Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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An recent Illinois medical malpractice jury verdict was affirmed by the Illinois Fifth District Appellate in favor of an injured plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The appellate court’s decision effectively denied a physician’s claims that the plaintiff had failed to effectively prove the defendant had breached the standard of care. Cummings v. Jha, M.D., et al., No. 5-0-0182.

The plaintiff’s, Kevin Cummings, original Illinois medical malpractice claim for a failure to diagnose and treat a bile leak following surgery was against two physicians; however, the physician who performed the actual surgery settled out of court. Therefore the jury verdict was only against one of the physicians, a doctor who had been standing in for the defendant surgeon while he was out of town.

The stand-in physician appealed the $210,000 jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, claiming that he was entitled to a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and contending that the plaintiff failed to show he breached the standard of care or that the alleged breach was a proximate cause of Cummings’ injury. However, the Illinois Appellate Court rejected those arguments and affirmed the lower court’s medical malpractice verdict.

The court said that the evidence showed that the second doctor breached the standard of care when he failed to fully investigate and inquire about Cummings’ history and didn’t obtain sufficient information to make an appropriate clinical diagnosis. One of the experts for plaintiff also testified that the history of plaintiff’s gallbladder surgery should have prompted a reasonably competent physician to investigate Cummings for a surgical complication.

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Yesterday the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) sponsored its thirteenth year of its Principal for a Day (PFAD) program.

celebrated its 13th year in Principal for a Day. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman participated in the program at Bowen Environmental Studies Team (B.E.S.T.) on Chicago’s south side.

Attorney Kreisman and his fellow principals for the day were greeted by B.E.S.T. High School’s principal, Camille Covington, Ed.D. Assistant principal Roberto Paredes led a group of “principals for a day” through the school, including visits to different ongoing classes and introductions to students and teachers. Of particular interest was that B.E.S.T. High School was undergoing College Day, which is a day when numerous universities and colleges showcase the opportunities they can offer the students. The students were invited to engage in discussions about their future at these colleges and universities.

B.E.S.T. High School is one of the four high schools that make up the physical address at 2710 E. 89th St., Chicago, where Bowen High School stands. B.E.S.T. High School focuses on preparing its students for college by emphasizing physical, social, political, and natural elements of the environment. Its students are encouraged to think of themselves as future leaders in their communities and fields.

The Principal For A Day program receives a high level of support from the Chicago business community, with over 1,400 business men and women participating this year alone. The day concluded with Chicago Mayor Daley hosting a luncheon for all the “principals”.

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Leading heart valve manufacturers Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic are racing each other to perfect new heart valves that could revolutionize heart valve replacement surgery. The new heart valves would result in a less-invasive surgery because they can be inserted via catheters without the requirement for an open heart procedure. And because the procedure is less invasive, more people would be candidates to receive valve replacements. Currently there is a significant population of critically ill or elderly patients who are considered too frail to undergo open heart surgery and therefore are not able to receive new heart valves.

The new heart valves have been available in Europe for 18 months and have thus far yielded positive results. Medical trials of the valves are being conducted in the U.S. amongst older, critically ill patients who are not candidates for open heart surgery. Medical experts predict that if the devices live up to their makers’ claims they could revolutionize heart valve replacement, a common heart operation, and extend the lives of thousands of frail patients who are not now considered candidates for the open heart surgery.

An estimated 20,000 people die annually from heart valve-related diseases, including those too sick to withstand the open-heart surgery. The new valves would be meant to enable more such patients to have life-saving valve replacements. Furthermore, a less risky surgery lessens the possibility of transplant errors from occurring.

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A recently settled Illinois wrongful death case presented a unique theory of liability that targeted the owner of a restaurant more so than the driver who caused the Illinois car accident.

The decedent was tragically killed when an 85 year-old man mistakenly accelerated instead of braking, crashing his Chrysler Sebring into a Subway sandwich shop at a busy Chicago intersection. The decedent was killed when the driver’s vehicle slammed into the store and pinned the patron between the car and the restaurant counter.

The decedent’s estate relied on the Illinois Supreme Court case of Marshall v. Burger King Corp., 222 Ill.2d 422 (2006), in which the Illinois Supreme Court overturned a “no-duty” ruling of the trial court and determined that business owners had the duty to protect patrons from out-of-control vehicles crashing through their walls. Targeting the owner of the premises, in this case Subway, set the current case apart from many other theories of liability. The estate alleged that Subway’s negligence in preventing the Illinois car accident was foreseeable because of the poorly designed parking lot and the lack of protective barriers between the lot and the front of the restaurant.

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An Illinois Appellate Court held that a suburban Chicago park district has been ordered to pay an Illinois worker’s compensation claim to an employee that got hurt playing a sport during his work shift because the activity didn’t technically qualify as “recreational”. Elmhurst Park District v. Industrial Commission of Illinois, et al., No. 1-08-2289 WC.

In 2002 the worker fractured his right leg while playing wallyball – a version of volleyball that’s played on a racquetball court. At the time of the incident he was employed by the Elmhurst Park District as a fitness supervisor.

The worker sought benefits for his injury pursuant to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. The park district countered with an argument stating that Illinois law prevents employees from recovery for accidents that occur during a voluntary recreational program unless they are ordered by their employer to participate. The worker responded by arguing that it was within the scope of his job duties since those duties included promoting and implementing the classes and programs that the district offered to its patrons and therefore should be treated as an Illinois workers’ compensation claim.

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On Saturday, October 17, 2009, Evanston/North Shore Branch of the NAACP celebrated its 100th year with pride. Several hundred friends and supporters were in attendance at the Chicago North Shore Holiday Inn in Skokie, Illinois. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman attended the event as a member of the NAACP.

According to its President George P. Mitchell, the NAACP has lasted for 100 years because it has been effective and it’s no wonder that “the oldest, the boldest, the most feared, the most revered, the most cussed and discussed civil rights organization” continues to exist.

The keynote speaker was the president of the Illinois Conference of Branches, attorney Donald Jackson of Peoria, Illinois. Mr. Jackson traced the history of the 100 year-old volunteer-only organization. The springboard for the organization’s founding was a violent and deadly race riot in Springfield, Illinois in 1908.

Also honored was Evanston’s former, long-time Mayor, Elaine Morton, who received the NAACP’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The Community Service Award was granted to Theola Murphy, also an Evanston resident, who was saluted for her years of dedication and volunteer service to the community. Also receiving awards were Keith Banks and the Sergeant William B. Snell VFW Post #7816.

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Using actual transcripts from the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals, The Response provides a window into the tribunals and allows the general public a glimpse of what takes place at Guantanamo Bay. The film’s writer/producer, Sig Libowitz, has had first hand experience at Guantanamo Bay, participating as a legal observer to the Military Commissions.

The film, directed by Adam Rodgers, has been showcased at various locations nationwide, including screenings at both The Pentagon and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Response has received favorable reviews both from the military and the general public, including an Audience Award at the Politics on Film festival in Washington, D.C.

The thirty-minute drama focuses on the trial of an enemy combatant and three military judges that are deciding his fate. The film is unclear on whether or not the enemy combatant is guilty, instead forcing the audience to experience the ambiguities of the tribunal process. The specific trial revolves around whether the detainee provided supportive material to Al Qaeda, or whether he is an innocent victim that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The military judges are forced to decide the man’s fate without full access to the evidence and trust their instincts.

The film holds a chilling mirror up to the military tribunals and shows how complicated the issues are surrounding the Guantanamo Bay detainees. For information on screenings in your area, visit the film’s website at www.theresponsemovie.com.

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In a case before the Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals in Chicago, it was held that a general contractor can be held liable for injuries to an employee of a sub-contractor where it is shown that the general contractor has assumed a degree of the responsibility for his safety with which sub-contractors do their work. Jose Aguirre v. Turner Construction Company, et al., No. 08-3999.

The Illinois construction site accident occurred when the worker fell from a scaffold while working on the renovation of Soldier Field in Chicago. The Appellate Court reversed the decision for summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The lower court had ruled that the defendant did not owe any duty to the plaintiff because he was an employee of the subcontractor and that any negligence by the defendant was not relevant because it did not have exclusive control of the scaffold from which plaintiff fell.

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A woman brought an Cook County medical malpractice lawsuit against her gynecologist for a failure to diagnose her breast cancer in a timely manner. The woman had been seeing the defendant gynecologist regularly since the mid-1980s, but the diagnosis was not made until May 2000, at which point the woman was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. The Illinois Appellate Court upheld a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, rejecting the defendant’s arguments. Dienstag v. Margolies, No. 1-06-1558.

As early as 1991 the woman underwent a breast biopsy after her left breast showed an area of calcification. While that biopsy returned benign, i.e. non-cancerous results, the results did show atypical ductal hyperplasia. Furthermore, the woman was at an increased risk for developing cancer due to a family history of cancer.

Following the ’91 biopsy the woman underwent annual mammograms to screen for possible breast cancer. Also significant is that in 1998 her gynecologist prescribed estrogen, which could increase the risk for breast cancer, to alleviate menopause symptoms.

The following November, the plaintiff began to complain to her gynecologist of breast tenderness and enlargement. However, on exam the doctor could not feel any dominant lump so continued her estrogen treatments. Then in May 2000, the gynecologist was able to feel a palpable lump in her breast. At that point she was referred to a surgeon for another breast biopsy. This time the results were malignant.

At that point plaintiff was diagnosed Stage III breast cancer, which is fairly progressive. She required a modified and radical mastectomy to entirely remove her left breast and any involved lymph nodes. She later had reconstructive surgery.

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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a strict local and state gun control law violates the Second Amendment when it reviews a lower court’s decision to uphold Chicago’s handgun ban. The Chicago case was filed following the Supreme Court’s June 2008 decision in the District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down a District of Columbia handgun ban.

Chicago’s handgun ban was similar to the one that was then overturned in D.C. Both municipalities made it illegal to carry unregistered handguns, but also did not allow residents to legally register their handguns. As a result of these conditions, essentially any handgun becomes illegal.

The current case comes before the Supreme Court after the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Chicago handgun ban. The Court also upheld a similar handgun ban in Oak Park, a Chicago suburb.

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