Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Kerri Downes, 22, discovered a lump in her right breast while showering. She went to Axia Women’s Health, where she was seen by a nurse practitioner, Eileen Carpenter. Carpenter diagnosed fibrocystic breast changes, and a follow-up exam was scheduled for two weeks later.

At this appointment, Carpenter again diagnosed bilateral fibrocystic changes. Approximately nine months later, Downes experienced itching and burning of the skin over her breast. She consulted a physician, who noticed that Downes’s right breast was larger than her left and that she had a mass in her right breast.

An ultrasound and a biopsy led to a diagnosis of Stage IIB breast cancer, with metastasis to three lymph nodes. Downes underwent a bilateral mastectomy with lymph node dissection, chemotherapy and radiation as well as breast reconstruction. Downes is now 26 and has a reduced chance of survival.
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Jennifer Schlutt, 26, was diagnosed as having squamous cell carcinoma of the distal urethra or periurethral area.

She underwent a course of radiotherapy treatment, including external beam radiotherapy and the placement of an implant.

During this radiation treatment, which lasted approximately six weeks, Schlutt suffered a severe reaction. She complained to her treating radiation oncologist, Dr. David Hornback, that she was experiencing extreme pain, open wounds, an internal burning sensation and skin hardening.

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A federal district court judge in Chicago declined to stay the prejudgment interest in a medical malpractice case, reaching a similar conclusion given by another federal judge in this highly anticipated ruling.

In a written opinion recently published, U.S. District Court Judge Steven C. Seeger declined to rule on the constitutionality of the Illinois Prejudgment Interest Act.

“Defendants offer no reason to stay application of the statute, other than a barebones gesture to a non-binding state court decision,” the judge wrote in a statement. “That’s not enough of a reason to stay the application of a statute that promotes settlement talks.”
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Alfred J. Giudicy appealed the circuit court’s judgment dismissing his medical malpractice case without prejudice after he chose not to file an affidavit of merit within 180 days. The filing deadline is required under § 538.225. Giudicy argued that § 538.225 violates the Missouri Constitution.

It was also contended by Giudicy that the medical providers waived their defense of failure to file an affidavit of merit and that he substantially complied with the statute. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected those arguments and affirmed the circuit court’s judgment.

Section 538.225 serves “to cull at an early stage of litigation suits for negligence damages against health care providers that lack even color of merit” and “protect the public and litigants from the cost of ungrounded medical malpractice claims.” See Mahoney v. Doerhoff Surgical Serves, Inc., 807 S.W. 503, 507 (Mo. Banc 1991). The section also prevents the plaintiff from threatening a medical provider with a groundless claim before settlement in lieu of the high cost of defense.
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Yahaira Perez, 39, experienced pain in her right upper quadrant. She went to a hospital emergency room where a CT scan revealed thickening of the colon and an incidental finding of an enlarged cervix with a 2.5 cm lesion.

Perez consulted her gynecologist, Dr. Mohammad Nizam, who scheduled her for emergency surgery to remove her cervix.

Post-operatively, the cervical pathology showed that Perez suffered from chronic cervicitis and a cyst instead of cancer. As a result of the unnecessary surgery, Perez suffered nerve damage and pelvic prolapse.
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Doe was admitted to a hospital to undergo a non-emergency medical procedure. During or because of the non-emergency surgery, something evidently did not go as planned.
Doe suffered permanent injuries that now require 24/7 care; he is unable to work.

Doe sued the physician, the downstate Illinois hospital, and a product manufacturer. There is very little information on this case, which resulted in a settlement of $29.5 million.

The attorneys successfully handling this tragic matter were Miranda L. Soucie and James Spiros, both of Champaign, Ill.
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Leon Radcliff, 48, suffered from heroin addiction when he was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital after developing severe asthmatic symptoms resulting from large doses of prednisone. He received treatment for approximately two days. He was prescribed Ativan to stabilize his condition.

About ten hours after his last dose of Ativan, Radcliff was discharged from the hospital. He was drowsy, dizzy and unsteady at the time and required wheelchair assistance when he left the hospital.

Radcliff drove 1-2 blocks away from the hospital when he collided with several parked cars. He suffered blunt force trauma to his chest, which caused a fractured rib and a lacerated liver. After a two-week hospital stay, Radcliff was discharged. Two days later, he returned to the hospital and died there.
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Doe, 14, began experiencing headaches, balance issues, fatigue and dizziness. In 2015, Doe underwent an MRI at Florence MRI & Imaging, where radiologist Dr. Zachary Kilpatrick interpreted the MRI as showing no abnormalities, critical findings or cause for concern.

Doe’s symptoms continued intermittently. He underwent a second MRI in 2018. This time, Dr. Kilpatrick identified a brain tumor on the scan.

Doe underwent surgery to remove the tumor of the cerebellum followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Afterwards, Doe suffered a debilitating stroke and continued to experience disabling symptoms, including severe nausea, vision and speak deficits, as well as difficulty walking.
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After Ms. Doe, 35, delivered her third child, she continued to hemorrhage. Doe’s attending obstetrician ordered exploratory surgery to determine the cause of the bleeding. Doe was transferred to an operating room.

The obstetrician allegedly did not order a backup supply of compatible blood before this surgery. Additionally, the attending anesthesiologist did not order the emergency release of blood for Doe, despite her continued bleeding.

During the surgery, Doe coded. Medical staff were able to resuscitate her, but she suffered catastrophic brain damage. Doe died the next day and was survived by her fiancé and three minor children.
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An Indiana University Hospital did not violate a law prohibiting patient dumping when it sent a woman suffering from severe abdominal pain to another facility to have dying portions of her intestines removed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago declined to revive the lawsuit that Jodie Martindale’s husband filed against Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital under the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA or Treat Act) following his wife’s death. IU Health transferred Martindale to Community Healthcare Systems in Munster, Ind., after examining her. Martindale died at Community Hospital after ongoing intestinal surgery.

A panel of the Seventh Circuit rejected the argument that the Treatment Act required IU Health to stabilize Martindale before transferring her.

The panel acknowledged the Treatment Act generally bars a hospital from transferring a patient with an emergency medical condition if the patient has not been stabilized.
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