Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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On Oct. 10, 2008, 12-year-old Ryan Walsh and his cousin were riding their bikes to school at Thompson Junior High School in Oswego, Ill.  They were traveling northbound on the sidewalk along Boulder Hill Pass.  Ryan was crossing the school’s driveway apron when the defendant school bus full of students made a right turn into the driveway.  This caused a collision with Ryan and his bike in the crosswalk.

The impact between Ryan’s bike and the school bus occurred between the bicycle and the passenger side of the bus immediately behind the front tire.  This caused Ryan to become lodged underneath the bus and be dragged 10-15 feet, according to the bus driver.

Ryan sustained a right-sided L-5 transverse process fracture, right-sided S-1 fracture, puncture wound to the right buttocks, road rash and abrasions to his hands, arms and legs.  Ryan later developed permanent degeneration of his lumbar spine with a bulging L4-5 disc.  His medical bills were $49,452.

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On April 26, 2009, Julie Paterson was driving westbound at Route 116 in Fauber Road in Germantown Hills, Ill.  The defendant, Corey Funk, was driving northbound, did not yield the right-of-way and struck Paterson’s car in the intersection.  Paterson was going about 55 mph. The impact caused Paterson’s car to roll over.

Paterson suffered a laceration above the elbow with a possible tear of the common extensor tendon, scarring and residual pain treated with physical therapy and massage therapy.  It was determined that plastic surgery would not resolve Paterson’s scar.  Paterson had $4,200 in medical bills and four days lost from her job as an office manager.

The defendant admitted negligence.  After the verdict, the parties agreed to a judgment of $54,300 to conform to the evidence presented in the case.

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It would be hard to miss the multiple news releases and stories that General Motors has some big problems with its 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and its 2007 Pontiac G5.  General Motors is recalling these vehicles because a heavy key chain or rough roads can jar the key, turn off the engine and disable the airbags.  According to recent reports, General Motors has linked the defect to 31 crashes and 12 deaths.

However, there were no recalls of these vehicle until this year, so used car buyers considering a General Motors model may not have known of the faulty ignition switches.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said that on outstanding recalls, about 30% of the owners do not return the car to the dealer for the recall fix.  Carfax, which sells reports tracing the history of used cars, says that 3.5 million vehicles were sold last year that had defects subject to a manufacturer’s recall but had not had the repair done.

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The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a decision of a Cook County judge barring testimony of the plaintiff, Bettie Payton-White, because she was more than 15 minutes late to a court-mandated arbitration session.

In November 2010, a car crash occurred between the motor vehicle driven by Bettie Payton-White and one driven by the defendant, Anthony Weir.  In August 2011, Payton-White filed a personal injury lawsuit against Weir claiming that the collision was caused by Weir’s negligent driving.  Weir denied that he was negligent, and the court assigned the lawsuit to mandatory arbitration scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on May 29, 2012.

At the arbitration session, neither Payton-White nor her representative was present.  At 8:45 a.m., after allowing a 15-minute grace period, the arbitrator entered a decision in Weir’s favor and awarded $436 in costs to Weir because of Payton-White’s failure to appear. 

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On Oct. 20, 2009, Nazmi Nomat was driving eastbound on 167th Street in Hazel Crest, Ill., when a westbound van made a left turn on Western Avenue. The left front end struck the driver’s side of Nomat’s vehicle in the intersection.

Nomat, 47, suffered multiple disc herniations that required fusion surgery, cervical disc protrusion and herniations and a right ankle sprain.  Nomat incurred $913,793 in medical expenses. He also had over a $1 million in lost income as a butcher because of his injuries. 

The defendants argued that Nomat was not injured to the extent that he claimed. They also claimed that any objective finding pre-existed this crash, most of his medical care was unnecessary and he never intended to take the butcher job that was offered months before the date of the crash.  The defendants’ attorney recommended at trial a verdict of $50,000.

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This is a case in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago found that the defendant had contracted with an out-of-state buyer. The court found that the buyer performed all contractual obligations in his own state; however, the required sufficient minimum contacts were not found to establish personal jurisdiction in the plaintiff’s state of Wisconsin.

Marvin Greving was a Wisconsin resident who lived and ran a farm in Walworth County, Wis., since April 1971.  Greving and his wife conducted their personal and business matters only in Wisconsin.  Greving has a Wisconsin driver’s license, Wisconsin insurance and pays taxes in that state. In addition, Greving purchased all of his supplies for his farm from Wisconsin vendors.

In 2003, Greving attended a meeting at an insurance agency in Rochelle, Ill. At that meeting, Greving met Tom Wilson, a grain originator from Northern Grain LLC.  Northern Grain is organized under Delaware law, but is located in Harmon, Ill.

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Fong Yang was 16 years old with diagnoses of severe autism and Down syndrome.  Fong had a history of running away from his Fresno school when left unsupervised. 

Because of Fong’s tendency to run off, his teacher told the First Student bus dispatcher that the bus driver should not drop off Fong early at school or allow him to get off the bus after school en route to his home unless he was accompanied by an aide. 

Despite these instructions, Fong’s bus driver let him get off the bus without an aide. Fong ran half a block to an intersection, where he was hit by a car and thrown about 30 feet. Fong suffered a skull fracture, an epidural hematoma and multiple abrasions.  His medical bills totaled $78,500.

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On April 19, 2010, Frances Villarreal was stopped at a red light on eastbound 67th Street at Cicero Avenue in Chicago.  Villarreal was waiting to make a right turn when her car was rear-ended by the defendant, Cynthia Zaragoza.  The crash occurred during the morning rush hour.

Villarreal claimed that she suffered an aggravation of bulging discs at L4-5 and L5-S1, as well as a sacroiliac joint dysfunction, right shoulder sprain, thoracic/lumbar sprains and a right knee contusion.  Her medical bills totaled $12,163.

The defendant denied that she was negligent and claimed that Villarreal stopped suddenly and was holding a beverage. She also disputed the nature and extent of her claimed injuries and noted that photographs showed no damage to Zaragoza’s vehicle.  There were only minimal scratches to Villarreal’s car.

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The family of Paul Katuszonek has agreed to a settlement with Goldstar Foods Inc.  The case involved Officer Katuszonek, who was killed in a traffic accident in 2012.  The Katuszonek family brought a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that the food distributor and long-haul trucking company that employed the driver was the cause of the fatal crash with the police officer.   

The driver of the truck was charged with vehicular manslaughter and  gross negligence, which is a felony.  He was also charged, as a truck driver, for driving more hours than allowed under federal law.  The truck driver was on the road for 23 hours with only 4 ½ hours of rest when the truck ran into the back of the officer’s vehicle at 55 mph. 

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), truck drivers who are over tired have caused more than 100,000 accidents on American highways and roads each year.  This results in approximately 40,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths.

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Fox Factory, located in Watsonville, Calif., has recalled Evolution 2013 mountain bike suspension forks. Built for the model year 2013, the recalled suspension forks are for the series 32 and 34, with a 120 mm to 160 mm. 

The suspension forks’ damper cylinder/pistons can separate and cause the front wheel to detach, which could be dangerous to riders.  The Evolution name and logo are on the sticker on the front fork with the Fox brand name logo.  

Bike retailers nationwide sold bikes that fit this recall between August 2012 and October 2013 as original equipment on the bikes.

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