Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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LaTresia Austin, 39, was a breast cancer survivor. She elected to undergo a one-hour reconstructive breast surgery at a San Diego hospital. When her breathing tube was removed postoperatively, her vocal cord spasmed. Unfortunately, the tube was reinserted into her esophagus, and allegedly it took more than ten minutes for doctors to realize she was experiencing oxygen deprivation.

When the error was discovered, Austin was transferred to the ICU where she died of a hypoxic brain injury. Her death was caused by the breathing tube mishap and the ten-minute delay in reacting to the emergency: oxygen deprivation to the brain. She was survived by her husband and child.

Austin’s estate sued the Regents of the University of California, alleging improper monitoring and choosing not to timely check the breathing tube, which was the cause of her brain injury and finally her wrongful death.
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Two years after undergoing a double mastectomy, Debbie Jackson went to Heartland Regional Medical Center for breast reconstruction surgery. During the 11-hour surgery, she was left in the same position. When she awoke, she noticed that she had lost feeling in and use of her right leg. She was later diagnosed as having a compression injury to the sciatic nerve in her right buttock.

Jackson now has pain and permanent foot drops. She is in constant risk of falling.

She sued Heartland Regional Medical Center, alleging negligent training and supervision. She asserted that the defendant’s nurses were unaware of the standards of care established by the association of peri Operative Registered Nurses applicable to extended surgeries, which require nurses to use extra padding on a patient’s buttocks to protect against compression injury to the sciatic nerve.
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Elizabeth Tigani, 32, was admitted to Greenwich Hospital to deliver her first child. She was 40 weeks pregnant at the time. Since the second stage of labor lasted a long time, she requested a cesarean section but was allegedly told that a vaginal delivery was safe. However, early the next morning Tigani was taken to the operating suite for a cesarean section.

In that surgery, she suffered serious and permanent injuries to her uterus, vagina, bladder, among other problems, but the baby was born uninjured. Having experienced many complications in surgery, she is not able to have other children.

Tigani sued Westchester Medical Group, P.C., alleging that her injuries were due to the treating obstetrician’s delay in performing a cesarean section and surgical negligence. Tigani also claimed that the ob
stetrician chose not to engage in a shared decision-making process and allowed her to endure a prolonged second stage of labor.
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Doe, 65, suffered from uncontrolled hypertension, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. He had been smoking since the age of 22. At an examination, he complained of severe heartburn that increased with physical activity; however, a nurse practitioner allegedly did not recommend that he come into the ER. A month later, Doe allegedly died from a myocardial infarction, a heart attack.

Doe’s estate filed a lawsuit against an undisclosed defendant alleging failure to diagnose and treat heart blockage problems. The defense argued that Doe had a history of noncompliance and that no autopsy was done to confirm the cause of death.

The parties settled for $1.5 million.
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Idalia Corcoles, 39, underwent liposuction of her back, abdomen and flanks; the surgery was performed by plastic surgeon Dr. Ayoub Sayeg at the 63rd Medical & Surgical Center in Chicago, Ill.

A few hours after the procedures, she was rushed to a nearby hospital from the 63rd Medical & Surgical Center recovery room where a blue code was activated. Extensive blood in her abdomen was revealed after a test, which necessitated massive blood transfusions and surgery. Corcoles died the next day. She was survived by her husband and four children, ages 10 to 22.

Corcoles’ estate sued the surgical center, Dr. Sayeg and others, claiming failure to perform an adequate medical history, recognize and treat hypertension and bleeding, and timely transfer Corcoles to a hospital.
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Craig Beaubien was referred to a hematologist, Dr. Charu Trivedi, to determine the cause of an abnormal blood test showing a high hematocrit level. When the hematocrit value is high, the proportion of red blood cells in the blood is higher than normal. This can indicate dehydration, a disorder that causes the body to produce too many red blood cells, such as polycythemia vera, or lung or heart disease.

Dr. Trivedi allegedly determined that kidney cancer was one of the possible causes for the hematocrit result, but did not order any diagnostic testing to rule out the cancer.

Approximately seven months later, Beaubien developed headaches. He underwent imaging, which showed an 8.3 cm tumor in his kidney. The tumor was cancerous and had metastasized to the brain. As a result, Beaubien underwent radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery. Despite this treatment, he died. He was survived by his wife.
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Saalik Ziyad, 40, had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He was received at the emergency department at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago where he was seen for sepsis and an abscess. An ECG was read as borderline, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

A nephrologist, Dr. Branislav Marcic, accepted the hospital admission and acted as attending physician. After undergoing a surgical incision and the draining of the abscess, Ziyad experienced decreased vital signs and lack of urine output. He also was found to have an elevated white blood count. An intensivist transferred him to a general floor where he passed away. Ziyad was a musician who was survived by his parents.

His estate sued Advocate Trinity Hospital and the intensivist, alleging medical malpractice, choosing not to treat Ziyad in the intensive care unit.
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Gloria Nogan, 81, underwent a partial colonoscopy after presenting at the hospital emergency room for gastroenterological symptoms. The attending anesthesiologist, Dr. Bassen Ghaly, used a monitored anesthesia care sedation method instead of general anesthesia with an endotracheal tube intubation.

Nogan aspirated during the procedure and later died of complications from aspiration. Her estate sued Dr. Ghaly and Resolute Anesthesia, alleging that Dr. Ghaly had chosen not to conduct a proper pre-anesthesia evaluation, including documenting Nogan’s high risk for aspiration. The lawsuit also alleged failure to utilize an endotracheal intubation.

After the jury signed a verdict for $4 million, the parties settled for the insurance policy limits of $2 million.
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The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a Cook County jury verdict of $5 million for a suicide that occurred at Advocate Health and Hospital Corp. The decedent, Bozena Binkowski, sued Advocate Health in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, alleging medical negligence and wrongful death related to the death of her husband, Philip Cirrano, who died by suicide in 2015.

Binkowski alleged that her husband, who suffered from anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder, was improperly discharged from Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital’s psychiatric unit 52 days after his admission. He was admitted to the hospital because he had made a December 2014 unsuccessful suicide attempt.

In January 2015, he was transferred to an independent living facility without any psychiatric staff. It was there, in February 2015, that he took his own life. The Cook County jury returned a verdict for $5 million in favor of Binkowski and the estate.
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The trial judge in a medical malpractice jury trial correctly adopted the jury instructions in the case over an alleged botched hernia surgery. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed that ruling. The jury returned a verdict in the defendant’s favor.

The appellate court ruled that the trial judge did not err when giving jury instructions and that the instruction tendered was accurate and without undue repetition. Justice David W. Ellis delivered the opinion of the appellate court.

Jeffrey S. Goldberg sued Dr. N. Scott Peckler and North Suburban Surgical Consultants in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The lawsuit alleged negligence against Dr. Peckler and vicarious liability against North Suburban Surgical Consultants.
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