Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Phusion Projects Inc. manufactures and distributes the alcoholic beverage Four Loko. The product contains alcohol in addition to caffeine, guarana, taurine and wormwood. Guarana is a plant that has one of the highest concentrations of caffeine in any plant. It’s often used as a supplement to energy drinks, including this one. Taurine is an organic acid or an amino acid that some research shows may be a contributing factor to improved athletic performances. Wormwood is an herb. Some uses of wormwood are said to be for digestive disorders and to increase sexual desires and stimulate the imagination.  Wormwood is also used for healing wounds and countering insect bites. It is also used in some alcoholic beverages, such as vermouth and absinthe. 

Phusion purchased insurance coverage from two members of the Liberty Mutual Group. Both of the insurance policies contained clauses that excluded coverage for bodily injury or property damage when Phusion could be held responsible by reason of causing or contributing to intoxication.

Phusion was sued by five separate plaintiffs. All of them alleged that the consumption of Four Loko caused their injuries in whole or in part.

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A Cook County jury has determined that Brelinda Walker, age 58 and retired, was traveling northbound on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and while waiting to make a left turn on westbound Adam Street was hit from behind by the defendant, Adam Riley, age 21. Those facts were straightforward.  The jury also had to consider the medical evidence and the parties’ testimony about what each believed had occurred in this car crash.

Walker contended that the impact from the crash caused her cervical and lumbar disc aggravations, requiring emergency room care, MRIs, chiropractic treatment and epidural injections into the cervical and lumbar spine.  She claimed that the crash drastically changed her normal life.

The defendant Riley admitted liability in causing the impact. However, he also maintained that Walker merely sustained neck and back strains, which required only a visit to the emergency room, MRIs and 6-8 weeks of physical therapy. 

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The mediation of cases involves opposing positions. A mediation session begins with a brief opening statement by the mediator laying out for the parties and lawyers that the process that is about to take place will remain confidential.  The mediator in most settings will mention a few exceptions and explain confidentiality when the parties and their representatives meet in caucus, which is with the mediator in private. 

Before the mediation session begins, attorneys would be wise to inform their clients exactly what the process is all about and the distinctions between the terms — confidentiality and privilege. 

At the outset, and well before the day of mediation, the parties would be asked to review and sign the mediation agreement. Most mediation agreements contain language of confidentiality and references to privilege in outlining the mediation process.

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Sarah Burns, 29, left work early on June 22, 2010 because she was not feeling well and had a migraine headache. She was driving her car northbound on Route 53 in Palatine, Ill., around 12:40 pm, when she was forced to merge into the adjacent lane in front of defendant’s Lazaro Jimenez’s minivan due to a lane closure for road construction. 

Right after the merger of the two vehicles, Jimenez, 75 and a retiree, rear-ended Burns’s car. Burns and Jimenez disputed the force of the impact. Burns testified that it was a high-speed impact, while Jimenez stated at trial that it was a low-speed crash.

Photographs of both vehicles were admitted into evidence, which showed only minor damage with small scratches to the front of Jimenez’s minivan and a dent to the rear of Burns’s car.  Jimenez reportedly had $2,111 in property damages, while the Burns car had $3,079 in property damage.

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A settlement agreement that includes claims of more than 1,200 plaintiffs in federal and state courts has been reached with Merck & Co. Inc. to pay $27.7 million related to the bone drug Fosamax. Fosamax has been claimed to have caused a condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw. Osteonecrosis is a serious bone disease first associated with high doses of bisphosphanates used for oncology patients. Even lower doses of bisphosphanates have been associated with this condition. Fosamax contains some of this product used for patients with bone disorders, such as osteoporosis.

The settlement was reached after a district court judge handling the multidistrict litigation (MDL) ordered 200 cases per month sent back to their home courts for further disposition and trial. None of the transfers had occurred before the settlement was reached. 

This litigation began in 2005 with seven bellwether trials having gone to jury verdicts. Merck was successful in winning five of those cases, but also lost two cases in which the verdicts were $285,000 and $8 million. The latter verdict was later reduced to $1.5 million. This settlement does not include another set of cases alleging that Fosamax causes femur fractures.  Those claims are in a separate multidistrict litigation federal court and are still pending.

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Federal District Court Judge Hon. David R. Herndon of the Southern District of Illinois has ordered that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI) pay $1 million in sanctions for discovery abuses in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving the oral anticoagulant Predaxa. This same U.S. Federal District Court, also in the Southern District of Illinois, is where many of the country’s  Yasmin and YAZ (Drospirenone)  birth control injury cases are being handled; also in an MDL.

Judge Herndon found that BIPI, the maker of Predaxa, had chosen not to produce thousands of documents to the plaintiffs, which the judge determined was bad-faith conduct. 

According to the order, BIPI and its German parent company were unable to explain why it chose not to produce critical documents and communications by a deadline set by the judge. The deadline was in June 2012. 

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Three-month-old Emma Takacs developed a poor appetite. She had a fever that was in excess of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Emma’s mom and dad took her to a hospital’s emergency room where a nurse documented Emma’s abnormal vital signs and fussiness.

An emergency department doctor, Duane Siberski, M.D., examined Emma. Dr. Siberski diagnosed an ear infection.  Emma was discharged with a prescription for an oral antibiotic and her parents were given instructions to take her to see a pediatrician, if needed.

A few days later, Emma was found to be lethargic and her skin was cool to the touch. Emma’s parents brought her to another hospital where she was diagnosed as having bacterial meningitis, a hypoxic brain injury and hydrocephalous.  Hydrocephalous is a medical term for what is known as “water on the brain.”  The condition is one in which an abnormal accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid lodges in the ventricles or cavities of the brain. It can be caused by and is connected with the bacterial meningitis that results in an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord. That tissue is called “meninges.”  Acute bacterial meningitis is a very serious condition.

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The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court has dismissed appeals by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in its attempt to reverse a jury verdict of $8.6 million, which included a very sizable sum for punitive damages. A lawsuit originated in a claim against Wyeth as to its menopause drug, Prempro, which has been associated with women developing breast cancer.  Wyeth had asked the state’s Supreme Court to overturn the September 2013 punitive damages verdict. Wyeth argued that the verdict should be invalidated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) earlier approval of the drug for safe use. 

Wyeth maintained that the appellate court had erred in reinstating the jury verdict that was entered by a Philadelphia jury in 2007 for Mary Daniel, who claimed that the Prempro menopause drug caused her breast cancer. 

Following that jury verdict, the punitive damages were tacked onto a compensatory damage award of $1.7 million.  Ms. Daniel and her husband were the plaintiffs in the case. 

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It is sometimes overlooked in trial practice or not given enough emphasis that the conduct of a defendant must be proved to have proximately caused the injuries or damages claimed in the pleadings. Also, expert testimony must meet the rules of scientific reliability. 

For example, Gary McCann, an engineer for more than 17 years for the defendant, Illinois Central Railroad, sued the railroad in a 4-count complaint. He claimed damages for carpal tunnel syndrome caused by the railroad’s inadequate and defective cab seats, rough track, oversized ballast and defective switches.

In this case, McCann claimed negligence under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §51 et seq.; negligence per se; violations of the Locomotive Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. §20701; and negligence for causing his carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Anthony Waring was a worker for a company that owned and operated an assisted-living facility. Waring was in the process of retrieving a snow shovel from a shed on the facility’s grounds. He fell on snow and ice as he was walking down the ramp leading from the shed.

Waring was 22 years old at the time and suffered herniated disks at L3-S1 and bulging disks at C4-6. He also developed radiculopathy, which caused pain radiating from his lower back into both of his legs. 

After the injury, Waring underwent four months of physical therapy and epidural steroid injections, but he continued to suffer pain. He might in the future require the implanting of a spinal stimulator to help with his pain problem.  Since the incident, he has not returned to work.

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