Medical-Legal Research

Paula Deaun Jackson RN, MSN, CRNP, LNC, is a Healthcare Consultant who provides technical assistance and staff development to Attorneys and the Child Care Industry regarding Health and Safety Liability Issues.

Ms. Jackson assists attorneys and other legal entities with medical-legal matters such as Medical Record Review, Case Feasibilities, Chronologies, Exhibit Preparation and Expert Witnessing . She provides staff training and development of parent/child health education programs and assists with on-site assessments of health and safety practices of childcare and school staff.

Areas of Expertise:

Expert Testimony

Pediatrics

Life Care Assessments & Planning

Occupational Medicine

Personal Injury Estimates

Perinatology

Neonatology

Depositions Child Care Health and Safety/School Health

Social Security

Adult Health

Disability An

Andrew Lawson, MD, is a Stanford trained, board certified Emergency Medicine Specialist. He works full time in a high volume regional adult & children’s medical and trauma center that sees over 60,000 patient visits per year. As a Quality Assurance Director for the last 10 years, Dr. Lawson has personally reviewed hundreds of cases and has overseen the review of thousands of medical records. He has been selected as a member of an elite group of physicians to provide hospital wide quality case reviews.

Dr. Lawson is uniquely qualified to comment on Standard of Care Issues in Emergency Medicine. He has developed expertise in reviewing medical records for quality improvements and for reducing medical-legal pitfalls in his group’s medical practice. As an Expert Witness, he has developed the skills to provide thorough research and background information, pros and cons to the case, precise timelines, a unique approach and understanding of the opponent's expert witness testimony, and the highest quality consultation, chart review, and testimony for any situation. His unique teaching methods and presentation skills transform difficult, complex, and diverse topics into easy to understand information for jury members and other laypersons.

Areas of Expertise include:

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Critical Care Issues
• Medical Case Review
• Pre-hospital Care
• Quality Assurance

Dr. Joseph S. Carey, M.D. is a Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon. He has served as a Clinical Professor at UCLA and is currently Clinical Professor of Surgery at UC Irvine. Since entering private practice, he has held appointments as Chairman of the Thoracic Surgery Sections at Santa Monica and Saint Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, and Torrance Memorial Hospital and Providence-Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. He currently has active staff privileges at Torrance Memorial, Providence-LCOM, Harbor-UCLA and Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach.

Dr. Carey has served as a member of the National Database and Standards and Ethics Committees of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and has served on the Society's Council on Quality Assurance and Patient Advocacy. As a member, he has addressed quality issues in thoracic surgery programs at a national level, and has served as visiting reviewer at hospitals in California as well as other states. He has managed quality improvement programs funded by private foundations, and has published papers on practice standards and processes of care in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

Dr. Matthew Lee is a Physician, Pharmacist, Pharmacologist and Toxicologist who also practices as an Expert Witness and Legal Strategy Consultant.

Specific Benefits Include:

Increased quality and integrity of written expert reports, based on an expanded knowledge base

Time savings by only having to coordinate and discuss a case with one expert as opposed to two or more

Since there is so much overlap between fields in the medical profession it is often hard to determine where one scope ends and another begins. This ambiguity is dramatically decreased , and scope increased by combining physician, pharmacist, and pharmacologist into one

Communication skills of a pharmacist and experience dealing directly with the lay-public, in addition to the knowledge and background of a physician is extremely beneficial describing technical details to a jury

Practicing in different realms within the healthcare field has allowed Dr. Lee to integrate the multiple facets giving him a unique and distinct perspective that no other expert has

Case Experience Includes:

Criminal and Civil Cases Anaphylactic Reactions Overdosel Wrongful Death Cardiac Arrest Respiratory Arrest Fentanyl Overdose Dilaudid Overdose Pharmacist Mis-Fills Pharmacist Dispensing Errors

Pharmacy Standard of Care Medication Adverse Effects Falls Related to Medications (in and out of hospital) Toxicology/Toxic Reactions Medical Marijuana Positive Drug Screens in the Workplace Workplace Safety Fit for Duty Testing

Board Certified Family Medicine 32 years. Experience in review of Standard of Care and Expert Testimony. Clinical Faculty UCLA School of Medicine. Expert Reviewer - State Medical Board of California.

Dr. Kenneth A. Stein is an Attending Staff Physician at St. Anthony's Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, one of the busiest emergency departments in the State of Missouri with approximately 70,000 patient visits per year.

He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the St. Louis University Health Sciences Center, Department of Surgery/Emergency Medicine Division. Dr. Stein has lectured nationally on Pain Management, and Consults in the area of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical Product Development and Marketing.

In litigation support Dr. Stein furnishes an unbiased opinion on medical malpractice and negligence cases, not guaranteeing a favorable outcome but providing an honest assessment.

Expert Services Include:

Survey of case for merit

Medical Chart Review and Analysis

Formulation of Case Strategy

Preparation for Opposing Expert Deposition and Cross-Examination

Medical Literature Search

Expert Witness Testimony

California Office 15662 Orchard Way Kerman, CA 93630

Utah Office 186 Cove Road Saratoga Springs, UT 84045

Joahnna Songer Budge RN, CCRN, CLNC (formerly Songer) is co-founder and lead Legal Nurse Consultant with Evans Songer & Valdivia, Legal Nurse Consultants. Ms. Songer Budge has 22 years of Critical Care, Emergency / Trauma, Recovery Room, and Cardiac-Cardiovascular Surgery nursing practice at multiple university teaching hospitals, regional medical centers and level-one trauma centers. She is a specialist on CODE BLUE Issues and Procedure.

Ms. Songer Budge actively practices in the hospital setting in Critical Care, Emergency Nursing, Recovery Room/PACU and trauma neuro critical care. She has extensive knowledge and experience in the health care environment. She has more than 20 years of experience as both an Expert Witness & Medical-Legal Consulting Expert, reviewing medical records for case merit, case development and trial preparation.

Services Offered:

• Critical Care / Intensive Care
• Emergency Nursing
• Case Screening for Merit: Screen and investigate medical-legal cases for merit; define the applicable standards of care; identify deviations from and adherences to hospital, state and nationally-accepted standards of care
• Organize, analyze, summarize and interpret relevant medical records
• Identify and request additional documents and tangible items relevant to the case
• Research medical literature relevant to the case
• Develop comprehensive case evaluations and reports for the attorney's study and case development
• Identify and recommend potential defendants and witnesses
• Assess alleged damages / injuries: Identify causative or contributing factors to the alleged damages/injuries
• Review and analyze Expert Witness reports and testimony
• Consult with health care providers
• Attend depositions, trials, arbitration and mediation hearingsReview, analyze and summarize testimony, including past testimony
• Prepare interrogatories, health care-related questions
• Assist with medical / health care demonstrative evidence preparation
• Attend IME sessions / IME reports
  
  View Consulting Profile.

Carlos Torres, M.D. provides Expert Witness Services in the areas of Gastrointestinal/Liver Pathology and Tumor (cancer) Pathology.

For 11 yrs, Dr. Torres was the Director of Quality Assurance at Miraca Life Sciences. Was an active participant in clinical research projects, Medical Advisory Committee, and supported the pathology team through daily high-volume case sign-out, participated at the peer review consensus conference and provided numerous intradepartmental consults.

Dr. Torres was instrumental in helping start a rather unique model of GI subspecialty-focused anatomic pathology laboratory. Dr. Torres contributed to the success and growth of the operation, with the principle of providing the highest standards of patient care and service to GI clinicians. Now Dr. Torres has an independent practice called "Expert Pathology Consultation Services".

1. Former Assistant Professor and Director, Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology: Hermann Hosp/UTHSC.

2. Gastrointestinal Pathology Fellowship: Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

3. Surgical Pathology Fellowship: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 4. Anatomic Pathology Residency: Barnes Hospital/Washington University.

Ms. Sharon Hamilton is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. She has many years of experience working in hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities, and surgical wards in the United States and abroad.

As a Licensed Practical Nurse as well as an Orthopedic Technician, Ms. Hamilton has overseen Intensive Care wards and has assisted physicians with minor surgical procedures.

Experience Includes:

• Passing Medications
• IV Therapy
• Patient Teaching
• Assisting Providers
• Triage
• Emergency Care
• Acting Shift Supervisor
• Assisted HAS

A senior clinical faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Harold J. Bursztajn, M.D., is active in patient care in medical, psychiatric and judicial education nationally. He is qualified in both state and federal courts and is nationally recognized as a distinguished impartial, clinical, ethical and forensic expert to P/D attorneys and institutions. Individual and multispecialty team consultations available.

Informed Consent & Malpractice

Employment Litigation: ADA, Disability, Sexual Misconduct Discrimination, Worker's Compensation

Emotional & Physical Damages: Conscious Pain & Suffering, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Neuropsychiatry & Pain Imaging

Standards For Experts

Product Liability: Medical Devices & Pharmaceuticals, Toxic Tort

Criminal Justice & Public Safety: Diminished Capacity, Drug Addiction, Competency to Confess, Death Penalty Mitigation, Workplace Safety

Family & Custody Issues

Testamentary & Contractual Capacity

Professional & Organizational Ethics: Patient Care, Managed Care, Privacy

Psychoanalysis & Cultural Perspectives

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