Nursing (Nurse) Consultants

Timothy P. Luckett, BS, RN, CNOR, CRNFA, CIC, LNC a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) gives expert opinions and testimony in all types of medical malpractice cases for both Plaintiff and Defense. Mr. Luckett is a Registered Nurse Expert in Surgery, ICU, Nursing Home Neglect, Outpatient Surgery Center Matters, and Hospital Surgical Matters.

Mr. Luckett has served as a circulating nurse, RR nurse, and as a registry nurse in General Surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Gynecology, Vascular and Urology Surgeries. He has given numerous laser safety lectures and is a clinical assistant for the University of California at Los Angeles, Registered Nurse First Assist (RNFA) program. Mr. Luckett has also served as a case consultant and reviews nurse malpractice cases for the California Board of Registered Nursing.

Mary B. Gloeckner, RN, MS, APN, is a Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist who specializes in Wound Care and Ostomy Nursing. She has been a nursing consultant at Trinity Medical Center in Rock Island, Illinois, a 500 Bed hospital, for over 35 years.

Ms. Gloeckner started the Wound & Ostomy Clinic (WOC) program at Trinity when she began there in 1983. She currently sits on 2 National Boards, the WOC Certification Board, and the Friends of Ostomates Worldwide. Ms. Gloeckner was also elected to sit on the International Board(ISTAP) on Skin Tears. She was honored with receiving the 2011 Iowa Affiliate Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society's (WOCN) Nurse of the Year Award and the 2016 USA WOC Nurse of the Year Award.

Ms. Gloeckner provides litigation support service to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense. Her cases in include issues related to Pressure Ulcers, Pressure Injury,Wound Care and Colon and Rectal Surgery. Ms. Gloeckner is available to review medical records for standard of care and causation.

Areas of Expertise and Consultation:

Wound Care Decubitus Positions Colostomy Ileostomy Urostomy

Pressure Ulcers Venous ulcers Vascular ulcers Fistulas Diabetes

Ms. Roughan is a Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist who functions in the capacity of case manager, life care planner and expert witness. Her company, Roughan & Associates at LINC, is a nationally recognized Case Management and Medical/Legal Consulting service. It has been in existence since 1987, providing coordination of patient care; construction of Life Care Plans; and, consultative services to both the defense and plaintiff bar on simple and complex cases alike. Ms. Roughan has experience with diagnoses involving both children and adults and are knowledgeable in current treatment philosophies, identification of appropriate resources.

Diagnoses include, but are not limited to:

• Neurological Injuries (Brain and Spinal Cord Injury)
• Burns
• Orthopedic Injures
• Amputation
• Chronic Pain
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Services Include:

• Expert Testimony
• Life Care Planning
• Mini/Preliminary Life Care Plan
• Video Services
• Medical Record Review
• RN Independent Medical Exam
• Medicare Set Aside Trust Analysis
• Medical Bill Auditing
• Questions: Deposition Cross Examining

Daybreak Retirement Villas is a healthcare professional owned and operated Residential Care Facility whose goal is to provide quality care for residents in a comfortable setting. Daybreak Retirement Villas offers premier and Luxurious Senior Living Alternatives within elegant surroundings.

Licensed for ambulatory, non-ambulatory, and bedridden residents, the professionals at Daybreak have extensive experience with Hospice Care, Incontinence, Stroke, Parkinson’s, and Dementia.

Principal, Cynthia (Cyndy) Minnery RN, BSN has over 30 years of experience caring for the elderly within Acute Care, Skilled Nursing, and Assisted Living Facilities. Ms. Minnery has worked as a Director of Quality Compliance in Skilled Nursing and Home Health Care. She now owns Residential Care Facilities and is familiar with the Standards of Care expected of caregivers in these settings.

Ms. Minnery has years of experience and training in care of the elderly and common disorders like Alzheimer’s Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, and other Geriatric Syndromes. She currently serves on the San Diego Dementia Consortium board of directors and Clinical advisory committee.

View Cyndy Minnery's Expert Witness Profile.

Georgia J. Persky RN, MBA, PhD, CLNC, is a seasoned nurse with over 40 years of broad Clinical Nursing experience and 25 years of Senior Leadership in Healthcare Organizations. She has expertise in the micro issues in direct patient care and the broad Management, Quality, State, Federal, and Joint Commission regulatory issues in hospitals and long term care facilities. Dr. Persky provides private consulting for hospitals that want to improve patient care quality and satisfaction. A national speaker and author, her services are in demand for engagements on healthcare issues. 

Litigation Consulting Support - As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and Quality Reviewer, Dr. Persky has investigated hundreds of Malpractice and Injury cases as a quality reviewer and can assist in legal case review with chronologies, timelines, and evidence based reports. Dr. Persky's services are available to attorneys for plaintiff and defense seeking an expert in nursing and patient care with a strong understanding of how hospitals and nursing homes work. 

Facility Consulting Services:

• Provide hospital and nursing leadership and support in turnaround or acute regulatory situations
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate Patient Care Services structure, processes and patient satisfaction initiatives
• Mentor nursing leadership team or screen and recruit new leadership
• Recommend strategies and tactics to improve efficiency or effectiveness in nursing and hospital operations
• Assess Perioperative Services and improve volume and patient flow
• Provide focused plan and implementation to address regulatory and accreditation issues and prepare leaders and staff for regulatory visits
• Develop Nursing, Operational and Strategic plan for handoff to new leadership team

Background Experience - Dr. Persky has served as Vice-President of Nursing and Patient Care Services for 25 years and most recently, New York Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University Medical Center. For nine years, she was responsible for Risk and Quality Management and Patient Satisfaction for a 750 bed academic hospital. She directed a $200 million budget with 33 patient services units and Care Management, Respiratory Therapy, Social Work and Admitting Departments with 9 direct reports and 2,000 patient care employees. 

View Dr. Persky's Expert Witness Profile.

Kirsten Turkington, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, CEN, CNLCP, AFN-BC is a highly experienced, board certified Family Nurse Practitioner, licensed to practice since 1998. She provides quality healthcare and clinical expertise to patients, families, and attorneys on a regular basis.

Dr. Turkington's clinical background encompasses adult, adolescent, pediatric, and geriatric cases across Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Neurosurgery and Hospice. She is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Forensic Medical Expert with over 20 years of active clinical experience as a Registered Professional Nurse and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse.

Dr. Turkington provides the following services:

Medical Consultations Mobile Medical Care Medical Case Reviews Life Care Planning Medical Cost Estimates

Clinical Education / Staff Training Forensic Evidence Review Background Research and Legal Case Evaluations Independent Medical Examination Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Dr. Turkington received a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in 2014, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 1998, and dual Bachelor degrees (BS -- Psychology & BSN -- Nursing) in 1994. View Expert Dr. Turkington's Witness Profile.

Mary C. Meinhard RN-BC, BS, JD, CLCP, MSC-C is a Nurse Attorney/ Legal Nurse Consultant, Certified Life Care Planner, Board-Certified Nurse Case Manager, and Medicare Set-Aside Consultant-Certified. She has offices in California and Nevada, and provides Medical/Legal Consulting services nationwide. She has over 35 years of experience working with catastrophically injured patients and clients as a Registered Nurse, in addition to 20+ years of experience as a California Attorney.

Ms. Meinhard is a skilled Negotiator and Patient Advocate, with excellent communication skills. She is retained by both Plaintiff and Defense as a Consultant in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Workers’ Compensation cases, and provides:

• Life Care Planning
• Legal Nurse Consulting, including, but not limited to:
  Medical Record Review/Summary
  Case Merit Evaluation
  Attendance at Independent Medical Evaluations
  Expert Fact Testimony regarding the extent of injury, treatment, response to treatment, and pain and suffering
• Case Management, particularly for individuals with Special Needs Trusts
• Litigation Support, including, but not limited to:
  Formulation of Discovery Plans
  Preparation of Deposition / Cross Examination Questions
  Conducting Medical Expert and Opposing Life Care Planner
  Depositions
  Medicare Set-Aside Allocations
• Mediator, particularly in cases involving competing Life Care Plans

Representative diagnoses include, but are not limited to:

Traumatic Brain Injury Acquired Brain Injury Spinal Cord Injuries / Paralysis Severe Burns Amputations Orthopedic Injuries Complications of Pregnancy, Premature Births and Birth Injuries Complications of Diabetes Chronic Pain / Illness

Organ Transplants Chronic Renal Failure End Stage Renal Disease AIDS Non-Healing Wounds Malignancies Toxic Exposure Mental Illness Addiction

View Expert Witness Profile.

Lynn M. Shaffer, RN, CLNC®, is Registered Nurse with certification in Legal Nurse Consulting and the founder and managing member of Legal Nurse Consultants of CNY, LLC. Ms. Shaffer's 20 years of nursing experience includes clinical practice in hospitals, outpatient clinics and physician offices, and supervisory roles. She has specialized in Long Term Care / Rehabilitation for most of her nursing career.

Litigation Support - Ms. Shaffer provides consulting and expert witness services for attorneys’ cases including criminal, disability, personal liability, toxic tort, and medical malpractice (specializing in long term care). As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, she assists insurance companies and attorneys with screening cases for merit, locating medical and nursing experts, and analyzing and interpreting medical records for both plaintiff and defense.

Ms. Shaffer's CLNC® services also include: development of reports, timelines and chronologies to highlight the significant medical events, identify adherences to and deviations from applicable standards of care, and assess injuries and identify causation issues and pre-existing contributing factors. She also attends and reports on Independent Medical Exams in the Central New York areas.

Areas of Expertise:

Geriatrics Independent Medical Examinations Long Term Care / Rehabilitation Managed Care Medical Malpractice Medical Records Review Nursing Home Malpractice Nursing Home Medical Malpractice Nursing Home Safety

Nursing Home Staffing / Training Nursing Homes Standards of Care Nursing Malpractice Nursing Policy & Procedures Personal Injury Disability Wrongful Death

Kohler Healthcare Consulting, Inc., is an effective, cutting-edge Healthcare Consulting firm employing credentialed nurses, accountants, and coders since 1980. With clients across the United States and Virgin Islands, Kohler Healthcare Consulting has extensive relationships with healthcare organizations including academic medical centers, large and small hospitals, critical access hospitals, physician / medical practices, long term acute medical facilities skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare providers.

Consulting Services:

Revenue Cycle Fiscal and Clinical Operational Improvement Financial Operations

Regulatory and Compliance Consulting Education and Training Due Diligence

Charlotte L. Kohler, [RN], CPA, CVA, CRCE-I , CPC, CHBC, President of Kohler HealthCare Consulting, Inc., specializes in litigation, investigation, accounting, auditing, and consulting. She has over 30 years of healthcare experience starting with the clinical side of nursing to the finance and compliance side of healthcare.

During her years at Kohler HealthCare Consulting, Ms. Kohler and her firm provided regulatory compliance services to over 60% of all hospitals in Maryland as well as hospitals and other health related organizations outside of Maryland. She continues to provide reimbursement regulatory support to attorneys regarding billing, coding, and documentation in the areas of home care, radiology, hospital billing, DME, Therapy, ASC, anesthesia, and physician practices. She also provides services as an independent review organization for providers under Integrity Agreements.

Kathryn J. Wild RN, MPA, CCHP has worked in the Correctional Healthcare field for over 28 years. She has consulted for counties and detention facilities that required a review of health services with recommendations for improvement, with regular follow up and re-evaluation, as well as legal case review. Ms. Wild has many years of experience in Clinical Nursing, supervision, management and strategic planning. Her current consulting services include program review and design, problem solving, and legal nurse consulting.

Ms. Wild's background includes working with the Orange County Health Care Agency in Orange County, CA as the Deputy Agency Director of Correctional Health Services. Before that she was the Health Services Administrator for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in San Bernardino, CA.

Ms. Wild has delivered presentation within her area of expertise to such organizations as the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the American, Correctional Health Services Association, and the American Jail Association.

Selected Professional Certificates and Awards:

• California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) - Health Care Leadership Program, Cohort VII - 2007/2009 Fellowship
• 2008 Woman of Distinction – Assemblyman Bill Emmerson’s 4th Annual 63rd District’s - Women of Distinction Awards
• 2007 Distinguished Service Award – American Correctional Health Services Association (ACHSA)
• Certified Correctional Healthcare Professional (C.C.H.P) since 1991
• Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) – Correctional Accreditation Surveyor

View Kathryn Wild's Expert Witness Profile.

Lois Hawkins, RN, CLCP of Hawkins Forensic Consulting, Inc, specializes in Medical and Vocational Damage Assessment in personal injury and catastrophic injury cases throughout the United States. For over 10 years, Ms. Hawkins has been evaluating cases involving children and adults with complex, catastrophic injuries, as well as less serious injuries.

Areas of Expertise:

• Catastrophic Medical Case Management - Traumatic Brain Injury, Acquired Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Amputation, Soft Tissue Injury, Chronic Pain, Burns, Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Delay, Chronic Respiratory Conditions, Visual & Hearing Impaired
• Life Care Planning - Comprehensive Record Review and supportive documentation / Case Analysis, Case Summary Chronology, Clinical Interview and History with Patient, Medical-Legal Research, Assessment of Future Medical / Rehabilitation Needs
• Legal Nurse Consulting

Professional Memberships and Associations
International Academy of Life Care Planners (IALCP) - Present
International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) - Present
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) - Past
American Operating Room Nurse (AORN ) - Past

Ms. Elizabeth D'Alesio has 30 years experience in ICU, including Medical, Surgical and Acute Care. She is ICU certified. She has managed the ICU and telemetry floor which includes bed monitoring. Ms. D'Alesio has also been involved with creating policy/procedure to meet JACHO requirements as well as ongoing recruiting of new ICU staff. She has served on the ethics committee for four years while in management.

Ms. D'Alesio is currently employed at the Reproductive Science Center of Milford and Milford Regional Medical Center where she administers Conscious Sedation, assists physicians with pacemakers, arteriograms and picc lines for septic patients.She currently holds certifications as and Adult Nurse Practitioner and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner,and has recently completed the Kaplan Life Care Planning Course.

Donna Jones, RN, has over 40 years of Nursing experience in Critical Care, Respiratory ICU, Cardiac Care, Medical-Surgical Nursing, , and remains clinically active in Critical Care as an ICU Registered Nurse at Hospital Corporation of America - Eastside Medical Center. In addition to her Degree in Nursing, Ms. Jones also holds a degree in Communications and was editor of Hospital Peer Review, a monthly newsletter, dedicated to providing information regarding peer review, risk management and quality in healthcare settings. . Ms. Jones offers consulting services to professional teams looking to utilize her training and extensive experience in reviewing and analyzing medical charts, determining the merit of a case, completeness of records, writing reports, developing time lines, giving depositions and testifying at trials regarding standard of care provided by nurses. Ms. Jones has been a guest speaker at “Alive Expo,” at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, focusing on “Maintaining your Health Care,” and has been a Guest Lecturer for the National Business Institute Seminar on “Anatomy & Physiology for Attorneys." Ms. Jones has also been interviewed on the Web Radio Program, "For Nurses by Nurses," regarding nursing care in the 21st Century. Ms. Jones also shares her knowledge with paralegals at the Institute for Paralegal Education (IPE) with regard to obtaining and reviewing medical records.

View Donna Jones' Expert Witness Profile.

Dawn Cook Consulting is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada but provides services nation wide. Services include life care plans, life care plan rebuttals, past medical bill reviews and future medical cost projections for plaintiff and defense attorneys. Life care plans are developed for individuals with injuries or chronic conditions requiring complex long-term healthcare intervention and management. The report provides an organized, concise plan that estimates the reasonable and necessary current and future healthcare needs with the associated costs.

Dawn Cook is licensed Registered Nurse (RN) who has worked with serious and catastrophic illness and injury for over 30 years including clinical settings and home care. Dawn is an experienced life care planner who holds the certified life care planner (CLCP) and certified nurse life care planner (CNLCP) designations.

Dawn has completed over 600 medical damage reports in 28 states in life care planning and has testified as an expert witness at deposition or trial over 75 times since 2012. Dawn has testified at Federal Court in Illinois and New Mexico and at State Court in California, Nevada and New Mexico as an expert in life care planning. Dawn has also testified in Nevada State Court as an expert in past medical bill reviews.

Dawn enjoys working both plaintiff and defense cases; from complex birth or brain injuries to trucking and motor vehicle accidents, each case requires attention to detail and consistent methodology.

View my CV.

Constance J. Paine CCRN, LNC, is a Legal Nurse Consultant with over 40 years of nursing experience. Currently the Principal at CP LegalMed Consulting and a Staff Nurse in ICE at UC San Diego Health System, Ms. Paine specializes in Critical Care, Interventional Radiology, Medical Surgical, and Discharge Planning.

In addition to her comprehensive services to the legal community, Ms Paine serves as an educator, mentoring new graduates and educating staff on special procedures. She also serves in hospital settings evaluating staff and reviewing and revising hospital policy and procedure. Ms. Paine's fields of expertise include:

Acute and Critical Care in Hospital Setting:

• Pre-operative Teaching
• Post-operative Care and Instruction
• Discharge Planning for Home or Extended Care
• Infection Control for In-patients
• Wound Care and Instruction
• Intravenous Therapy
• Coordination of Individualized Care Plans

Interventional Radiology:

• Pre-Procedure Instruction
• Management of Conscious Sedation
• Discharge Teaching

Neonatal Intensive Care:

• Care of Level 1 Neonates
• Parental Teaching and Support

View Constance Paine's Expert Witness Profile.