David Kramer was a young man with a history of significant medical problems. He was admitted to an Ohio hospital with gallstones. Following surgery to remove the stones, David's blood pressure began to drop. Hospital nurses continued to watch as David's condition worsened over the course of several hours. David's surgeon never came to see him after the surgery, and David slowly died of internal bleeding.
David was a young man from a very poor and very "rough" neighborhood. His surgeon was a prominent young surgeon from an affluent family. Although other firms had turned the case down, Greene & Eisen agreed to help, embracing rather than fearing the disparity in "social standing" of the people involved.
Greene & Eisen focused on the role of the nursing staff in failing to communicate with David's surgeon, rather than on any perceived shortcomings in the surgical technique. It also focused on David's accomplishments in the context of his environment. Those accomplishments might have seemed meager to a prominent family from a prosperous neighborhood, but in David's world, his achievements were exceptional.
By changing the focus of the case, Greene & Eisen was able to negotiate a significant pre-trial settlement.
