist at the hospital and was waiting for an elevator at the time of his accident. It was a rainy day and a 6 ft. x 10 ft. rubber mat had been placed in front of the elevator. As Dr. Caburnay was stepping back from pressing the call button, he tripped backwards over the mat. The back of his head hit a couch, and he fractured his spine, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Dr. Caburnay filed a personal injury lawsuit against Norwegian American Hospital, the basis of which was their negligence in creating a dangerous situation in the form of the rubber and fabric mat. Dr. Caburnay testified that the mat was the cause of his injury; he tripped after catching his foot on a fold in the mat and falling backwards. However, the hospital denied liability for Dr. Caburnay’s injuries and filed a motion for summary judgment in which it asked the judge to dismiss the claims against Norwegian American Hospital. The judge complied, at which point Dr. Caburnay filed an appeal.

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