Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

by

Simeon Srebrov went to an urgent care center where he complained of coughing and shortness of breath. The family physician, Dr. Celeste Galizia, diagnosed rapid atrial fibrillation.

Dr. Galizia prescribed metoprolol and an antibiotic and instructed Srebrov to follow up with his primary care physician. He subsequently suffered a stroke, which left him with permanent brain and motor deficits.

Srebrov sued Dr. Galizia and Alexian Brothers Ambulatory Group, which allegedly staffed medical personnel at various Chicago-area facilities. His suit, Srebrov alleged that Dr. Galizia had chosen not to take a thorough history and include heart failure in her differential diagnosis.
Continue reading

by

Ms. Doe, age 73, fell and fractured her hip. She underwent hip surgery performed by Dr. Roe, an orthopedic surgeon at an area hospital. The next day, Ms. Doe was able to bear weight, and her sensory examination allegedly was normal.

A day later, however, Ms. Doe developed leg weakness. Dr. Roe allegedly evaluated Ms. Roe as did a hospitalist, who ordered a neurology consultation. Dr. Roe also ordered a STAT CT of the lumbar spine, and a radiology group interpreted as showing no fracture.

The day after that, Ms. Doe underwent a STAT MRI, which revealed spinal hematoma. Despite the surgery, Ms. Doe was left with paralysis.
Continue reading

by

Steven Rosen experienced severe disability after surgery for a herniated disk in the lower part of his neck. Several years later, he consulted a neurosurgeon, Dr. Harshpal Singh, who subsequently operated on Rosen’s cervical spine.

During the procedure, Dr. Singh allegedly noted that Rosen’s left C8 nerve root was not visible and had been transected or cut transversely.

Despite the second surgery, Rosen’s condition worsened. He is now 74 years old and needs ongoing pain management. Rosen and his wife filed suit against Dr. Singh and the New Jersey Brain & Spine Center, alleging medical negligence. The Rosen family asserted that the surgery was performed improperly, and that the physician caused serious injury to Rosen’s C8 nerve root.
Continue reading

by

Ms. Doe underwent a tummy tuck performed by Dr. Roe, a plastic surgeon. During the procedure, Dr. Roe allegedly found a lipoma that he attempted to remove by way of liposuction. The attempt was unsuccessful, but Dr. Roe finished the procedure.

Ms. Doe suffered severe pain over the next week despite her use of narcotics. She later went to a hospital where exploratory surgery revealed two large bowel perforations. Ms. Doe required 11 additional surgeries.

Ms. Doe sued Dr. Roe, alleging that he had negligently perforated her bowel during the tummy tuck and had mistaken her bowel for a lipoma. A lipoma is a slow-growing fatty lump that most often is situated between the skin and underlying muscle layer. Lipomas are slow-growing and usually harmless.
Continue reading

by

Jason Berkoben, 48, went to the FasterCare Kittanning Urgent Care, complaining of shortness of breath. A doctor there noted that Berkoben was obese, wheezing and unable to speak in complete sentences.

The examining doctor ordered a chest x-ray and later diagnosed Berkoben as having COPD and emphysema.

Berkoben was discharged following instructions to see his primary care physician. Unfortunately, less than two hours later, he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. He was survived by his father.
Continue reading

by

Sheryl Jones, 60, had a history of emphysema and smoking. When she experienced shortness of breath, she went to a hospital where physician Dr. Lawrence Segal ordered a computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the chest with contrast.

The results of the CTA showed a lesion on her right upper lung. Dr. Segal diagnosed blood pressure issues and prescribed medication. Two days later, Jones returned to the hospital after her cardiologist told her that a clot was found on the CTA. Jones was told that the scans had been misinterpreted as showing a clot.

About three years later, Jones was treated for metastatic lung cancer. She died the following month and was survived by her daughter.
Continue reading

by

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.
Continue reading

by

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.
Continue reading

by

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.
Continue reading

by

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.
Continue reading