Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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A Cook County jury recently returned a verdict awarding over $25 million to an Illinois resident who suffered a severe spinal injury after being involved in a truck crash. The then 38 year-old plaintiff was left as an “incomplete paraplegic” and has been unable to return to work since the 2004 accident. The defendant driver was also left paralyzed after the truck accident.

The Illinois truck accident occurred when the plaintiff’s SUV collided with a truck being driven by an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) employee. At the time the plaintiff was heading to a Schaumburg construction site when he collided with the IDOT driver at the intersection of Frontage Road and the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway. Both drivers alleged that they had a green light and that the other driver’s signal was red. The local Illinois police attempted to reconstruct the Illinois truck accident, but were unable to determine which driver was at fault.

In cases like this accident reconstruction can be extremely difficult and oftentimes might not result in any definitive conclusions. Without witnesses who can testify as to which version of the events is correct it is hard to determine what happened. However, when there are other factors to consider, such as an intoxicated driver, or poor weather conditions, then the process becomes much easier.

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A Cook County medical malpractice case was settled for $9.5 million after an injured child’s parents reached an agreement with his delivering obstetrician, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Clinic, LLC, and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. The Northern Trust Co. et al. v. Nirali Ghia, M.D., Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, et al., Case No. 04 L 7500, Circuit Court of Cook County.

In December, 2002, the now six year-old boy’s mother arrived at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital to induce labor. However, the labor did not run smoothly, and after over four hours had elapsed the medical providers opted to perform a cesarean section. When the baby boy was delivered it was found that he had cerebral palsy.

The parents’ Cook County birth injury complaint alleged that the obstetrician had failed to adequately assess and recognize that the fetus was not tolerating the stress of labor. During labor and delivery it is imperative that the nursing and medical staff not only monitor the baby and mother’s condition, but also properly interrupts the information available.

The plaintiffs further alleged that a four hour delay in performing the cesarean section led to the child’s permanent brain injury. The baby boy now suffers from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle coordination and body movement.

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The family of a 39 year-old woman brought an Illinois wrongful death lawsuit against MacNeal Hospital and other medical professionals. The decedent had allegedly died as a result of medical negligence related to her gastric bypass surgery. A settlement of $3 million was reached between the decedent’s surviving sister and the hospital, nurses and resident physicians.

In the complaint, the decedent’s estate claimed that the medical providers had failed to recognize a leak at the surgical site in a timely manner, and that this failure constituted Illinois medical malpractice. Following the gastric bypass surgery, decedent developed a leak in the area that the small intestine had been sewn up. Before the leak was identified the Illinois resident developed sepsis.

The leak was not recognized until the decedent returned to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of sepsis. These symptoms could include rapid respiratory rate, elevated blood pressure, and elevated temperatures. She was taken to emergency exploratory surgery, where the leak was discovered and repaired. Yet by this time her situation had become grave. She died the next day from peritonitis and multi-system organ failure.

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The Union League Club of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee co-sponsored with the Chicago Federation of Labor a luncheon honoring Secretary of Labor, The Honorable Hilda L. Solis on Wednesday September 2, 2009. Secretary Solis allowed this luncheon to serve as her first Labor Day holiday speech.

The event was well attended by Union League Club members, including Chicago civil justice attorney Robert D. Kreisman, who serves on the Public Affairs Committee. The speech was also attended by active members and officers of local and national unions and many state and federal elected officials, including House of Representatives members Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis.

Secretary Solis spoke about her early life in California and her upbringing by her union member parents. Previous to her nomination for this post, Secretary Solis served eight years as a United States Congresswoman from the 32d District in California. She was appointed to Secretary of Labor by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate on February 24, 2009.

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An Illinois wrongful death case was recently tried and found in favor of the decedent’s widow, who was awarded $5 million by the Cook County jury. The verdict was against Metra and found the Chicago-based railroad liable for the Illinois train accident that caused the decedent’s death.

On the day of the Illinois train accident, the decedent was standing on a train platform at a Berwyn, Illinois train station and waiting for a train to take him to work. He was waiting in the same place he waited every morning, on the northeast corner of the platform. However, on that day the commuter train that normally arrived on the south platform had been re-routed to the station’s north platform due to the approach of an unscheduled freight train, which required the waiting commuters to move to a different track.

A ticketing agent informed those commuters waiting on the south platform of the change in tracks and suggested they cross the train tracks while the gates were down. An announcement was also made over the public address system, however, the north platform that the decedent was standing on was not equipped with speakers. Therefore, what the blind decedent heard was an unclear, muffled message to which he responded to by crossing the tracks.

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Arthritis is becoming more and more of a common problem with research showing that as many as one in four Illinois residents suffering from some form of arthritis. Oftentimes there is no cure for arthritis so scientists are constantly searching for methods of alleviating arthritis pain.

A recent diet analysis involving various types of arthritis examined data from more than 800 patients taken from 15 studies. The analysis focused on several diets that were popular among arthritis patients.

A Mediterranean-style diet was found to be the most effective and emphasized eating fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, and olive oil while also limiting red meat consumption. Over a 12 weeks those on this diet reported about a 15% reduction in joint pain, but showed no improvement in morning stiffness or physical function.

The study showed that similar results could be achieved through a vegetarian diet that included eggs and dairy. Other research has suggested that consuming daily capsules of fish oil along with antirheumatic medications yielded greater benefits for tender and swollen joints than when the medications were taken on their own. These results are suspected to be due to the anti-inflammatory properties of oils.

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While speeding in any vehicle is never a good idea, for trains it can have disastrous consequences. Train speed limits are posted for a reason and can vary based on weather, track condition, or the length of the train. When these speed limits are ignored it can result in deadly train accidents.

The Northeast Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, a.k.a. Metra, recently reached a settlement with a Chicago resident who was injured in a 2003 train crash. The Metra conductor had been faulted for driving at increased speeds and was apparently distracted when he was going 68 mph in a 10 mph crossover. Following this Illinois train accident the speed limit in the area has been reduced by up to 40 mph.

The injured man was a passenger when the Metra commuter train derailed near 47th Street in Chicago and sustained a fractured arm, broken ribs, and spinal damage. During the case’s discovery period Metra had admitted liability for the train accident. The case was settled for $2 million.

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In many Illinois medical malpractice cases time is of the essence and can make the difference between a positive or a negative outcome. A recent Chicago wrongful death case typifies this point. The case was brought against a suburban Chicago hospital for the death of a 22 year-old woman who developed sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

The Chicago lawsuit claimed that the hospital’s nursing staff discharged the patient despite her continued symptoms of nausea, severe abdominal pain, and faintness following surgery to treat her endometriosis. The woman returned to the hospital within less than 24 hours after her discharge, this time with complaints of extreme pain. She was prescribed an antibiotic, but it was not actually administered to her until 8 hours after it was ordered. Furthermore, the cause of her severe pain was not discovered for over 18 hours after she returned to the emergency room, depleting even more crucial hours in this woman’s care.

During exploratory surgery it was discovered that she had suffered a perforation in her small bowel, presumably during her recent surgery to treat her endometriosis. Even though surgeons were able to repair the perforated bowel, by this time it was too late. The patient’s condition worsened and she was dead by the following day.

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Recent studies have shown that the Emergency Room errors in diagnosing brain aneurysms could result in over 50% of cases going undiagnosed. Each year more than 30,000 Americans suffer from a ruptured brain aneurysm, a condition that carries the serious risks of developing a subarachnoid hemorrhage, i.e. bleeding around the brain.

In the case of brain aneurysms any delay in diagnosis can bring dire consequences and is often the difference between life and death. Therefore it is imperative that Chicago and Illinois Emergency Rooms errors in diagnosing brain aneurysms are minimized.

An aneurysm is similar to a ballooned pocket along the arteries and is thought to be caused by weak artery walls. Because most brain aneurysms appear among the large arteries at the brain’s base, when they rupture the blood leaks into the brain’s subarachnoid space, i.e. the area between the arachnoid membrane covering the brain and the pia mater surrounding the brain. From here the blood spreads to the cerebral spinal fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord.

The sudden bleed results in a sudden increase in intracranial pressure that can present itself as an explosive headache. Almost 20% of patients reporting “the worst headache of my life”, or similar symptoms, are found to have ruptured aneurysms associated with physical exertion. However, too many of these patients are discharged from the Emergency Room with the wrong diagnosis and without necessary medical treatment, which can be a form of medical negligence.

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We all know about the dangers of second-hand smoke, but lesser known is the danger of second-hand exposure to asbestos. A recent Chicago case hinged on this very issue and the trial court found that when an employee’s family is exposed to asbestos fibers by way of the employee’s clothes that the employer is not liable. Nelson v. Aurora Equipment Co., No. 2-08-0186 (May 29, 2009).

Upon appeal the Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District found that in cases where employees who are exposed to asbestos fibers at work then bring the deadly mineral home on their work clothes and thereby expose family members that it does not result in liability to the employer. The Appellate Court concluded that Aurora Equipment Company owed no duty to the wife of an employee under premises liability law because the wife was not on Aurora’s land.

The case had been brought by the wife’s husband after she died from mesothelioma and colon cancer in 2004. The mesothelioma was allegedly from second-hand exposure to asbestos from both her husband and son’s clothes. The plaintiffs alleged that since the father and son were exposed to asbestos fibers and dust while working at Aurora Equipment and that the wife and mother was exposed to the same asbestos fibers found on their work clothes, that the estate would be entitled to recovery for her death.

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