Sandra J. Higelin is the owner of Ask The Expert Nurse, Inc. A consulting service providing guidance on Pathways to Health and a Wound Care Advisor to the healthcare and legal communities. She is a legal nurse consultant working with elder neglect/ elder abuse cases especially dealing with pressure ulcer prevention & management, nutrition, dehydration, falls, and nursing standard of care. Ms. Higelin can also offer legal consultation on a variety of medical malpractice issues in acute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice. Ms. Higelin provides Legal Nurse Consultation and Expert Witness Services to the legal community. She also offers Healthcare Consultation, Wound Care Consultation, Clinical Support, and Educational programs. Other Professional Experience includes:

Clinical Nurse Specialist / Medical-Surgical and Geriatrics.

General Clinical Support & expertise to interdisciplinary healthcare team.

Established standards for patient care and evaluation of interventions to improve care through the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and procedures, protocols and programs.

Consultant for Clinical Issues, Risk Management, Patient Relations, and Regulatory Compliance.

Licensure And Certification:

Registered Nurse Licensure: California

Clinical Specialist Gerontological Nursing (California)

Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN)

Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (NACLNC)

CARL BRYANT, RN, CLNC is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry and 12 years of case review and investigative experience.

Cornerstone Medical Legal Consulting assists Attorneys-Clients and/or Health Care Providers by screening of investigating cases for merit while defining compliance to regulatory codes, professional practices and community standards.

Areas of Expertise

Consultant and Expert Witness

Review, analysis, and summarization of depositions, witness reports or other work products

Serve as liaison between attorney-client, health care providers, testifying experts, parties witnesses and other consultants

Preparation of witnesses and experts

Preparation of interrogatories for cross or direct examination or other work products

Provision of simple or in-depth reports

Identification and recommendation of potential defendants

Coordination and attendance of me

Expertise:

Licensed Embalmer (two states)

Certified Funeral Director/Manager

Certified Crematory Operator

Certified Investigator/Inspector

Author

Background: Mr. Rohling was a past field representative/inspector for the California State Cemetery Board, is a Mortuary Officer for the Federal Government (DMORT). He has extensive embalming and funeral directing experience and has "hands on" experience with disinterments.

Mr. Rohling has experience in courtroom and arbitration procedures in the funeral industry and works nationwide for plaintiff or defense. He has been Has been working as an expert witness and consultant for ten years.

All licenses and certificates are current. Mr. Rohling does work in the funeral industry and is a regular contributor to several nationwide funeral service publications. He is the author of Funeral Information: The Consumer Guide.

Member:

Funeral Ethics Association

International Cemetery and Funeral Association

Cremation Association of North America

Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice certified CFSP

David Friedler, LNHA, LMHC, is a Psychotherapist with over 27 years experience as an Administrator and Licensed Clinician in the management and delivery of Health Care Services. He has extensive experience with the standard of care, institutional regulations, policies and procedures, and operational oversight at nursing homes, drug/alcohol rehabilitation centers and psychiatric hospitals.

Mr. Friedler serves as an Expert Witness on the issue of the Standard of Care for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

Long Term care

Nursing Homes

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Behavioral Health / Psychiatric Care

Dr. Robert Elliot Neshkes is an expert in Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, and Forensic Psychiatry. He specializes in the assessment and treatment of elderly &/or medically-complicated adults. He is an academic hospitalist with over 30 years of experience treating very ill, unusually complex, adult inpatients.

As an Expert Witness, Dr. Neshkes has over 200 court appearances, providing psychiatric testimony in areas including: elder abuse, capacity, trusts, wills, medication use, complications, pain, conservatorships, & malpractice.

Current Academic Positions:

• Chief, Geropsychiatry Treatment Unit (since 1983), West Los Angeles V. A. Medical Center
• Chief Medical Psychiatry (since 1995), West Los Angeles V. A. Medical Center
• Asst. Professor of Psychiatry, U.C.L.A. (1983-2011).

Credentials: Dr. Neshkes earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Michigan State University. He completed fellowships in both Geriatric Psychiatry and Geriatric Medicine at ULCA, two years of Internal Medicine Residency at Providence Hospital, and completed his psychiatric residency at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He remains a full time highly respected clinician whose opinions are easily trusted & clearly explained.

Publications: Dr. Neshkes has twenty publications, including very prestigious international textbook chapters. Copies of his research papers & international textbook chapters are available upon request.

Healthcare Litigation Support is a team of experts - physicians, healthcare administrators, reimbursement specialists, health organization experts, health insurance experts, and other healthcare personnel - with broad, extensive experience and expertise in medical and administrative malpractice issues, physician practice operations, hospital management, health insurance and TPA issues, Medicare and Medicaid, medical billing and collections, fraud and abuse, managed care and other areas.

Healthcare Litigation Support is a team of experienced healthcare experts who consult on litigation issues and testify as needed. In addition to the four Principals, there is a larger group of Associates, individuals with specific expertise and areas of knowledge, we include in order to fully serve the needs of the legal community.

Areas of Expertise:

Audit Medical Standards of Care Dental Standards of Care Geriatrics and Nursing Home Care Standards Long Term Care Standards Health Insurance Health Insurer-Provider Relations Managed Healthcare (HMO, PPO)

TPA (Third Party Administrator National Accreditation Guidelines Medicare / Medicaid Federal Employees Health Benefits Program CDH (Consumer Driven Health Plans) ERISA, COBRA, EMTALA, HIPAA Physician / Hospital Joint Ventures Qui Tam and False Claims Act

Representing Both Plaintiff and Defense, Our Services Include:

Review Case for Merit

Analyze Medical and Administrative Events

Identify Causation

Address Standards of Care

Research Relevant Literature

Interpret Contracts in Light of Industry Standards

Evaluate Case Strengths and Weaknesses

Develop Deposition Strategy

Prepare a Defensible Report

Articulate Complex Issues to Triers of Fact

Kathleen Martin, has extensive experience in health care with 20+ years experience in Acute-Care Hospital where she specialized in Critical Care Nursing and an additional 12 years as a Long Term Care Director of Nursing and Administrator.

Ms. Martin was responsible for the oversight of nursing and clinical operations of 7 Long Term Care facilities in NJ for an LTC Management company. She has been an Expert Witness, Consultant and LNC for 20 years, advising plaintiff and defense attorneys on both clinical and administrative healthcare operations. Also Wound Care Certified.

Assessment & Evaluation of:

Four Elements of Medical Malpractice

Compliance of Standards of Care

Underlying Medical Conditions

Deviation from Standards of Care

Pertinent Missing Records; Fraudulent Documentation

Key Clinical Areas:

Fall Prevention and Management

Pain management

IV Care, Tube Feedings, Infection Control

Abuse, Neglect

Medication Management

Pathophysiology of Disease Processes

Interrelationships of Diagnoses

Timeliness of Care and Notification

Regulations / Standards

Consultation for the Legal Community / Long TermCare Industry:

Survey Readiness

Risk & Quality Management

Fall Prevention and Management

Wound Prevention and Management

DON Support and Training

Staff Education

Infection Control

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