Medical Malpractice Consultants

Lawrence Amsel, MD, MPH, is Board Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology. An Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and an Attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York, NY, he specializes in:

Evidence Based Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders - PTSD - Psychological Sequelae of Terrorism

With an MD from Yale University and an MPH in Biostatistics from Columbia University, Dr. Amsel combined his clinical expertise with his analytic mathematics background to become one of the early champions of the application of Decision Science, Game Theory, and Behavioral Economics to Psychiatric Research. 

Dr. Amsel has published numerous articles and delivered presentations, symposia, and workshops on Behavioral Economics and Game Theory and other topics on Mathematical Psychiatry. His speaking services are in demand both nationally and internationally. Dr. Amsel will contribute to the proposed study, “Adolescent and Family Decision Making In Time of Disaster,” as Co-Principal Investigator and will serve as the team expert on decision tasks, helping to incorporate the selected tasks into the overall study design. He will be involved in supervising the collection of data related to these tasks and will help guide study design, data collection and analysis, and assist in the interpretation and publication of research findings. 

In 2003, Dr. Amsel organized the first ever American Psychiatric Association symposium on applications of Game Theory to psychiatry. He has published articles and presented posters on Game Theory modeling of suicide, OCD, and PTSD. After 9/11, Dr. Amsel joined the Trauma Studies and Services division at the New York Psychiatric Institute, and has been involved in treating victims of 9/11 and their families, in training community clinicians in cutting edge treatments for PTSD and Complicated (Traumatic) Grief, as well as in doing research on optimal methods of disseminating this training. 

Over the last several years, Dr. Amsel has been collaborating with Dr. Hoven at the Child Psychiatric Epidemiology Group (CPEG) working on understanding the connection between decision deficits, trauma and psychiatric disorders in the developing brain of children/adolescents. He has extensive clinical expertise within psychiatric research, as well as expertise in applying decision science tasks in psychiatric research settings.

View Dr. Amsel's Expert Witness Profile.

Clive M. Segil, MD, FACS, FRCS is an internationally renowned Orthopedic Surgeon with 30 years of experience in the management of Musculoskeletal Disorders. Dr. Segil sees the patient as a “whole person” not only a “disease,” and places great emphasis on the mind-body connection, applying the concept of what is best for the patient. This means that he uses treatments that result in a cure, at best, and at very least, a marked improvement in their well-being.

For the past 25 years, Dr. Segil has been involved in research and teaching. He is a past assistant clinical professor of orthopedics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and as a past Clinical Chief of Orthopedics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He continues as a leading orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Segil treats the following Orthopedic conditions:

• Injuries - Bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, cartilage, nerves
• Deformities - Scoliosis, club feet, spondylolisthesis, leg length discrepancies
• Degenerative Conditions - Joints and Spine
• Tumors
• Congenital Defects - Hips, club feet

Dr. Segil is a lecturer and visiting professor in Japan, South Africa, England, Canada, Israel, and China. He speaks and teaches on such topics as sports injuries, spinal cord injuries, innovative orthopedic surgery procedures, and workers' compensation issues.

View Dr. Segil's Expert Witness Profile.

Jessica Chaudhary, MD, is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist with specialties in Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacology. Her practice includes General, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatry.  

Dr. Chaudhary has wide ranging experience using a variety of different treatment modalities. She offers individualized care based on the client's specific problems, concerns, and preferences. Dr. Chaudhary can provide all services through TELEHEALTH.

Dr. Chaudhary is in private practice and a consultant to attorneys nationwide.  She is a clinical instructor at Yale University and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.  

Consulting Areas Include:
•    OB-GYN and Psychiatry - Pregnancy and post partum-related psychiatric problems
•    Impaired Professionals - Physicians, nurses, mental health care providers, attorneys, executives, and other professionals and professional organizations
•    Substance Abuse Disorders
•    Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Neurocognitive Disorders, and Co-Morbid Psychiatric and Medical Conditions

View Dr. Jessica Chaudhary's Expert Witness Profile.

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

Garson M. Caruso, MD, MPH, CLCP, FACOEM, FIAIME is a board certified Occupational Physician and Certified Life Care Planner, with expertise in Life Expectancy Determination, in private consulting practice:

• Trained at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH) and the University of Pennsylvania (Residency in Occupational Medicine), with additional training at the American Academy of Insurance Medicine
• Broad background in consulting, medical direction, and occupational health services for organizations including AmTrust North America, Bechtel, Bell & Evans, Dean Foods, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Lockheed Martin, The New York Transit Authority, PepsiCo, Service Employees International Union, and the US Department of State and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Extensive experience with supervision of physician extenders (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in onsite occupational health clinics
• Review of thousands of complex disability and workers’ compensation claims for Advance Medical, AmTrust, Assurant, CorVel, Mutual of Omaha, and others
• Medical Expert Witness in Life Expectancy Determination, professional liability, and impairment and disability evaluation (multiple depositions)
• Fellow, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME)
• Certified Medical Review Officer (MROCC 2008-present) and Independent Medical Examiner (ABIME 2009-2014)
• Numerous Leadership roles in ACOEM, including: Chair, Practice Guidelines Revision Panel on Disability Prevention and Management (2009- present) and Co-Chair, Depression in the Workplace Project (2006-2010)
• Licensed in Florida, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

 Areas of Expertise:

Causation Analysis Disability Prevention and Evaluation Drug Testing Fitness for Duty Impairment Evaluation and Rating

Life Expectancy Determination Occupational Medicine Physician Life Care Planning Return to Work Work Capacity

View Dr. Caruso's Expert Witness Profile.

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.

Elbridge F. Bills, MD, FACOG, is a board certified OB/GYN with over 20 years of clinical experience in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Bills is a graduate of Emory Medical School and received a Master's degree in Metabolic & Nutritional Medicine from the University of South Florida.

With a full-time practice caring for and managing low and high risk pregnancies and deliveries, Dr. Bills also has an active gynecological practice including hysteroscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures. He is licensed in both Georgia and Florida.

Dr. Bills is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Litigation Support - Dr. Bills offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. He is available for cases involving medical malpractice and other OB-GYN related injuries. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Normal & High Risk Pregnancies Hysteroscopic Gynecology Laparoscopic Gynecology Reconstructive and Robotic Surgery

Gynecological Ultrasound Integrative Medicine Hormone Therapy Testosterone Therapy

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.

Paul M. Adler, DO, FACEP, MBA, Medical Director for the Ventura County, California, Department of Corrections, has worked in Correctional / Jail / Prison Medicine & COVID-19 Preparation & Response. He has overseen the care of inmates in Jails in California and New York, as well as Prison inmates who have been transferred to county facilities to serve their terms for years in county jails in California. He has also overseen Correctional health car in locked units in Hospitals . 

Dr. Adler is the President-Elect of The American Correctional Health Services Association of California / Nevada, which represents all clinicians and administrators in Jails/Prisons in California and Nevada. He previously oversaw a County Hospital, County Nursing Home and ran a County Health Department and oversaw Correctional healthcare for the Westchester, New York Jail.

Litigation Support - Dr. Adler has defended Jails and Prisons in Southern California, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. He is currently the expert consultant to the California Prison System for Covid litigation and the medical consultant to the judicial consent decree overseeing care in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. He also served as the expert consultant to the ACLU for Covid in the Illinois Department of Corrections

Dr. Adler still works as a full-time practicing physician and has helped attorneys and insurance companies in Emergency Medicine, Nursing Home Medicine, Public Health and Hospital Administration since 1985. He has been involved in Plaintiff litigation in many states including against Rikers Island, NY and Cook County Jail and is available to review and consult on clinical Correctional/Jail/Prison cases for attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Services:

• COVID-19 Preparation & Response
• Medical Oversight of Federal Consent Decrees
• Screen Cases for Merit
• Review, Analyze and interpret Medical Records
• Provide Basic or Comprehensive Written Reports
• Interpret Standards of Care, Deviation and Adherences as they Relate to Correctional Health Care
• Develop Chronological Time Lines
• Policy and Procedure Development

Expert Witness in Emergency Medicine, Urgent Care,  and Family Medicine Dr. W. Anthony Gerard is a Full time Emergency Physician and Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine. He also practices in Rural and Urgent Care Medicine part time. Dr. Gerard has a special interest in Urgent care, Emergency medicine, family medicine,   Call Dr. Gerard for Prompt, Professional, Personal Service.