Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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M Construction Ltd. was doing utility construction, including digging a 9-foot trench to place pipes in the ground. The company’s foreman instructed employees to enter the trench to dig under a pipe.

The unprotected trench collapsed, killing Rigoberto Tovar, an M Construction employee.  He was just 25 years old and was survived by his wife and stepdaughter.

Tovar’s wife, individually and on behalf of his estate, sued M Construction Ltd., alleging it negligently ordered its employees to work in an unprotected trench and chose not to properly train workers on trench safety.

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In January 2018, a blowout and well fire took place on a Pryor 1H-9 oil rig that trapped five men, including Josh Ray, 35, and Cody Risk, 26. The workers were trapped inside a so-called doghouse, which is a safe house within the rig that is designed to provide protection in case of a fire.

Unfortunately, unable to escape, the two men died from thermal burns and soot inhalation.

Ray had been a driller and was survived by his wife and minor child. Risk had been a floor hand and was survived by three minor children.

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A Will County judge rejected Diana Angell’s attempt to use veil-piercing to overcome a mistake made in suing the wrong defendant. Her attorney sued Santefort Family Holdings LLC when she should have targeted an affiliated company known as Midwest Home Rentals LLC. Having done so, the circuit court judge dismissed the case; however, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District reversed with a dissent.

Angell was inspecting a mobile home that was for sale or lease at Tri-Star Estate when she walked into an unlit bathroom and stepped into a hole. She was seriously injured and sued Tri-Star’s owner, Santefort Family Holdings. Even though Santefort Family Holdings owned the real estate, the mobile home was owned by Midwest Home Rentals LLC.

To make matters worse, Santefort Family 2012 Irrevocable Trust reportedly owned numerous affiliates, including Santefort Real Estate Group LLC (which owned the defendant, Santefort Family Holdings), Midwest Home Rentals LLC, Santefort Services LLC, Santefort Property Management Inc. (called SPMI) and an array of single purpose entities.

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James Richardson was seriously injured in an auto crash at 53rd Street and Western Avenue in Chicago, which resulted in a settlement for $1 million against Night Dream Inc. and Shaun T. Small. However, their Nevada-based insurer, Spirit Commercial Auto RRG Inc., was placed in liquidation before it funded the $1 million settlement amount. Because Spirit was a “risk retention group, (RRG),” Richardson couldn’t collect from the insurance guaranty funds in Nevada or Illinois.

He asked for a $1 million judgment against Dream and Small based on the portion of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, Section 2-2301, aimed at insurance companies that slow walk settlement payments.

Richardson requested the judgment more than 30 days after he submitted an executed release and all other documents required by Section 2-2301. Subsection (d) says: “A settling defendant shall pay all sums due to the plaintiff within 30 days of tender by the plaintiff of the executed release and all applicable documents in compliance with subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this Section.”

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Robert Greenhill, the plaintiff, was a sprinkler fitter for a construction project when he was injured at work by a freight elevator.

While he was entering the elevator, another passenger pressed the “door close” button and the elevator gate descended, striking Greenhill.

The Illinois First District Appellate Court held that the open-and-obvious doctrine was not available to the defendants, including REIT Management & Research LLC, Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corp., and the building manager, CW 600 W. Chicago LLC, because the risk of entering the elevator would not have been apparent to a reasonable person in the view of Greenhill.

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Gabriel Goncalves, a 12-year-old boy who was on the autism spectrum, was riding a school bus driven by Mark Hudovenko. During the bus ride, Hudovenko swerved at 45 mph, which was 15 miles over the speed limit. This caused the bus to leave the road and collide with a tree.

Gabriel suffered serious injuries in the crash, including brain hemorrhages, a skull fracture and various lacerations.

Gabriel has been diagnosed as having a traumatic brain injury, which has led to negative behavioral changes, sensory hypersensitivity and memory loss.

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Jacob Hourmouzus was a 17-year-old high school student when he attempted to rescue his dog, which had jumped into an irrigation canal under a metal footbridge on private property. As Jacob and the dog began to be swept away in the canal, he grabbed onto the bridge, which was electrically energized with 240 volts of power. Jacob suffered an electrical shock. He was taken to a hospital for treatment but he later died. Jacob was survived by his parents.

Jacob’s parents sued Solano Irrigation District, a public utility, alleging negligence for choosing not to properly ground the metal footbridge, which caused the bridge to become electrically and dangerously energized.

The lawsuit also alleged that the public utility defendant should have placed private property signs on the bridge to warn of its danger.

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Juanita Marquez, 90, was a passenger in her daughter’s pickup truck. While the pickup truck was stopped in traffic, an SUV driven by a teenager, Aaron Dominguez, rear-ended the Marquez vehicle. The crash caused the Marquez vehicle to hit another vehicle in front of it.

Marquez suffered a cervical strain and a right shin injury, as well as hip and arm pain. She now requires a cane for walking and has become generally less independent than she was before this crash.

Marquez sued Dominguez, alleging negligent operation of his SUV. She did not claim past medical expenses. Dominguez admitted he had been using his cell phone at the time of the collision and conceded liability during the trial.

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Charles Jacobus, 55, was attempting to cross the street in order to catch a bus when the SUV driven by Shayla Randle struck him. Randle, a teenager, had obtained her driver’s license the previous day. Jacobus suffered multiple fractures and a frontal lobe injury.

Jacobus spent 58 days in the hospital. He now has partial vision loss and speech difficulties. He was a store cashier earning approximately $20,000 per year. He has not returned to work.

Jacobus sued Randle, alleging that she chose not to control her motor vehicle, did not drive in a safe manner, failed to keep a proper lookout and obey Florida traffic laws. The lawsuit also alleged the vehicle’s owner, her mother, was liable for negligent entrustment.

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Sean McFly, a 29-year-old student at the University of Florida, was heading to class from a campus parking lot. As he was walking in the crosswalk, a truck driven by Billy Harrison, a University of Florida employee, hit him.  He suffered cervical disk herniation at C5-6 and C6-7 that resulted in nerve damage to his hands.

McFly suffers ongoing pain and will require spinal fusion at a later date. His past medical expenses totaled $36,000.

McFly sued the University of Florida alleging liability for Harrison’s choosing not to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. McFly claimed that Harrison had been using his cell phone at the time of the incident. It was also alleged that Harrison failed to slow down before the impact.

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