Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Expert Witnesses: 14

Dr. Weiss' unique ability to establish exceptional rapport with clients allows for thoughtful, thorough examinations, leaving no stone unturned. As everything affects the psyche, her keen attention to detail with complex medical-legal records enables her to integrate highly complex psychiatric histories and concepts, coming to evidence-based opinions, and providing high-caliber, usable medical-legal reporting and testimony.

Dr. Weiss has decades of diverse experience. Able to view a case through multiple lenses, she must consider what has happened prior to, since, and outside of an accident/incident, as well as uncovering details of the event(s) itself. She must be objective and look at the evidence which has been presented. It is important to consider how a person is functioning, and what is the status of their mental/psychological state. If there is evidence for psychiatric injury/pain and suffering, her ability to articulate a person's perspective, as well as how she, as the psychiatric expert, would understand the issues and their impacts, is unparalleled. 

Ultimately, whether Dr. Weiss' findings strengthen her client's case, or help to uncover weaknesses/deficiencies which need to be addressed, one can be confident that Dr. Weiss will provide a through, detailed psychiatric analysis based on medical evidence. 

Dr. Weiss is a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Board Certified Psychiatrist, in private practice since 1988. Her expert witness work has involved employment law, concentrating in claims of emotional distress along with pain and suffering. Dr. Weiss provides litigation support in cases related to harassment (sexual/gender-based/racial), PTSD, as well as other personal injury/accident complaints

Psychiatric Areas of Expertise:

Sanjay Adhia, MD, MRO, is triple-Board-Certified in Psychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine, and Forensic Psychiatry. In addition to forensic/expert witness practice, Dr. Adhia treats patients at renowned TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital. His forensic practice focuses on the psychiatric impact of personal injury, medical malpractice, Multi-Plaintiff and Toxic Tort cases, testamentary capacity, undue influence and Dementia, TBI Brain injuries, competency, mental illness and complicating medical conditions. 

Dr. Adhia is among one of a select few Forensic Psychiatrists co-Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine. 

Dr. Adhia treats and opines about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in litigation as it can result in psychiatric or neurocognitive impairments. He always assesses for Malingering.

In addition, Dr. Adhia works with Physicians for Human Rights to assess victims of kidnapping and false imprisonment, human trafficking, undue influence, physical and sexual abuse, rape, and fear of imminent death. 

In all populations, he assesses PTSD, Anxiety, Depressive Disorders, risk of suicide, and malingering. 

He is experienced in the treatment and impact of drug and alcohol abuse on decision-making. Dr. Adhia has also treated severe psychosis (Schizophrenia, hallucinations) and psychopathology. He formerly treated patients at a Maximum Security Prison and prison psychiatric hospital. 

Dr. Adhia’s findings consider complicating factors, e.g., emotional distress worsened by active physical and mental conditions, and pre-existing mental and physical illness (e.g. depression, PTSD, Dementia, Alzheimer's, medication.) 

As a physician, Dr. Adhia is uniquely qualified to review and examine and incorporate medical records and doctor reports in his reports. This is especially important in medical-malpractice & standard of care cases in treaters, inpatient, rehab, hospital, government, corrections and psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Adhia is skilled in these med-legal issues. 

He conducts Independent Medical Examinations, review of records, and reports findings to courts and attorneys. He is available to testify in civil, criminal, probate, Federal, Immigration, military, and administrative jurisdictions.

Kerry Mendes, M.D., Child, Adolescent and Adult Forensic Psychiatrist joined Dr. Adhia in 2022.

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

• 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

Dwight Owens, MD, Chief Psychiatrist for Peachstate Psychiatric Service Is a Board- Certified Psychiatrist, Forensic trained and Master Certified Independent Medical Examiner. He been practicing medicine for more than 30 years in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care.

Litigation Support - In recent years, Dr. Owens has worked on greater than 50 competency evaluations, more than 50 IME’s, and also served as an expert more than 25 times and has extensive experience in medical record reviews. His services are available to lay persons, law firms and private attorneys, independent medical examiners, hospitals, employers, and criminal justice systems. Dr. Owens has been practicing medicine throughout the state of Georgia and currently holds licenses in both Georgia and New York. 

Areas of Expertise: 

Dr. Owens received his Bachelor’s degree from the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his medical doctorate from Health Science Center (HSC) at Syracuse in 1994. He then returned to Macon, Georgia where he attended Mercer University’s School of Medicine, and obtained an internship certificate in the area of Family Medicine. In 1998. On completion of his Adult and General Psychiatry training, he attended Emory University in Atlanta Georgia and completed a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry. (Psychiatry and the Law). In 1999 he became board-certified in Adult and General Psychiatry.

Michael Levittan, Ph.D. is an Expert Witness, Psychotherapist, Media Consultant, and Lecturer at UCLA Extension and California Graduate Institute. Dr. Levittan works as an expert witness on cases involving domestic violence, child abuse, post-traumatic stress, anger issues, child custody, school violence. He is director of a certified Domestic Violence/Anger Management program and has numerous articles published on violence and abuse.

Dr. Levittan presents at UCLA, National Alliance on Mental Illness, L.A. Superior Court, U.S. Marines, Hillsides Children's Home, Loyola Marymount Univ, International Conference on Violence, Abuse, Trauma, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Grief & Loss Conference, The Maple Center, Womens Shelters.

Dr. Levittan's website: www.michaellevittan.com.

Dr. Mayer is an independent consultant and scholar that (for identification only) holds the position of Visiting Fellow in Human Flourishing,  Harvard University. He has been a full-time tenured professor with recent appoints in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, biomedical informatics, public health and medicine (psychiatry). He held various titles including, Professor (Part-time), Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Affiliated Professor, Mayo Clinic/ASU joint program in Biomedical Informatics, a member of the Research Staff at Mayo Clinic, and Professor at Arizona State University. 

Dr. Mayer continues to do research and mentor young physicians and medical students while doing a limited amount of consulting in epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics, observation studies and clinical trials. His consulting projects often focus on model development, execution and inferences. He is one of the few MD/PhD epidemiologists. He led a  group of 6000 physicians and epidemiologists that reviewed the science of COVID-19 

Dr. Jane K. McNaught, PhD is a locally and nationally recognized Forensic Psychological Expert specializing in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with adults and children. Over the course of her more than 35 years of practice, she has worked with both Defense and Plaintiff attorneys and has also been a Court appointed expert.

Dr. McNaught has administered more than 1700 psychological test batteries and testified on over 500 occasions as a forensic expert in the areas of: Civil, Criminal, and Family Law. She also provides trial consultation for attorneys. Dr. McNaught has  been qualified and testified as an expert in PTSD, for both the U.S. Army as well as the U.S. Navy. In addition she has testified as an expert in both District and Federal court. Dr. McNaught practices in the areas of Civil, Criminal, and Family Law cases involving trauma to both adults and children.

In the Civil area, Dr. McNaught is frequently hired as an expert when there are allegations of Emotional Damages involving Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dr. McNaught has been hired in cases of alleged sexual misconduct within institutional settings such as: Schools, Churches, Treatment Centers, Hospitals, Residential Centers for the Handicapped, Jails and other Police alleged violations.

The following are cases where Dr. McNaugth has been an expert:  PTSD cases involving veterans;  injuries related to Motor Vehicle Injuries/Death; Dog Bite; Amputation; Burns; and Electrocution. Dr. McNaught has also been an expert in  Medical Malpractice Cases,Wrongful Death, and Infant Death cases. Employment Law Experience in cases  involving Age or Sexual Harassment where PTSD is alleged. 

In the Criminal area, Dr. McNaught is hired by both the Prosecution as well as Defense in cases involving Sexual Misconduct. She also conducts evaluations of Defendants in criminal cases where Underlying Psychological Conditions may impact sentencing. She has also  been obtained as an expert to evaluate the reliability of statements obtained from alleged victims of sexual assault. When doing so, Dr. McNaught addresses the following: Recantation, Memory Research, and the Standard of Care for Interviewing Victims of Sexual Assault. 

In the area of Family Law, Dr. McNaught specializes in High Conflict Divorce and and provides consultation in issues related to:  Relocation; Endangerment; Factitious Disorder by Proxy; Parental Capacity; and Parental Alienation. Dr. McNaught is also frequently obtained as an expert to critique other evaluator's reports.

View Dr. McNaught's Consulting Profile.

James H. Reich, MD, MPH, is a board-certified Forensic Psychiatrist with extensive civil psychiatry experience who has done hundreds of evaluations.

After getting his MD from the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, Dr. Reich earned his MPH at Yale University and did his psychiatric residency at UC Davis. Dr. Reich has held academic positions at Yale, Iowa, Harvard, and Brown Universities.  Currently, he has teaching appointments at the professor level at both UCSF and Stanford University. Throughout his career, he has published over a hundred peer-reviewed publications. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Reich’s services are available for civil and some criminal law cases. Clients are assured of his personal dedication to each case. He does high quality research, expert evaluations, writes a solid report, and will testify well. Dr. Reich has been deposed over 50 times.

Areas of Expertise:

Presentations - As faculty at the Stanford Forensic Fellowship program, Dr. Reich has given two talks to the group. On October 27, 2023, he presented, "What Gets Psychiatrists and other Medical Professionals into Problems with the Law or Regulators." On January 19, 2024, he presented a talk on Psychiatric Disability to the same group. Dr. Reich is also supervising a fellow on his project on competency issues in older physicians.

Charles H. Heller, PhD, is a Forensic Psychology Expert with over 35 years of experience in his field. Dr. Heller is currently on staff at Rutgers University Biomedical Health Service, specializing in criminal behavior and risk assessment. He also serves as a forensic psychologist consultant for the Rockland County (NY) court evaluation service, where he has performed hundreds of child custody, as well as criminal competency and child abuse/neglect evaluations.

Litigation Support - Dr. Heller specializes in conducting custody evaluations, providing the review and analysis of potentially mitigating circumstances in connection with criminal behavior, and providing consultation to attorneys regarding civil litigation. He has extensive court experience in Civil, Criminal, and Family Court cases. Dr. Heller is a fully vetted and approved forensic psychologist for the NJ Office of the Public Defender as well as other Public Defender offices. (Federal Public Defender, Legal Aid in Manhattan, Bronx, Kings, and the NYC assigned counsel program). He often travels throughout the US as a forensic consultant in important court cases including military Court Martials, death row assessment, sexual abuse, assault, and multiple homicides. He is well-known and respected among his colleagues as a clinician and as a forensic psychologist/expert witness.

Civil Litigation - (Emotional and Mental Injury) - Dr. Heller is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel to assess plaintiffs for emotional and mental injury. He takes an unbiased, ethical approach to assessments and is not "a hired gun." He is an expert in objective evaluations that assess the probability the plaintiff is suffering PTSD, other emotional injuries, or if there is an exaggeration of symptoms based upon psychological testing and other data. He has expertise in cases that involve group home / residential schools, provider negligence, and assaults.

Criminal Litigation - Dr. Heller is experienced in providing successful rebuttal testimony explaining the scientific issues related to the problems of validity, reliability, and usefulness of "Syndrome evidence" such as "Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome" and "Rape Trauma Syndrome." He testifies in child sexual abuse cases and explains research related to false allegations, recantations, memory, suggestibility, child testimony, interview protocols, and "Believed-In Imaginings" in children and adults. He has expertise in domestic violence and has assessed women who have been victims of intimate partner violence and "Battered Women Syndrome" that contributed to homicides, assaults, and other felonies by the victims of abuse.

View Dr. Heller's Consulting Profile.

A senior clinical faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Harold J. Bursztajn, M.D., is active in patient care in medical, psychiatric and judicial education nationally. He is qualified in both state and federal courts and is nationally recognized as a distinguished impartial, clinical, ethical and forensic expert to P/D attorneys and institutions. Individual and multispecialty team consultations available.

• Informed Consent & Malpractice
• Employment Litigation: ADA, Disability, Sexual Misconduct Discrimination, Worker's Compensation
• Emotional & Physical Damages: Conscious Pain & Suffering, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Neuropsychiatry & Pain Imaging
• Standards For Experts
• Product Liability: Medical Devices & Pharmaceuticals, Toxic Tort
• Criminal Justice & Public Safety: Diminished Capacity, Drug Addiction, Competency to Confess, Death Penalty Mitigation, Workplace Safety
• Family & Custody Issues
• Testamentary & Contractual Capacity
• Professional & Organizational Ethics: Patient Care, Managed Care, Privacy
• Psychoanalysis & Cultural Perspectives

Gloria Kardong, MD, DLFAPA, DABPN is a Board Certified Psychiatrist who has been in full time private practice in Palo Alto, CA for over 35 years, Licensed in 10 states. She is an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. 

Dr. Kardong offers Forensic Psychiatric litigation support services in civil and criminal cases to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense. Her services include General Psychiatric Issues, Women's OB/GYN Issues, and Trauma/PTSD. Dr. Kardong has served as a Psychiatric Consultant and Expert Witness for Stanford University Schools of Law and Medicine, the California Medical Board, and private attorneys nationwide.

Areas of Expertise: 

Forensic Psychiatry, General Psychiatry, women's health care, OB-GYN related psychiatric issues, eg postpartum depression, sexual abuse, sexual, physical and psychological trauma, PTSD, adoption. Personal injury. Medical malpractice. Discrimination. Psychological autopsy. Medical case review. Trial consultant.

Women's Health Care Specialist - Psychiatry / OB-GYN Interface:

Impaired Professionals:

• Physicians
• Mental Health Providers
• Attorneys
• Executives / Professionals
• Organizations

Consultation Services for Businesses and Organizations:

View Dr. Kardong's Consulting Profile.

Linnda Durre', Ph.D., Licensed Psychotherapist, (FL License #MH6058) is an expert witness, psychotherapist, family counselor, intern supervisor, international speaker, corporate trainer, author, business consultant, adjunct college professor, and a magazine, Internet, and newspaper columnist. Her four areas of court expertise are Family Law, Personal Injury Law, Employment Law, and Criminal Law. 

Litigation Support: With over 49 years of experience, she consults to attorneys and has been qualified as an expert witness in 12 states - NY, CA, FL, AL, CT, AR, AZ, TN, WA, IA, OH, GA - in the areas of Personal Injury, PTSD, Family and Couples Counseling, Divorce, Child Custody, Relocation, Drug and Alcohol Counseling, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Abuse by Psychotherapists, as well as Age, Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Her 400-page doctoral dissertation and research in the latter area was cited to pass legislation in several states. 

Dr. Durre' has hosted and produced four radio shows, two of which were call-in advice shows - "The Dr. Linnda Durre' Show" on WDBO in Orlando (a Cox station) and "Let's Talk with Dr. Linnda Durre' on an NPR station in New York, and two radio interview shows. Her last show was a daily hour-long podcast, entitled, "Linnda Durre' Interviews" Dr. Linnda Durre' has hosted and produced two call-in advice TV shows, including being selected in a national search of 200 applicants, to host, "Ask The Family Therapist," on America's Health Network (AHN), which was associated with Mayo Clinic and each show aired daily for two hours from Universal Studios Orlando. She was vetted by Mayo Clinic and America's Health Network.

She has appeared on Oprah, 60 Minutes, O'Reilly (twice), Today Show, Good Morning America, Canada AM, Daytime, Donahue (twice), Sally Jessy Raphael, People Are Talking, Home Show, Hour Magazine, Home and Family Show, Disney Channel, and the local and/or national news on NPR, PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, CW, and Fox.

Dr. Durre' has been interviewed, cited, and/or quoted by the NY Times, LA Times, Forbes, WSJ, IBD, Business Week, SF Chronicle & Examiner, Toronto Globe & Mail, Albany Times Union, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Orlando Business Journal, Orlando Sentinel, Parade Magazine, Alternative Medicine Magazine, CNN Online, Washington Parent Magazine, Screen Actor Magazine, Florida Magazine, Pasadena Star News, Orlando Magazine, Women's Health Magazine, and others.

View Linnda Durre's Consulting Profile.

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Evaluation & Treatment
• Forensic Testimony (Consultation, Evaluation Treatment Following Trauma or Injury)

Monica M. Argumedo, MD, is a Board-Certified Forensic and Clinical Psychiatrist (ABPN). Dr. Argumedo has testified about her forensic opinions in more than 40 cases in open court. In psychiatric practice for more than 15 years, Dr. Argumedo teaches at Rush University Medical School/Rush University Medical Center as Assistant Professor in Psychiatry. She teaches psychiatry residents in topics related to psychiatry and the law, and psychiatry in medicine. She also interviews prospective medical students through her role on the Medical Admissions Committee.

Dr. Argumedo works with Employers in cases where mental health/psychiatric concerns about an employee require an objective and unbiased Fitness for Duty Evaluation and report. She also consults in employment matters and litigation and serves as a disclosed expert witness. Her work addresses fitness for duty (FFD) in a litigated environment, Wrongful Termination, and Psychiatric Disability. Additional experience includes FFD of peace officers and first responders.

Services - Forensic Psychiatry, Medico-Legal evaluations, medical complications, review of records, written reports, deposition testimony, trial testimony, consultation to attorneys addressing psychiatric issues relevant in a case, opposing counsel expert reports or expert qualifications, assisting with cross-examination questions, and lines of inquiry.

Areas of Expertise: