Internal Medicine Consultants: 7

Gerald W. Smetana, MD, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, is a General Internist with 38 years of experience in an academic primary care practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he has taught internal medicine to medical house staff and also teaches extensively to practicing clinicians in continuing medical education settings. Dr. Smetana is a Master of the American College of Physicians.

Practicing in an outpatient setting, Dr. Smetana cared for a panel of patients that was weighted towards those with multiple chronic illnesses and high disease complexity. In addition to all aspects of office based general internal medicine, his areas of interest include Preoperative Medical Evaluation, Hypertension, and Headache.

Dr. Smetana has been repeatedly selected as a Best Doctor in a national survey. He publishes in the peer reviewed medical literature and medical texts, has edited textbooks, and has helped to develop national guidelines on topics in internal medicine. He has been invited to deliver seminars and presentations on various topics within his area of expertise nationally and internationally. He has been a section editor for the Annals of Internal Medicine. In April 2025, Dr. Smetana retired from clinical practice, but remains active in scholarly work, lecturing, and consulting.

Litigation Support - Dr. Smetana reviews cases for both plaintiffs and defendants and has testified at deposition and at trial as an expert on numerous occasions in most states in the eastern United States. He has reviewed medical malpractice cases over the past 20 years both for plaintiffs and doctors. Dr. Smetana also consults for risk management insurers. His record review and medicolegal consultation services are available throughout the United States.

Douglas W. Bowerman, MD, FACP, SFHM, FABQAURP, FAIHQ is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. In his capacity as a Hospitalist, he provides full-time clinical care to hospitalized patients. Certifications and Associations - Dr. Bowerman is also Certified in Health Care Quality & Management and Fundamentals of Critical Care. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of American Institute of Healthcare Quality, and a Senior Fellow of Hospital Medicine. Litigation Support - In addition to providing care for hospitalized patients, Dr. Bowerman operates a private consulting business that evaluates potential Medical Malpractice cases involving the clinical care provided by Hospitalists. Based on assessment of the case, he advises counsel on its merits, and when needed, writes formal reports, gives deposition testimony, and provides expert testimony in court. Dr. Bowerman supports both plaintiff and defense cases. In the twenty years he has offered litigation support services, he has reviewed over 900 cases, given 40+ depositions, and testified in court 10+ times. Areas of Expertise:

Hospital Medicine Hospitalist Internal Medicine Medical Malpractice

Medical Record Review Medical-Legal Issues Quality Assurance Hospital / Medical Standard of Care

Presentations and Publications - Dr. Bowerman has authored several publications and delivered numerous presentations on such topics as Assigning Duty to Hospitalists, Eradicating Errors and Restoring Credibility, the Determination of Brain Death, and Hospitalists as Respected Attending Physicians.

Ernest N. Charlesworth, MD, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Allergy & Immunology, and the American Board of Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. He has over 40 years of experience in his field of expertise.

Dr. Charlesworth is one of only a few United States physicians who is board certified in both Allergy / Immunology and Dermatology. Well-versed in his area of expertise, he has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, several textbook chapters, and two textbooks. He has been honored by the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology for both Distinguished Service and as a Distinguished Fellow.

Dr. Charlesworth offers litigation support, except independent medical examinations, to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense. He has been deposed and/or testified approximately 15 times since 2010. His services include issues of causation and standard of care. Dr. Charlesworth has completed the National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics. He retired from active medical practice in May of 2014 but continues to be active in academic medicine.

Areas of Expertise:

Respiratory Diseases Asthma Immunologic and Allergic Disorders Dermatologic Diseases Allergic Skin Diseases

Allergic Drug Reactions Skin Cancers Health Effects from Toxic Mold Mycological Diseases Allergic Pulmonary Disease

Sasse Surgical Associates, PC is Northern Nevada’s premier provider of minimally invasive surgical solutions. Dr. Sasse is a nationally recognized expert in bariatric surgery, gastroparesis, nutritional support, colorectal surgery, minimally invasive hernia and gallbladder surgery, and regenerative wound healing. 

Areas of Expertise:

Bariatric Surgery Gastric Sleeve Gastric Bypass Intestinal Failure Life Care Plan Review Bariatric Surgery Revision

Colorectal Surgery Gallbladder Surgery Nutrition Support Hernia Surgery Medically Supervised Weight Loss Gastroparesis

Founder and Medical Director, Kent C. Sasse, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCRS, FASMBS, is certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, American Board of Surgery, and the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. 

Dr. Sasse performed the first laparoscopic colon resection procedure and the first laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure in northern Nevada more than 25 years ago. More recently, he is credited with performing the first daVinci Single Site gallbladder procedure in late 2013. 

With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Sasse is a sought after speaker and mentor to surgeons around the nation. He hosts cadaver courses on surgical topics including complex abdominal wall reconstruction at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, for visiting surgeons. He has also authored numerous peer-reviewed research articles, and some of his most recent papers discuss sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic rectopexy, gastric physiology, Gastroparesis, endoscopic techniques for gastric repairs, and minimally invasive hernia repair. He is an author of approximately 50 peer-reviewed publications and several books.

View Dr. Sasse's Expert Witness Profile.

Steven M. Simons, MD, FACP, FCCP attended medical school at Wayne State University and completed his training in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care at Cedars – Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In addition to being board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases, Dr. Simons has been awarded the distinction of Fellowship in both of these disciplines, based on his national reputation, quality of care, teaching and publications.

Dr. Simons continues to actively teach and is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Simons is currently the Director of Medical Affairs and Chair of Medical Safety at Cedars-Sinai Health System. He is an Expert Reviewer for the Medical Board of California and a Case Reviewer for the Center for Health Dispute Resolution. Dr. Simons has published numerous articles on topics within his area of expertise. He has given presentations and delivered seminars throughout the nation.

Services Include:

Laboratory Studies Radiographic Studies Pulmonary Function Testing

Sleep Studies Smoking Cessation Health Maintenance

View Steven Simons' Expert Witness Profile.

Jonathan Wiesen, MD received training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine with a special focus on Medical Ethics.

Dr. Wiesen is currently a Pulmonary and Intensive Care Attending Physician at Community Intensivists where his duties include general clinical care and workflow organization and protocol authorship. He also serves as a Medical Technology Analyst at OurCrowd where he is responsible for the Scientific and financial assessment of medical technology start up companies and provides multi-disciplinary interactions for assessments and investments.

Dr. Wiesen has extensive academic experience with over 75 publications, including first authorship on over a dozen full length manuscripts. He has been honored with the Teaching Excellence Award from the Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical center, which provides clinical and hospital care and leads in research, education, and health information. He also received the Best Abstract Award, Critical Care session, at the ACCP CHEST annual conference in 2014.

Litigation Support - Dr. Wiesen provides expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. His services include medical record review, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Cardio-Pulmonary Hemodynamics Respiratory Physiology End of Life Sepsis / Septic Shock Pneumonia COPD Asthma Life Support

Mechanical Ventilation Smoking Related Diseases Interstitial Lung Disease Pulmonary Hypertension Lung Transplantation Biomedical Ethics Conflict Resolution Triage

Dr. Jeffrey Stone, DO, MPH, FCCWS specializes in Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Care Medicine. He received his medical degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and received a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University. Dr. Stone completed a residency in aerospace medicine at Brooks Air Force Base and a fellowship in hyperbaric medicine and wound care at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Dr. Stone is one of the first 60 physicians in the U.S.A. to receive his certification in Wound Care. He  served as Medical Director for the Hyperbaric Medicine Unit at the Institute for Exercise & Environmental Medicine from 1992-2016.

Dr. Stone offers Hyperbaric Consultanting Services to the health insurance industry, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, the Poison Control Center of North Dallas, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of General: Office of Evaluation and Inspections. From 1993 to 2011, Dr. stone served as a Senior Medical Examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Dr. Stone has been widely published in many medical journals regarding his expertise in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. He has published articles on Hyperbaric Oxygenation, Decompression Sickness, the Diabetic Foot and other wound issues.

Consulting Services Include:

• Diabetic Wound Care
• Prevention Care
• Hyperbaric Medicical Issues
• Nursing Home Nutrition
• Nursing Home Wound Analysis
• Long Term Acute Care Facilities (LTAC)
• Skilled Nursing Facility Wound Care

View Expert Witness Profile.