Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Sara Perez, 30, suffered a seizure and collapsed. She was admitted to a hospital where doctors diagnosed a noncancerous brain tumor. Upon discharge, Perez was referred to another medical center where a physician recommended surgery to remove the tumor. The next month, she underwent preoperative blood work and an MRI. A month after that, an anesthesiologist cleared Perez for surgery and she was told that the hospital would call her to schedule the procedure. However, the hospital did not call to schedule that surgery.

At the next physician appointment several months later, Perez signed a second consent form. Perez then underwent another battery of preoperative tests and again was cleared for surgery. Several more months passed. No surgery was scheduled.

The noncancerous tumor grew larger, and Perez suffered a second seizure and midline shift of her brain, which led to her death 13 months after the first seizure. Perez had been a customer service dispatcher earning $10 per hour and is survived by her husband and three young children.

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Wayne Reynolds, 64, who had a history of smoking and high cholesterol, experienced rapid heartbeat and other problems over the course of several years. He consulted a cardiologist, Dr. Norma Khoury, who ordered an EKG.

The EKG showed an ST segment depression, prompting Dr. Khoury to order a stress test and a follow-up evaluation.

The heart center that was to administer the test informed Reynolds that it would have to be rescheduled due to staffing issues.

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Edward Belowyianis, 14, suffered from scoliosis. Scoliosis is often referred to as curvature of the spine. The curve of the spine could be sideways and most often occurs during growth spurts in young people just before puberty. Scoliosis is not a disease, but is rather a medical term to describe the abnormal sideways curvature of the spine.

Because of this sideways curvature, pediatric orthopedic Dr. David Roye was the physician who performed surgery on Edward at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital.

As a result of the surgery, Edward suffered paraplegia, which is paralysis of the lower limbs of the body. Edward died of complications eight years later. He is survived by his parents.

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Anna Rahm, 17, began experiencing back pain without relief. Anna’s parents took her to a chiropractor who suggested that she be taken to a physician so that she could undergo an MRI scan. Anna met with her primary care physician at Southern California Permanente Medical Group and was prescribed steroids.

Anna’s mother requested that Anna receive an MRI in light of her 8 months of back pain. However, the doctor said that she could not authorize the test. Anna consulted a physical medicine physician at the HMO clinic who denied her request for an MRI and instead recommended an epidural injection and exercise.

Anna’s back pain increased despite attempts to treat it with acupuncture.

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Harvey Mantei, 60, underwent colon resection surgery performed by U.S. Veterans Hospital staff surgeon Dr. Karen Kwong. Within several days of the surgery, Mantei developed peritonitis and later required two more surgeries as well as additional hospitalizations for treatment of renal failure and MRSA.

Mantei continued to suffer abdominal pain and scarring and required a corset to support his weak abdominal area.

Mantei sued the United States because it operates veterans hospitals, alleging liability for Dr. Kwong’s failure to perform air and water testing during the colon resection surgery to ensure that the surgical connection was sufficient.

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In this confidential settlement, a 13-year-old girl was sent to the hospital after she was involved in an automobile accident. She underwent an abdominal CT scan with contrast, which revealed a lacerated spleen with free fluid. The girl was referred to as “Doe” in this case for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality. Doe was transferred to a local hospital. An emergency room physician there reviewed the CT images with the radiologist. A pediatric surgeon also saw the scans.

Doe’s vital signs continued to worsen, and she complained of abdominal pain. A nurse notified the on-call resident of the worsening condition. This doctor diagnosed fluid shifting and ordered IV fluid and morphine.

The next morning a trauma surgeon ordered emergency surgery. Doe suffered a heart attack and required resuscitation before the procedure, which revealed a necrotic bowel resulting from the seatbelt injury in the automobile crash. Doe was then transferred to the ICU where she suffered a heart attack and died. The cause of death was determined to be septic shock resulting from seatbelt-related intra-abdominal injuries. Continue reading

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April Mendel, 52, underwent a laminectomy done by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Eric Williams. Dr. Williams was assisted by an orthopedic surgery resident, Dr. Andrew Beaver.

Several days after being discharged from the hospital, she called Dr. Williams’s office complaining of fever and drainage at the wound site. A member of Dr. Williams’s staff told Mendel to see the doctor the next day or go to the emergency room.

She went to a second hospital where she was diagnosed as having a wound infection. After being contacted regarding her condition, Dr. Williams ordered a transfer to different hospital at 6 p.m. By noon the next day, Mendel was transferred to a different hospital where 6 hours later she underwent surgery to treat an abscess in her lumbar spine. Despite the surgery, she suffered a permanent spinal cord injury that has left her with paraplegia, paralysis of her lower limbs.

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Lauren Readler, 2, was taken to the emergency room because she was vomiting and had severe stomach pain. She had not had a bowel movement for two days.

Lauren was given Zofran. Her parents were told to follow up with her pediatrician. Lauren’s symptoms persisted. She was returned to the emergency room at the same hospital. Lauren then underwent an X-ray and was diagnosed as having a gastrointestinal problem.

The emergency department physicians recommended that Lauren be transferred to a different hospital.

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This confidential settlement took place because of the death of a 62- year-old man who had a long history of smoking. He was also obese. The patient, who we will call Mr. Doe, suffered lethargy, a fever and general weakness, and he also had sharp chest pain for two days. He went to a hospital emergency room. It was there that he underwent testing that included an EKG. The report on the EKG was normal.

Mr. Doe was diagnosed as having a virus, and he was discharged with instructions to follow up with his primary care physician.

Three days later, he suffered tachycardia, which is shortness of breath and chest burning. Mr. Doe was taken to the hospital where an EKG showed evidence of myocardial infarction, a heart attack. Before he could be transferred to a different hospital, he died. He was survived by his wife.

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Myrna Rawdin underwent an MRI to rule out a brain tumor. She was 63 years old at the time. The MRI results showed no tumor, but it did not rule out a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Over one year later, when she experienced lightheadedness, garbled speech and headaches lasting three days, she consulted her internist, Dr. Mark Real. Dr. Real diagnosed impacted earwax and irrigated Rawdin’s ears.

At the end of the same month, she suffered a massive stroke that left her with left-sided weakness, including foot drop and almost no use of her left arm. She continues to require weekly physical therapy and is confined to a wheelchair.

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