Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Frances Mitchell, 43, underwent outpatient laparoscopic surgery performed by surgeon Dr. Andrew Green at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Approximately 12 hours after the surgery, she returned to the medical center complaining of severe abdominal pain. Dr. Green examined her, diagnosed bladder spasms and discharged her.

Mitchell died several days later. She was survived by her mother and two children.

Mitchell’s family and estate filed a lawsuit against Dr. Green, the medical center, a physician group, and the health system alleging that she had suffered a bowel perforation during the surgery but that Dr. Green had chosen not to recognize and repair it intraoperatively.
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Mr. Doe, in his mid-60s, was diagnosed as having severe aortic stenosis. He consulted with Dr. Roe, a cardiologist who recommended coronary angiography, ventriculography and an aortography.

While Mr. Doe was undergoing these procedures, a catheter became untangled and lodged in his heart muscle. Dr. Roe continued to inject dye through the entangled catheter, which then led to an “explosion” that ruptured Mr. Doe’s heart.

Mr. Doe suffered cardiac arrest, cardiac tamponade and shock. He died the next day. He was survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
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Ms. Doe, 36, went to a hospital emergency department complaining of severe flank or side pain. She underwent testing and was diagnosed as having a kidney stone in her ureter.

Ms. Doe’s test results were allegedly equivocal and showed bacteria in her urine as well as an elevated white blood cell count, which is a sign of infection. However, Ms. Doe was discharged from the emergency room and sent home.

Ms. Doe’s condition worsened. She suffered septic shock, the last stage of infection. Ms. Doe returned to the hospital where she underwent surgery to remove the blockage in her ureter. Despite this treatment, Ms. Doe developed ischemia in her extremities and required surgery to remove necrotic dead or dying tissue.
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David Detweiler, 73, was suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation, a condition where a patient has an irregular heartbeat or a heartbeat that is faster than an acceptable rate. He also had other cardiac issues. He was a long-time patient of cardiologist Dr. Mitchell Greenspan.

Dr. Greenspan cleared Detweiler to undergo an aortobifemoral bypass to treat his aortoiliac occlusive disease. An aortobifemoral bypass is surgery to redirect blood around narrowed or blocked blood vessels in the abdomen or groin areas. The surgery is performed to increase blood flow to the legs.

A vascular surgeon did the procedure without complications. Detweiler was transferred to the hospital’s ICU in stable condition following the surgery.
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Darion Brewer was just seven months old and was sick for nine days. He was placed on Zithromax (Z-pak), an anti-biotic after being taken to a hospital emergency room and urgent care facility. He was seen by a pediatrician, Dr. Cheryl Emoto, who noted that Darion was experiencing respiratory distress and weight loss.

The doctor diagnosed bronchiolitis and prescribed Albuterol, advising Darion’s family to return in a week if his condition did not improve. Sadly, four days later, Darion died. An autopsy reportedly revealed that he had suffered from acute pneumonia. He was survived by his mother.

The Brewer family sued Dr. Emoto and her medical group, alleging that the doctor had misdiagnosed Darion’s condition and chose not to obtain his prior medical records including a hospital x-ray showing pneumonia.
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Doe, age 63, went to Dr. Roe, his primary care physician, for a physical examination. Dr. Roe ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which showed an abnormal result of 17.6 ng/mL.

The results prompted Dr. Roe to repeat the test that day, the second test, which resulted in a higher reading of 18.46 ng/mL.

Dr. Roe allegedly attributed the abnormal PSA values to Mr. Doe’s having to hold his urine for long periods of time while he was at work. At a follow-up appointment six months later, Dr. Roe ordered another PSA test; it showed a result of 43.15 ng/mL.
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Lenville Hall Sr. underwent a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy at Southside Regional Medical Center. For the next eight days, urine accumulated in Hall’s abdomen, which required surgery to repair a severed right ureter.

The surgery was unsuccessful. Hall experienced multiple complications, which included infections and loss of kidney function. He now requires lifetime dialysis.

He sued the surgeon who did the first surgery, alleging that he negligently cut Hall’s ureter and chose not to timely recognize this during the post-operative period.
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Doe, who was born with the congenital heart defect tetralogy of Fallot, underwent surgery to repair the defect when he was an infant. Various echocardiograms during his childhood revealed a small hole in his atrial septum.

Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart condition that involves four abnormalities occurring together, including a defective septum between the ventricles and narrowing of the pulmonary artery; it is accompanied by cyanosis.

At age 10, Doe underwent surgery to repair his pulmonary valve. Dr. Roe placed Doe on cardiopulmonary bypass but did not cross-clamp the aorta, which allowed air to pass from the right side of Doe’s heart through the atrial septal defect to the left side of Doe’s heart.
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This medical malpractice lawsuit alleged failure to diagnose and treat a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a patient’s torn Achilles tendon before the DVT progressed to a fatal pulmonary embolism. The jury signed a verdict in favor of all of the defendants who were named in the case.

It was in this Illinois Supreme Court opinion that the trial court properly denied the plaintiff’s request for judgment notwithstanding the verdict against the defendant orthopedic clinic and the alternative motion for a new trial were likewise the correct ruling, denying that motion.

The jury was required to listen to the conflicting evidence tendered by both parties and to use that judgment to determine the truth. There was ample testimony that rebutted the plaintiff’s causation theory, and supported a reasonable conclusion that the pulmonary embolism resulting from DVT originating from an Achilles tendon tear was not the type of injury that a reasonable receptionist (the person who scheduled the follow-up visit) would see as a “likely result” of scheduling a follow-up appointment at three weeks, rather than two weeks.
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Anna Mae Burnett had a history of falls. She was admitted to Powerback Rehabilitation after she had spinal surgery. During that admission, she had multiple falls. After the last fall, she was transferred to Pennsylvania Hospital. Over 32 hours later, she was diagnosed with having a T2 burst fracture and spinal cord compression.

Burnett’s condition led to paraplegia and neurogenic bladder and bowel. Almost three years later, she died of sepsis that developed from a urinary tract infection. She was 73 years old at the time of her death.

Burnett’s estate sued the hospital and the rehabilitation facility and its affiliates.
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