Medical Quality Assurance Expert Witnesses

Michael Blumenkrantz, MD, FACP, FACN, CNSP, has over 40 years of experience specializing in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Dr. Blumenkrantz is an internationally recognized expert in Internal Medicine, Dialysis, Kidney Disease, Total Parenteral Nutrition, and Nutrition. Achieving the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine (in residence) at UCLA, he has been in private practice for the past 30 years.

Litigation Support - Dr. Blumenkrantz has been offering litigation support services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense for 15 years. Approximately 40% of his cases involve renal issues and the remainder are in the field of internal medicine. Dr. Blumenkrantz has been involved in 350 cases in the past 15 years and has been deposed approximately 120 times. He has testified at 30 trials and arbitrations.

Areas of Expertise:

Internal Medicine Dialysis Hemodialysis Peritoneal CAPD Kidney Disease Obesity Nutrition Support

Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) Critical Care Hypertension Long Term Geriatric Care Medical / Legal Quality Assurance Personal Injury Medical Malpractice

View Dr. Blumenkrantz's Consulting Profile.

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.

Cheickna Diarra, MD, FACS, has over 13 years of experience trained in minimally invasive general surgery, bariatric surgery, and robotic surgery. He maintains a full time practice working as a minimally invasive general surgeon / robotic surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is skilled in minimally invasive general surgery techniques, acute care surgery, and trauma surgery. Dr. Diarra has strong expertise in patient safety, bile duct injuries, bowel injury, and intraoperative complications. Having served as vice chief of surgery and as a member of the medical executive committee at Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad, New Mexico, he has dealt with numerous cases of medical negligence, patient injury, and other medico-legal issues.

Litigation Support - Dr. Diarra provides expert witness services to attorneys representing both plaintiff and defense attorneys. He has been deposed, examined, and cross-examined many times. Dr. Diarra is an experienced chart reviewer and offers written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. He is licensed to practice in Georgia and New Mexico, and speaks English, French, and conversational Spanish.

*Expert professional opinions expressed by Dr. Diarra are based on his own personal capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of Kaiser Permanente / The Southeast Permanente Medical Group (TSPMG)

Areas of Expertise:

Minimally Invasive Surgery General Surgery Gallbladder Surgery Complications Bariatric Surgery Robotic Surgery Colon and Rectal Surgery

Acute Care Surgery Upper and Lower Endoscopy Complex Hernia Surgery Bile Duct Injury Bowel Injury Medical Error Prevention / Patient Safety

Anthony C Chang, MD, MBA, MPH, MS is internationally recognized as an expert in the field of Pediatric Cardiology. Dr. Chang has 30 years of experience and special expertise in Congenital Heart Disease and Perioperative Care as well as Cardiomyopathy and Sudden Death in pediatric patients.

Dr. Chang has a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from University of Miami School of Business and a master's degree in Biomedical Data Science from Stanford University. He also has a master’s degree in Public Health from UCLA, from which he graduated with the Dean’s Award for academic excellence.

Doctor Chang - Being A DoctorDr. Chang has been offering litigation support services to the legal community for many years. His expertise is available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. Dr. Chang has been deposed and/or testified over 200 times since 1990.

Areas of Specialization:

Congenital Heart Disease Cardiac Surgery Sudden Death Cardiac Intensive Care Heart Failure

Postoperative Care Pulmonary Hypertension Public Health Sports Medicine Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

A world-renown leader in pediatric cardiology innovation, Dr. Chang is a member of the grant review committee for pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health. Respected in his field, Dr. Chang is a member the board of directors for the American Heart Association. Providing leadership in education, he has served with the faculty of UCLA School of Public Health (eMPH program) and has taught global health for UCLA’s eMPH. He also teaches pediatric cardiology to cardiology fellows and holds a volunteer faculty appointment at the UCLA School of Medicine.

A prolific author, Dr. Chang is the chief editor of the textbook Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care and the past president-elect of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (PCICS). He is the chief editor of the textbook Heart Failure in Children and Young Adults. He is a regular reviewer for “Circulation,” “Pediatric Critical Care Medicine,” “Critical Care Medicine,” and numerous other journals.

Dr. Chang has been voted “Physician of Excellence” by the Orange County Medical Association and also selected as one of America’s “Top Doctors,” “Top Pediatricians,” and “Best Cardiologists” by several organizations.

View Dr. Chang's Consulting Profile.

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Gregory Boris, DO, FACEP, is the active Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine in a busy community Hospital for the last 12 years. He completed his Emergency Medicine residency in a busy urban-based trauma center in the early 1990s. He has worked in numerous community and academic Emergency Departments.

Dr. Boris has provided legal review and expert opinion over the last 10 years. He has extensive knowledge in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Department Administration.

Areas of Expertise:

Emergency Medicine Emergency Department Emergency Department Policy & Procedures

Emergency Department Administration Pre-Hospital Care Emergency Department Staffing

Mark Crews, PA is a Physician Assistant with twenty years of experience in Emergency Medicine. A native of Colorado, he received his BS in Microbiology from Montana State, and in 1998 graduated from the Duke University Physician Assistant Program with a Masters Degree in health science.

Mr. Crews has focused his career on education and promoting excellence in the Emergency Department in efforts to maintain a high standard of care in Emergency Medicine in Virginia Beach, Virginia with Emergency Physicians of Tidewater. He was awarded the rank of faculty at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2009, and continues to facilitate the learning process for students in the PA and NP programs, furthering their understanding of pathology, disease states, and current standards of care.

Litigation Support - Mark Crews has served as an expert witness over the past 8 years utilizing his expertise in Emergency Room Personal Injury cases and Emergency Room Medical Malpractice cases, mostly involving mid level PAs and Nurse Practitioners.

Mr. Crews testifies on breach of the standard of care, causation, or both. He aims to convey a creditable impression with thorough knowledge of his cases. Services include chart review, staffing, thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed.

Sasha M. Demos, MD, PhD, is a Board Certified Anesthesiologist and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia at Edward Hospital in the Chicago area. With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, she focused on the areas of Drug Delivery Systems and Ultrasonic Imaging.

Prior to her appointment as Chair, Dr. Demos served as Director of Obstetrical Anesthesia and was a member of the pediatric anesthesia team for many years. She has authored multiple manuscripts in the areas of liposomes, ultrasound contrast agents, and targeted therapies, and has a patent for her research and development of Acoustically Reflective Liposomes for Tissue Specific Ultrasonic Enhancement. She currently holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Litigation Support - Dr. Demos provides expert witness services to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defendant. Her services include medical record review, reports, depositions, and trial testimony when necessary.

Areas of Expertise:

Airway Management Failed Intubation Epidural and Spinal Anesthesia Obstetrical Anesthesia General Anesthesia Regional Anesthesia

Ambulatory Anesthesia Surgical Fires Drug Errors Positioning Injuries Intraoperative and Postoperative Complications Sedation Complications Outside of the OR

View Dr. Demos' Consulting Profile.

EXPERTISE IN:

1. The pathobiology, clinico-pathologic correlation, and histopathologic diagnosis of: diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, anus, liver, and pancreas.

2. Human neoplasms (cancer) and preneoplastic conditions.

3. Establishing standard of care, causation and cause of death.

Dr. Torres was instrumental in creating a rather unique model of GI subspecialty-focused laboratory, that during his 12 yrs tenure became one of the largest private national Anatomic Pathology laboratories-Caris/Miraca Life Sciences.

BACKGROUND:

1. Anatomic Pathology Residency: Washington Univ-Barnes Hospital 1991-94.

2. Oncologic Pathology Fellowship: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 1994-95.

3. Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology Fellowship: Harvard-Brigham & Womens Hospital 1995-96.

4. Instructor at Harvard Medical School: 1996-1998.

5. Assistant Professor and Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology Division at Univ. of Texas Health Science Center-Hermann Hospital, Houston Medical Center: 08/1998 - 12/2000.

6. Staff GI Pathologist and Quality Assurance Director at Caris/Miraca Life Sciences, Dallas TX: 01/2001 - 04/2012.

7. Staff Pathologist, Anatomic Pathology Division of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, Long Island NY: 05/2013 - 05/2015.

8. Staff Pathologist, Anatomic Pathology Division of Alliance Health Sciences, Dallas TX: 01/2016 - present.

9. Sole-Proprietor of "Expert Pathology Consultation Services", Dallas TX: 2001-present.

David Clay Griffin, RPh, has over 30 years of experience in Retail and Community Pharmacies and still actively working as a pharmacist and pharmacy manager. Well-versed in practice standards and pharmacy operations, including controlled substance laws and policies, as well as financials, inventory, sales.

Throughout his Pharmacy Management career, Mr. Griffin also served as a pharmacist for the United States Department of Health and Human Services in Dallas, Texas (2002/2017). He worked with the Texas 4 Disaster Medical Assistance Team and was the Pharmacy Unit Leader with NDMS over several missions.

Mr. Griffin consults and serves as a pharmacy expert witness for attorneys representing both plaintiff and defense. His services include medical record review, thorough reports, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Pharmacy Practice Standards Retail Pharmacies Community / Independent Pharmacies Drug / Medication Errors Pharmacy Drug Interactions Medication Overdose and Under-dose Medication Interaction / Drug Utilization Review

Pharmaceuticals Adverse Reactions Pharmacy Safety and Counseling Pharmacist Duty to Warn Pharmacy Operation Staff Supervision and Training Controlled Substance Laws and Policies DUI / DWI

Mark A. Smith, MD, MBA, FACS, FACHE, CPHQ, is an independent senior Healthcare Consultant and a Practicing Vascular Surgeon as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Smith previously served as the Chief Medical Officer with Morrisey Associates Inc/ Morcare LLC for six years. He is a member of HG Healthcare Consultants LLC. Dr. Smith brings over 30 years of clinical practice and hospital management experiences to his work with physicians and hospitals across the United States. He is Board Certified in Vascular Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is a member of the American College of Physician Executives, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Southern California Vascular Surgical Society.

Litigation Support - Dr. Smith provides expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. His decades of clinical practice as a surgeon and multiple roles in senior hospital administration to his work on peer review, credentialing, ED call, and other matters involving physicians and hospitals across the United States. He has testified several times in the past 5 years.

Areas of Expertise:

Physician Credentialing Physician Peer Review Negligent Credentialing Negligent Peer Review Patient Safety Healthcare Quality

Performance Improvement Fair / Judicial Hearings Medical Staff Affairs Medical Conflicts of Interest Physician Integration / Alignment Physician Conduct

View Dr. Smith's Consulting Profile.

Stephen D. Chin, MD, FACEP, is an experienced Emergency Physician with over 20 years of clinical experience and an expertise in Documentation Quality Assurance and Risk Management through optimization of documentation and effecting behavioral change among providers.

Dr. Chin currently is currently an Emergency Department Provider at Alta Bates Medical Center. He also serves as an Urgent Care Provider and Quality Assurance Consultant for the Medical Board of California.

Dr. Chin is an award winning public speaker and is experienced in providing medical malpractice testimony. In addition, he is an instructor for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Oral Board Review Course.

Litigation Support - Dr. Chin provides Health, Life, and Disability File Reviews. His services include detailed forensic evaluation of the medical record and associated case files to determine merit and/or to find weaknesses or inconsistencies in documentation.

View Dr. Chin's Consulting Profile.

Spine Surgery and Spine Medicine Consultant

The concepts of Evidence Based Medicine have been the cornerstone of Dr. Dillin's education during his spine surgery fellowship in Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery and the format for decision making in his subsequent practice.

The critical analytic features inherent in the "best evidence" approach to patients have permeated his writing and his lectures, allowing flexible adaptation as the science has changed. The combination of logical clinical analysis based on these principles, and twenty five years of experience exclusively devoted to spine surgery and spine related problems, allows specialty focus on any Independent Medical Evaluations or Medical-Legal Reviews.


William Dillin, MD is a spine surgery and spine medicine consultant at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. The Kerlan-Jobe physicians serve as consultants to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Sparks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Los Angeless Rams, Loyola Marymount University and USC Trojan Football.



Los Angeles and Orange County Appointments
Email: keena.giles@independentspine.com
Web: IndependentSpine.com

IME Information and Medical Legal Reviews
424-276-7715

Dr. John Shershow is a nationally known expert in all aspects of Hospital and Clinic Administration. In his nearly 20 years of experience as a Senior Hospital Executive and Healthcare Consultant, Dr. Shershow has surveyed or consulted to hundreds of hospitals, both as an accreditation surveyor for JCAHO and as a private consultant for hospitals nationwide.

Dr. Shershow has been Medical Director of two prestigious hospitals and an Associate Dean of a nationally known medical school. He is Board Certified and was educated at Harvard, Yale and the University of Southern California.

Areas Of Expertise Include:

Hospital Administration Staffing Quality of Care JCAHO Accreditation Medical Quality Assessment and Review Medical Staff Affairs Hospital And Ambulatory Standards of Care

Patient Rights Health Care Risk Management Medical Quality Assurance Administrative Medicine Peer Review JCAHO Standards Physician Credentialing & Privileging

LaTonya Washington, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAP, is physician Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics with clinical experience expertise in Hospital Medicine for both adult and pediatric patients. Her experience also includes pediatric urgent care and emergency care.

Background - In addition to providing care for hospitalized pediatric and adult patients, Dr. Washington has served as a healthcare executive with experience managing an inpatient facility with a focus on clinical integration and physician alignment.

Litigation Support - Dr. Washington serves as a medical file review consultant utilizing Interqual and Milliman guidelines. Her expertise is available to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant for medical malpractice and other cases involving Hospitals, Healthcare Systems, Insurers for Peer Review, Risk Management, and Utilization Review. Dr. Washington's services include medical chart review for medical standard of care, objective opinions, deposition, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Pediatric Medicine Internal Medicine Healthcare Systems Hospital Medicine Hospital Acquired Infections Standard of Care

Hospitalist Primary Care Hospital Management Infection Control Pharmacy and Therapeutics Revenue Management Patient Safety