Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

by

After delivering her second child at Roe Hospital, Ms. Doe, 32, experienced postpartum bleeding. Her pulse increased to 180 beats per minute. Her blood pressure plummeted to 74/44 mm Hg.

Ms. Doe’s treating obstetrician and the attending nurses tried unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding. They used a Bakri balloon and administered Hemabate solution. However, 90 minutes later, the doctor ordered a blood transfusion. Despite these efforts, Ms. Doe’s condition deteriorated and she later passed away.

She was survived by her husband and two minor children, including her newborn.
Continue reading

by

Ms. Doe presented in active labor on an evening to Providence Regional Medical Center’s Pavilion for Women and Children. Ms. Doe, whose full-term baby was healthy at the time of her admission, was administered Pitocin and remained in labor throughout the night.

The next morning at around 5 a.m., significant signs of fetal distress occurred, including prolonged decelerations. Nurses informed the on-duty obstetrician, who was in surgery with another patient. The doctor ordered an operating room be opened for Ms. Doe.

Approximately three hours later, Ms. Doe’s daughter was delivered by cesarean section; the procedure was performed by a different obstetrician. The baby was diagnosed as having hypoxic-ischemic brain damage and — tragically — died just nine days later. The baby was survived by Ms. Doe, the baby’s mother, and her husband.
Continue reading

by

Ms. Doe was admitted to a hospital for an induction of labor due to preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder that is categorized by high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine. In severe cases, there may be a red blood cell breakdown, low blood platelet count, impaired liver function, kidney dysfunction and other severe health threats for the mother.

Ms. Doe underwent an exam that revealed elevated blood pressure and lab tests, including a complete blood count (CBC) and liver function test. The tests were performed to rule out the HELLP Syndrome, a severe form of preeclampsia.

The HELLP Syndrome is a complication of pregnancy that is characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and a low platelet count.The syndrome usually manifests itself during the last three months of pregnancy or even shortly after childbirth.
Continue reading

by

D.W. was born at 25 weeks gestation at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The baby was diagnosed as having suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage resulting in spastic quadriplegia.

D.W. is now in the 6th grade. He attends special education classes and will never be able to live independently as a result of his brain injury.

A lawsuit was filed against the hospital and two doctors who provided care during D.W.’s delivery, alleging that they chose not to timely deliver D.W. by way of a cesarean section; the suit also alleged lack of informed consent and negligent post-delivery care. This included a failure to offer cranium cooling.
Continue reading

by

A federal district court judge has ruled that the two-year statute of limitations for Dominique Woodson’s medical malpractice claim against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) started running on Dec. 7, 2013. Her son, P.W., was born with a left arm that “sagged down to his side.”

According to Woodson, the allegedly negligent doctor, Keith Ramsey M.D., told P.W. “may get better” and that he “may grow into it.”

On appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from an order that granted the government’s request for summary judgment, Woodson argued the discovery date was May 30, 2014, when she hired an attorney. If so, her FTCA notice of claim, dated Feb. 19, 2016, was on time. However, the 7th Circuit affirmed the dismissal with a dissent.
Continue reading

by

At the end of her pregnancy, Ms. Doe experienced bleeding and pain. She went to the triage unit of Grove Hospital where she was seen by a midwife and first-year resident.

Ms. Doe was attached to a fetal monitor system, which showed decreased variability and some deceleration.

Although allegedly called, Ms. Doe’s treating obstetrician did not initially come to the hospital. An hour later, a nurse summoned the physician who arrived at the hospital more than two hours after Ms. Doe first presented to the hospital.
Continue reading

by

In a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff’s child sustained permanent injuries to the arm during birth, the district court judge found that the lawsuit was filed after the applicable two-year limitations.

The records show that (1) the doctor told the plaintiff mother that the delivery plan called for her to receive a c-section, but on the day of delivery, a physician delivered the child vaginally; (2) according to the plaintiff, delivery was traumatic in that the child “got stuck” on the way out, and that once the child was born, it appeared that the baby could not move his left arm; (3) shortly after the baby’s birth, the mother raised concerns about the child’s left arm but eventually retained counsel who did not file the instant lawsuit until three years after the date of his birth.

Under the discovery rule, a lawsuit accrued shortly after the child’s birth, since it was at that time that the mother of the child discovered the cause of the baby’s injuries.
Continue reading

by

In 2017, after Doe’s birth at King’s County Hospital Center, the baby was admitted to the facility’s NICU for glucose monitoring.

Doe had an IV placed in her left foot and suffered an infiltration that resulted in blistering, swelling, necrosis and permanent scarring. Doe’s father, on her behalf, sued the New York Health and Hospital Corp., alleging that the hospital was negligent for choosing not to properly monitor the IV.

Before trial, the parties settled for $225,000.
Continue reading

by

At three different obstetrics appointments during the 37th and 38th week of pregnancy, Ms. Doe’s blood pressure readings showed hypertension. When she returned for another appointment toward the end of her 38th week, she had severe hypertension and decreased fetal movement.

Ms. Doe was sent to a hospital where the fetal heart monitor showed the fetal heart rate of 140 beats per minute, minimal to absent variability, and late decelerations.

The attending obstetrician ordered diagnostic testing and then attended to another patient. By the time Ms. Doe underwent a Cesarean section about two hours later, the fetal heart rate had dropped to zero.
Continue reading

by

Ms. Doe, 34, was admitted to a hospital experiencing signs and symptoms of placental abruption and preeclampsia. Although the fetal heart monitor allegedly revealed signs of fetal distress, no action was taken promptly to deliver her baby. Unfortunately, the baby died later in Ms. Doe’s womb. That night, Ms. Doe experienced hypertension and later developed HELLP Syndrome.

HELLP Syndrome is a serious complication of high blood pressure during pregnancy. The acronym HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count. HELLP Syndrome usually develops before the 37th week of pregnancy but can occur shortly after delivery. Many women are diagnosed with preeclampsia beforehand. Symptoms include nausea, headache, belly pain and swelling.

In the case of Ms. Doe, the baby was subsequently delivered and the mother suffered a stroke. Ms. Doe now experiences balance, cognitive and physical issues and cannot return to her job where she earned approximately $32,000 per year.
Continue reading