Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

by

Misdiagnosis by a medical professional can dramatically change your life. Take the example of Todd McGee, who was only 34, working at a construction job and leading an active lifestyle. McGee spent his spare time on weekends surfing and swimming on Martha’s Vineyard.

But one day he woke up with a headache. Although he felt ill, McGee went to work. He came home feeling nauseated and chilled, and he assumed he had the flu.

In the middle of the night, he woke with an even more intense headache. His wife took him to the emergency room at a nearby hospital. The ER doctor thought McGee had a muscle tension headache. He treated him with intravenous pain medication, handed him some pain pills and sent him home.

Continue reading

by

The Illinois Appellate Court has ruled in favor of a motorcycle rider who lost a leg in an accident and sought a $1 million judgment against Allstate Insurance Co. This decision might have gone differently for Allstate, but the insurer made several very serious errors in its handling of the case.

This case was reported in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

The accident occurred on June 30, 2006, when the driver, E.H., allegedly drove a truck through a stop sign and smashed into the side of a motorcycle driven by S.K., whose leg later had to be amputated. The truck was owned by a third party, L.S.

Continue reading

by

Several of New York City’s financially strapped hospitals have canceled their malpractice insurance because the insurance costs are simply too high. Executives of these hospitals, most of which are in poor neighborhoods, say their financial circumstances and high premiums make it impractical to pay millions of dollars a year for insurance.

This trend was reported in a recent edition of the New York Times.

In an Illinois medical malpractice action against a county or state owned hospital, if a jury finds in favor of a patient, the award is paid by the state when the hospital is state-owned. When the facility is a county-funded institution, like Stroger Hospital, there is a statute, the Local Governmental and Government Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/1-101, et seq. (Illinois Tort Immunity Act), which essentially allows the possibility of recovery against a Cook County hospital only if the hospital is found to be negligent in the treatment of a patient, but not liable if the hospital chooses not to order tests or it was negligent because it misdiagnosed a patient. Michigan Avenue National Bank v. Cook County, 191 Ill. 2d 493 (2000) is the leading case interpreting the Illinois statute on immunity.

Continue reading

by

Chicago attorney Robert Kreisman has represented Savid Technologies in its acquisition by Technology Capital Investors (TCI), a New York investment firm.
Savid Technologies is a Tinley Park, Ill.-based cloud security provider.
Savid will join TCI’s growing companies, which includes External IT, OS33, Avazpour Networking Services, D&D Consulting, ETCI and Hostnet, and Bravura Networks.
Savid Technologies will keep its company name, employees and leadership, including CEO Michael Davis, who will continue to run day-to-day operations for the MSP, according to TCI. Davis, a speaker on cloud security and author of “Hacking Exposed,” will also develop and offer a new suite of managed security and compliance services across all TCI’s companies, said Sam Attias, managing partner at TCI.

Continue reading

by

In this case the parties fought over the insurance policies arising out of the wrongful death of Daniel Zacha, an employee of S&S Service Co. Mr. Zacha was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Coca-Cola Enterprises back to the S&S garage for repairs; in the process, he caused a head-on crash with the driver of a minivan, which resulted in that driver’s death.

Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, insurance companies are generally required to extend protection under liability policies to persons who are driving insured vehicles with express or implied permission of the owners.

The Illinois Supreme Court explained the statutory requirement of the Illinois Vehicle Code naming it “omnibus coverage,” which means “primary liability is generally placed on the insurer of the owner of an automobile rather than on the insurer of the operator” – unless a statutory exception applies.

Continue reading

by

Robin R. Foreman v. Gunite Corporation, 2012 IL App. (1st) 091644U.

Robin Foreman was a truck driver employed by Distribution Services, Inc. (DSI). He had a regular truck route transferring material from Gunite Corporation‘s Illinois facility to its Indiana location.

Foreman was traveling eastbound on I-290 near its intersection with the Tri-State Tollway when the load in his trailer shifted, causing the truck to roll over.

Continue reading

by

The Illinois Supreme Court has approved a policy allowing jurors to question witnesses in civil trials. The new rule, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 243, takes effect July 1.
According to Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, “Based on the comments of those who have used or seen the procedure at trial, such a rule enhances juror engagement, juror comprehension and attention to the proceeding.”
In the past, the state Supreme Court prevented the practice of allowing jurors to ask questions. The new procedure will let the trial judge to meet with attorneys out of earshot of the jury and allow an attorney to object to any jury questions. The trial judge then will decide whether to allow the question, modify or exclude the questions.

Continue reading

by

A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision provided additional clarification regarding the admissibility of photographic evidence. At issue was whether or not a judge had correctly allowed photographs taken at the scene of an accident to be admitted into evidence during a Cook County personal injury trial. The appellate court ruled that judge had and upheld the jury verdict in Patricia Williamson v. Luis Morales, 2012 IL App. (1st) 110324-U.

Williamson involved a 2006 car accident in which the defendant Luis Morales rear-ended the plaintiff Patricia Williamson’s vehicle. And while Morales admitted to having caused the accident, there was some debate as to the extent of Williamson’s injuries. Williamson refused treatment by paramedics at the accident scene, but then did head to the Christ Medical Center Emergency Room just one hour later. And even though her x-rays did not show any fractures, she continued to experience pain and treatment with a chiropractor for four to five months following the accident.

When Williamson brought her personal injury claim against Morales he denied that the car accident was responsible for the extent of Williamson’s injuries and her lost time from work. And when Williamson’s attorney attempted to produce photographs from the accident scene as a way to demonstrate the severity and nature of the car accident, Morales’s attorney objected on the basis that they were not relevant and could not be introduced unless in conjunction with expert testimony. The court agreed and stipulated that the photographs could not be introduced unless the defendant first opened the door to their submission.

Continue reading

by

In rear-end accidents, juries tend to find in favor of the front car that was rear-ended. However in the personal injury lawsuit of Evange Bozinis v. Bree MacArthur, 10 AR-708 (Lake County), the jury found in favor of the second car that rear-ended the front car.

The car accident in question occurred in August 2005 at the intersection of Route 173 and Grimm Road in Antioch, Illinois. Evange Bozinis had been stopped at the intersection and had just begun to drive again when he was rear-ended by Bree MacArthur. The force of the impact caused Bozinis’s vehicle to be pushed forward eight feet. The 66 year-old Bozinis sustained neck, back, shoulder and abdomen injuries as a result of the crash.

Bozinis filed a personal injury lawsuit against MacArthur in which he accused her of causing the rear-end accident. Bozinis claimed that the car accident resulted in over $8,000 in medical bills. However, MacArthur contested the extent of Bozinis’s injuries. She pointed to the fact that Bozinis had not claimed any injuries at the scene of the accident. In addition, immediately following the car accident, Bozinis drove on to a family birthday party in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Continue reading

by

Every day we get into cars with other drivers; however, we rarely think about the fact that we are entrusting our lives into those drivers. In the case of Cheri Razim, John Razim v. Steven R. Erickson, Zachary Stewart, 08 L 351 (Winnebago County), the plaintiff, Cheri Razim, sued the driver of her vehicle and the driver of the other vehicle involved for their cause in a motorcycle accident.

The Illinois motorcycle accident occurred on Memorial Day at a Winnebago County intersection. Razim was a passenger on Steven Erickson’s motorcycle, which was approaching the T-intersection; while Zachary Stewart was approaching from the opposite direction. Stewart made a left-hand turn in front of Erickson’s motorcycle. Erickson was unable to swerve out of the way and ended up striking the back of Stewart’s pickup with his motorcycle. Both Razim and Erickson were thrown from the motorcycle as it skid 98 feet from the site of impact.

As a result of the intersection accident, Razim sustained multiple fractures to her right arm, neck, femur, both legs, left ankle, and left foot. She was forced to undergo several surgeries, including an open reduction internal fixation of her right tibial plateau, left humerus, and right wrist. In addition, the multiple lacerations and abrasions she sustained required her to undergo plastic surgery and skin grafts on her right leg. The various procedures left Razim hospitalized for almost four weeks, with an additional six weeks needed at a rehab center. Despite her lengthy medical care, Razim is still primarily confined to a wheelchair and needs to keep her right leg straight and elevated due to venous insufficiency.

Continue reading