Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Last year our law firm reviewed a tragic Chicago medical malpractice case involving the death of a 28-year-old mother of three. While the facts seemed to point towards medical negligence as a contributing factor of the young woman’s death the medical records did not reveal a clear cut cause of death.

I remember the first conversation I had with the decedent’s husband, which took place shortly after her sudden death. During that conversation we discussed whether or not an autopsy should have been ordered. In my opinion whenever the cause of death seems unclear or suspicious it is wise to have an autopsy performed. However, in this case the woman’s surviving family members opted not to get an autopsy done.

Sadly, in this young woman’s case the real cause of death was never determined. While the medical records were reviewed by both a pathology expert and an infectious disease physician, neither were able to point to a definitive cause of death without an autopsy report. However, both physicians ruled out the causes of death listed on her death certificate, making the case even more of a mystery. Yet without any clear evidence there was nothing that could be done from a medical malpractice standpoint.

Would an autopsy have revealed the true cause of her death? Would it have shown something the doctors overlooked? Could the doctors have done something to prevent her untimely death?

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers that products sold under the Hydroxycut branded name could cause liver and heart problems. The FDA Hydroxycut advisory stated that “although liver damage appears to be relatively rare, FDA believes consumers should not be exposed to unnecessary risks.” The results were that its products were recalled.

Chicago and Illinois residents have reported symptoms of adverse affects from taking Hydroxycut, which range from stomach and abdominal pain, excessive fatigue, recurring headaches, excessive weakness, vomiting, loss of appetite, to kidney failure and liver damage severe enough to require a liver transplant.

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that were marketed for weight loss as fat burners, energy-enhancers, low carbohydrate diet aides, and for water loss. The brand names are marketed by Iovate Health Sciences, Inc., Iovate Health Sciences USA, Inc., Muscle Tech, among other brand names.

The FDA has asked that healthcare professionals and consumers report any serious adverse or side effects from the taking of these products.

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When people receive medical treatment at a hospital they typically assume that the doctors are employees of that hospital. However, in many cases the doctor may be an independent contractor of the hospital and not a hospital employee.

Because of the confusion that exists around who treating physicians and staff are actually working for, medical malpractice cases often involve an issue of apparent authority. The general rule is that if a patient believes that his or her doctor is employed by the hospital where he or she received treatment and can prove that it was reasonable for them to think so, then the hospital is liable for any negligence by that physician.

A recent decision by the Illinois Appellate Court further clarifies the apparent authority rule. In Wallace v. Alexian Brothers Medical Center, No. 1-08-2852, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that a hospital was not liable for negligence by its independent contractor doctors because the plaintiff had signed several consent forms which clearly stated that the doctors treating her injured daughter were independent contractors and were not in fact hospital employees. By doing so they affirmed the partial summary judgment granted by the trial court in favor of the defendant.

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Chicago is one of the nation’s trucking hubs. Chicagoans are used to seeing tractor trailers on area highways and roads at any time of the day. But these trucks are becoming a less common sight as lags in the economy are forcing more Chicago and Illinois trucking companies to close. And while this might decrease the number of Illinois trucking accidents, it does not bode well for the state of the current economy.

Over the last year, more than 3,000 trucking companies went out of business, which translates to about 7 out of every 100 trucks that were taken off of the road. And while economic analysts assure us that the economy is slowly recovering this trend is not apparent when we look at the frequent closing of trucking companies in Illinois, Chicago, and nationwide.

In just the first quarter of 2009 about 480 trucking companies closed nationwide. While this only impacts less than 1% of our nation’s total freight capacity it still leaves too many trucks competing for too few shipments.

If the economy continues to be weak, more trucking companies could go out of business. Experts predict that the pace of closures will continue to increase until supply is more aligned with demand. However, when trucking business begins to increase again this trend should be mimicked in the rise of other economic factors, such as employment rates and gross domestic product.

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Vermont recently enacted a law (S.48) requiring doctors to publicly disclose any and all medical industry payments they receive. Under the law ‘medical industry payments’ includes any money and/or gifts made to healthcare providers. The healthcare providers are required to specify the names of the gift givers and the corresponding dollar amounts. The new law goes a step beyond just making all gift exchanges a matter of public record and bans nearly all industry gifts to doctors, nurses, medical staff, pharmacists, health plan administrators and healthcare facilities.

After the new law goes into effect on July 1, 2009, state citizens can learn which doctors have been paid by manufacturers of brand-named drugs that they have been prescribing their patients, or how much money surgeons have received from the makers of stents, pacemakers, artificial knees, and other implant devices. The law is designed to provide a window into the considerable efforts and spending by device and drug makers to influence doctors.

This law, and others like it, is in response to concerns that drug and medical device manufacturers exert too much influence over doctors and their practice. For more information on this debate, please see our March 2009 blog “Do Drug Companies Really Influence Doctor’s Decisions Regarding Dispensing Drugs to Illinois’ Residents?“.

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Advances in the field of genetics has made for some exciting medical advances in the past few years. For example, the sequencing of the human genome has led to many medical breakthroughs. Furthermore the availability of more genes and sequences has increased research in the use of gene patterns to silence human tumors and allowed for better classification of tumors and disease. Genetics can also be used to predict a client’s prognosis and potential response to various anti-cancer treatments.

Recently a lawsuit was filed against Myriad Genetics, a gene company that owns a patent on BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes closely associated with increased risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The patent system gives companies like Myriad the ability to exclusively promote its innovations and allows for substantial research and development investments. The result is that the patent restrictions allows Myriad to restrict others from measuring the risk the gene poses for closely associated cancers.

The New York lawsuit against Myriad was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the plaintiffs. The case blends medical science, patent law, breast cancer, activism and an unusual civil liberties argument that could make this case a landmark.

While Myriad Genetics is the defendant in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that they have a bigger bone to pick with the U.S. patent office than they do with the company holding the gene patent, i.e. Myriad.

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There’s two sides to every story and trucking accidents are no different. Typically when two vehicles are involved in an accident the vehicle drivers’ stories vary in some way. Law enforcement officials and insurance companies are left with the job of sorting through the facts to come up with an accurate picture of what happened, which is not an easy job.

Fortunately, when an accident involves a truck there is often an Engine Control Module (ECM), commonly known as a black box, to help establish what happened during the trucking accident. The data stored on the black box can be downloaded to serve as undisputed evidence of the crash events.

Most truck tractor manufacturers put some sort of ECM in the tractor to monitor the engine performance and various driver variables. How the data can be obtained from the black box varies by model, but typically the computer records all incidents of hard brake, engine revolutions, and if the truck’s clutch was engaged. Newer tractors may also be equipped with devices to monitor driver fatigue and to assist in avoiding rollover prevention. ECMs may also keep track of all vehicles driving ahead of the tractor and those driving in the truck’s blind spot. All of this information can prove invaluable when investigating an Illinois trucking accident.

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Former Illinois 18th District House of Representatives Congressman, Ray LaHood, now the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, was the honored speaker at the luncheon held at the Union League Club of Chicago on May 15, 2009. Mr. LaHood served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and became the 16th U.S. Secretary of Transportation on January 23, 2009.

The U.S. Department of Transportation that Mr. LaHood now leads boasts more than 55,000 employees and a budget of $70 billion. As Secretary of Transportation, he oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions.

In a prepared statement, Mr. LaHood spoke about the Department of Transportation’s many goals, including high speed rail between Chicago and other Midwestern cities, rebuilding the transportation infrastructure, and other stimulus programs designed to modernize America’s transportation systems.

Robert Kreisman is a member of the Union League Club’s Public Affairs Committee, which sponsored the booking of Secretary LaHood for this event was attended by more than 300 Union League members and guests. Mr. LaHood generously took questions from the audience following his talk.

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Hospital-acquired infections are on the rise and have become a serious health problem. A 2007 study showed that 99,000 deaths were attributable to hospital-acquired infections alone. Illinois responded to this health problem by becoming the first state to enforce requirements that hospitals report incidences of hospital-acquired infections.

In 2007, Illinois passed two pieces of legislation regarding the control of hospital-acquired infections, which were Senate Bill 233/Public Act 95-312 and House Bill 192/Public Act 95-282. The Senate Bill requires each hospital to create a MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) control program. This infection control program must include an active testing system to identify all MRSA-colonized intensive-care unit (ICU) patients and other at-risk patients. The policy mandates that those patients infected with MRSA bacteria are placed on isolation. The Senate Bill also requires that each hospital make annual reports of all MRSA incidences among those ICU and at-risk patients.

The House Bill represents a more gradual approach to infection control and is supported by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control Epidemiology (APIC). The law requires hospitals to perform annual risk assessments regarding infections and to develop infection control plans that follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for MRSA and other multi-drug resistant organisms.

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When the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) was enacted in 2006 it provided protection to firearm manufactures from the majority of lawsuits being brought by victims of a shooting. Under the Act shooting victims were barred from suing firearm manufacturers in both federal and state courts under a wide range of circumstances.

However, the PLCAA does permit product liability lawsuits if the injury was caused by “a defect in design or manufacturer of the product.” The statute also goes on to state that if the circumstances involve “a volitional act that constituted a criminal offense, then such act shall be considered the sole proximate cause of any resulting death, personal injuries or property damage.”
An Illinois case asked the Illinois Supreme Court to clarify the circumstances under which PLCAA applies. The Illinois product liability lawsuit against Beretta USA Corp. involved a 13-year-old who had been adjudicated delinquent for accidentally killing his friend with a Beretta semiautomatic because he mistakenly believed that removing the clip of bullets completely unloaded the handgun.

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