Occupational Therapy Expert Witnesses: 4

Diane J. Atkins, OTR/L, is an internationally recognized Occupational Therapist specializing in Upper Limb Amputee Rehabilitation. Diane has over 40 years of extensive clinical experience with upper limb amputees devoted to the evaluation, treatment, prosthetic training and outcomes of children and adults with upper limb loss. She has co-edited and authored 2 texts on these subjects.

Diane has worked with over 2,000 children and adults with amputations and has lectured extensively throughout the US and abroad in areas relating to the evaluation, treatment, training, and functional outcomes of individuals with unilateral and bilateral upper limb loss. She has extensive teaching experience to therapists, physicians and prosthetists.

Diane is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She has been involved in many grants and research activities sponsored by the National Institute of Health, the Veterans Administration and NASA. In advance of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, she was asked by the United States Surgeon General to present courses for the clinical rehabilitation teams at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Centers regarding the management and care of soldiers who had sustained upper limb loss.

Litigation Support - The ideal client would be anyone who is seeking to better understand the impact of upper limb loss as it relates to overall functional independence, prosthetic componentry and costs, and knowledge of outcomes that may be achieved. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Comprehensive Management of the Upper Limb Amputee with Specific Expertise in Amputee Evaluation
• Pre and Post prosthetic Amputation Management
• Upper Extremity Prosthetic Componentry
• Prosthetic Training
• Functional Outcomes
• Cost Analysis for the Upper Extremity Amputee
• Access to State-of-the Art Providers of Amputee Surgical and Rehabilitation Care

Jennifer Nulton, OTR/L, CHT, CLT, CEAS, is an Occupational Therapist with over 23 years in practice. Ms. Nulton has provided occupational therapy services to adults and children in an inpatient acute rehabilitation and outpatient setting. She primarily treats patients diagnosed with cancer and/or lymphedema which would often require wound care.

Litigation Support - Ms. Nulton offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant, including medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise: 

 Education: Master of Art Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California; Bachelor of Science Communication Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Michelle Wolpov is an Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy Expert with over 35 years of experience in her field.  Dr. Wolpov is a licensed Physical Therapist, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY 1987), a Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy (DPT) from EIM Institute of Health Professions (2011), and a master’s degree in business (MBA). She has treated patients in her own outpatient orthopedic and sports physical therapy practice founded in 2002 and located in Manalapan, NJ.

Litigation Support - Dr. Wolpov has worked as an Expert Witness in the field of Physical Therapy for both plaintiff and defense attorneys in over 26 states, and has handled over 200 cases since 2005. Offerings include: litigation consulting, standards of care, research and investigative activities, affidavits of merit, opinion reports, expert witness testimony and depositions, and court appearances.

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Wolpov has worked in various types of clinical settings including hospitals, home care, assisted living, and sub-acute care, with the majority of time spent in outpatient facilities. More specifically, she has worked with patients of all ages, having orthopedic and sports injuries, to those suffering from neurological conditions, or who have had a work or motor vehicle related injury. 

Dr. Wolpov has written many policies and procedures on the safe handling of post-op patients, and has reviewed best practices for rehabilitation of patients following orthopedic surgery. In addition, she has been closely affiliated with the Hospital for Special Surgery as part of their Rehab Network.

David A.Sugar, MD, is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon. He has been in practice since 1997. Working as a general Orthopaedic Surgeon, he has treated an extremely wide array of Orthopaedic conditions and injuries.

Dr. Sugar has served as the Managing Partner in a group as large as 11 doctors and worked on the Surgical QI Committee ( currently serves as the Chairman) at the 35th largest hospital in the United States. Dr. Sugar is currently the principal surgeon at Sugar Orthopaedics where they provide surgical and non-surgical treatments for muscular and skeletal problems of all types.

Litigation Support - Dr Sugar has offered expert witness services for attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant for 20 years. His services include independent medical evaluations (IMEs), medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony. Dr. Sugar's cases have a heavy emphasis on Fractures, Knee, Shoulder, Sports Medicine, and Pediatric Orthopaedics.

Areas of Expertise: