Clinical Psychiatry Expert Witnesses: 23

Suzanne Dupée, MD, is a triple board certified Adult, Child, and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist specializing in Independent Medical Examinations (IME), Child Custody Evaluations, Fitness for Duty Evaluations, and expert witness for the California Medical, Veterinary, and Dental Boards.

Litigation Support - Dr. Dupée has an active forensic psychiatric practice specializing in family law, criminal law, dependency law, civil litigation and disability.  She has been designated as an expert in Federal Court, Family Court, Criminal Court, Dependency Court, Juvenile Delinquency and Civil Court in California, Arizona, and New York states.  She is an expert for several Los Angeles Superior Court panels:  Criminal, Child Custody Evaluator, Dependency Court and Juvenile Delinquency.  

Dr. Dupée has testified over 150 times in various courtrooms and has been deposed over 80 times.  She has worked on high profile cases and death penalty cases. She specializes in forensic evaluations of families in crisis and has completed 100s of Child Custody Evaluations and all forms of psychiatric evaluations for families in crisis.

Dr. Dupee has been retained in 100s of legal cases in civil, family law, criminal, disability and dependency cases. She has completed over 1,000 evaluations in various courts and for insurance companies and government boards. She has been retained by plaintiffs and defense counsel in civil cases.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Dupée's Consulting Profile.

Stephen M. Raffle, M.D. is double Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Dr. Raffle has over 49 years as a clinical and forensic psychiatrist offering his expert opinion in Federal and State jurisdictions nationwide. In addition to serving as an expert witness, Dr. Raffle consults to attorneys, judges, insurers, and to employers regarding Fitness for Duty and Risk of Violence (Threat) Assessment:

• 5000+ psychiatric assessments
• Expert testimony in 700 depositions and trials
• Successful clinical practice

The job of an expert witness is to educate a jury, judge, attorney, and trier of fact about the forensic psychiatrist's conclusions and how those opinions were derived in a manner well-reasoned, skillful, and easily understood by every person, not only another forensic psychiatrist. In short, an educator. Dr. Raffle’s experience as an educator extends well beyond a forensic venue, yet underpins the key to his ability to explain his opinions.

• Prof. of Psychiatry, UCSF Medical School, 20 years
• U.C. Hastings College of the Law postgraduate course "Trial and Appellate Advocacy" instructing seasoned attorneys about the direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses, with special focus on mental health experts and licensed medical professionals, Psychiatrists (MDs), Psychologists (LCSWs / MFTs), and physicians in other medical specialties, 11 years

Stephen M. Raffle, M.D. & Associates' expertise is well-established in forensic assessment in the areas of:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Dementia and Competency
• Testamentary Capacity
• Undue Influence
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Malingering
• Emotional Distress: Intentional & Unintentional infliction
• Emotional Distress: Forensic Evaluation to render medical-legal opinion
• Diagnosis and Need for Treatment
• Fitness For Duty
• Risk/Threat Workplace Violence Assessment
• Wrongful Termination
• Discrimination (ADA, Title VII, EEOC)
• Harassment
• Employment Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Catastrophic Injury
• Temporary and Permanent Disability
• Medical Records Review
• Assist in Preparation for Direct and Cross-examination of Expert Witnesses and Deposition of expert witnesses

Licensed in California.

Elliott M. Stein, MD is a Geriatric Psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience caring for the elderly. Dr. Stein is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry (October, 1979), and in Geriatric Psychiatry (April, 1991; Re-Certified, December, 2001, and in April, 2011). He is licensed to practice in California and Florida. Dr. Stein was the Director of Psychiatry at the Jewish Home of San Francisco from 2010-2020, and the Medical Director of their Geriatric Psychiatry Hospital. He has treated older individuals, typically people who have complex combination of psychiatric and medical problems. Dr. Stein has been a Member of the Task Force on Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence, for the International PsychoGeriatric Association.

Dr. Stein is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.

He is available to serve as an Expert Witness, do legal and forensic consultation, record review, and assessments concerning Psychiatric issues in older individuals. Dr. Stein offers his services to attorneys for both Plaintiff or Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

• Contested Wills and Trusts
• Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Insane Delusions
• Geriatric Competence
• Dementia and Delirium, Alzheimer’s Disease
• Geriatric Psychiatry Evaluation and Treatment, Psychiatric Medication, Psychotherapeutic Issues
• Depression and Anxiety Disorders
• Relationship Problems between the Elderly and their Adult Children
• Aging and Mental Disorders
• Geriatric Psychiatry issues concerning Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Independent and Assisted Living Facilities
• Medicare Psychiatric Services Coding and Documentation

View Dr. Stein's Consulting Profile.

Mohan Nair, MD, trained at the University of California (Irvine) and Harvard and is board certified in:

Dr. Nair brings his extensive training, clinical experience, and formal board certifications to provide in-depth and nuanced medico-legal analysis of cases for both adults and children involving brain injury, frequently and tragically combined with chronic pain and severe psychological trauma (PTSD). He is committed to comprehensive and accurate forensic examinations, quality neuropsychological assessment, and the use of the most up-to-date technology available in the field.

Dr. Nair has provided extensive trial testimony in defense and plaintiffs' cases. He provides and coordinates medical, psychological, neuropsychological, toxicological, and imaging experts for complex civil litigation. Dr. Nair has been on cases involving:

• TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: TBI, Mild TBI, CTE, Concussions, Chronic Pain
• SCHOOL DISTRICT CASES: Discrimination, Personal Injury, Willful Misconduct, Sexual Misconduct, and other abuse
• ADULT-ADOLESCENT-CHILD PSYCHIATRY: Neurocognitive Assessment, Neuropsychological Testing, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Malingering, Police Violence, Psychosomatic Disorders, Trauma Evaluations, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
• ELDER MATTERS: Abuse, Dementia, Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence
• MEDICAL TOXICOLOGY: Lead Exposure, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Mold
• STANDARD OF CARE: Psychiatric/Psychological / Psychotherapeutic Malpractice, Wrongful Death from Prescribing Psychiatric Medication

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

• 1970-75 Doctor of Medicine, University of Bombay
• 1981-83 Clinical Fellow in Child Psychiatry, Harvard University; McLean Hospital / Massachusetts General Hospital
• 1978-81 University of California at Irvine: Residency in Psychiatry

CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES:

Dr. Nair is board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in Brain Injury Medicine, Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine. Additionally, he is board-certified in Pain Medicine, Psychopharmacology, and Behavioral Neurology / Neuropsychiatry. He currently holds medical licenses in California and Hawaii.

Richard M. Sobel, MD, DFAPA, has over 30 years of experience practicing Adult Psychiatry and Pain Management / Medicine. His specialty focus is in Pain Medicine, for which he has sub-specialty board certification, Psychotherapy, and Psychopharmacology. Dr. Sobel is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical School. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Sobel is also immediate Past President of the Greater Philadelphia Pain Society, one of six regional chapters of the American Pain Society. He is a Representative of the Pennsylvania Psychiatry Society to the Safe and Effective Prescribing Practices and Pain Management Work Group of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. In 2014, Dr. Sobel was the recipient of the Dean's Award for Excellence in Education at Jefferson Medical College and, in 2013, was nominated Practitioner of the Year by the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society. Litigation Support - Dr. Sobel offers expert witness services to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. Dr. Sobel's services include Independent Medical Exams (IMEs), medical record review, utilization review, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Sobel's Consulting Profile.

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 has provided patient care in the Houston area. Currently, he treats patients at TIRR Memorial Hermann. His forensic practice focuses on the psychiatric impact of personal injury, medical malpractice, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, competency, violence, and complicating mental illness, as well as psychiatric disability. Dr. Adhia is among one of the few Forensic Psychiatrists who is also co-Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine. Often, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be a major factor in litigation as it can result in psychiatric or neurocognitive impairments. He has expertise in psychopharmacology, the medicine of medication. 

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 was formerly treating patients at a Maximum Security Prison and prison psychiatric hospital. He has treated Opioid Use Disorders. 

Dr. Adhia’s findings consider complicating factors, such as emotional distress worsened by other active physical and mental conditions. Other factors are pre-existing mental and physical illness, competency, and capacity (e.g. dementia, Intellectual Disability.) As a physician, Dr. Adhia is uniquely qualified to review medical records and doctor reports. Institutional medicine, medical malpractice, and standard of care apply to both public and private facilities, including government, regulated correctional institutions, and psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Adhia is skilled in these med-legal issues. He conducts Independent Medical Examinations, review of records, and reports his med-legal findings and opinions. He is available to testify in civil, criminal, probate, Federal, Immigration, military, and administrative jurisdictions.

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra is Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She has expertise in psychiatric issues in civil litigation, employment matters, and criminal cases. She also has additional and extensive experience with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and severe psychotic disorders both as a treating physician and forensic consultant. Psychiatric conditions can impact judgment, clarity of thought, and even criminal responsibility. In the case of psychotic disorders, symptoms may include hallucinations and delusions. She opines about medication or drug impact on behavior.

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra has conducted over 20 competency assessments: competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations. She is a certified forensic evaluator in Oregon.

Her work is divided between clinical and forensic/expert witness work. Dr. Quimson-Guevarra conducts medical and legal records review as a Forensic Psychiatrist, and medico-legal Independent Medical Evaluations by video and face-to-face, as appropriate. Her assessments are thorough and inform thoughtful and objective expert opinions issued by written report and testimony

Clinically, Dr. Quimson-Guevarra provides psychiatric patient care for a community mental health organization and in private practice.

At Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Dr. Quimson-Guevarra works on an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, a method to deliver an intensive level of services to patients in the local community. Her patients consist of individuals who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. Her expertise in treatment of Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia is applied to patients with these medical conditions. She also treats patients that have a history that includes forensic medical-legal issues.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra has a private practice, Quimson Behavioral Health, providing clinical care, medication management, and psychotherapy, for patients who suffer from mental disorders such as Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, and PTSD.

Previously, she has treated patients who suffered from anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders at Cedar Hills Hospital, Multnomah County Detention Center, Washington County Jail, Snake River Correctional Institute, and the Portland Veteran's Administration.

She continues to use her expertise in psychopharmacology to treat mental health conditions in the context of medically complex cases.

She has served as a forensic consultant for the Washington County mental health court in Oregon. She also has worked in the forensic evaluation service department at the Oregon State Hospital where she performed competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations to patients at the Oregon State Hospital or defendants located in various jails.

Leonard J. Weiss, MD, is a Forensic Psychiatrist with unparalleled qualifications, Board-Certified physician in six distinct and complementary disciplines applied to Medical-Legal questions:

Dr. Weiss has more than 40 years of experience as a physician. He has been in practice for more than 20 years as a Board-Certified Psychiatrist, Forensic Psychiatrist and Addiction Psychiatry specialist, preceded by more than 2 decades in Internal Medicine.

As an Addiction Psychiatry specialist, Dr. Weiss developed and served as Chief of the first Dual Diagnosis (Addiction) program at Michael Reese Hospital of the University of Chicago. He has served as Medical Director of Austin Lakes Hospital and taught residents at several renowned universities. 

Before pursuing his interest in psychiatry, Dr. Weiss practiced Internal Medicine in Michigan where he maintains a Medical License. He has treated patients in psychiatric practice in Chicago and Atlanta. In 2013 he relocated to Austin, Texas where he has a private clinical psychiatric practice, Psychiatry Austin.

Dr. Weiss graduated from Wayne State University Medical School and MIT (Mathematics), with residency training in Internal Medicine, Fellowship in Clinical Nutrition, and Psychiatry at, respectively, the University of Michigan Henry Ford Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (Fellow) and Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago.

Litigation Support: Dr. Weiss has special training and experience in the application of psychiatric knowledge to legal issues, and works in areas where Mental Health and the Legal System overlap, such as Medical Malpractice and Standard of Care. He offers objective evaluations and psychiatric consultation in a wide variety of legal matters, including expert testimony, as well as clinical work with perpetrators and victims.

Dr. Weiss provides IMEs and expert opinions on mental health questions via written report, deposition, or courtroom testimony. He works with attorneys, courts, and other parties involved in actual or potential litigation. His research and assessment and his clinical practice cover areas such as:

Areas of Expertise:

Mustafa A. Mufti, MD, is a board certified general Adult Psychiatrist and Forensic Psychiatrist.  Presently, he serves as the Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Chrisitiana Care.  Prior to this he served as the Clinical Director of Forensic Services at Delaware Psychiatric Center.   During his time as the Clinical Director of Forensic Services, he oversaw Delaware’s only maximum-security forensic psychiatric service center. 

After graduating from medical school, Dr. Mufti worked as a clinical researcher at Emory University School of Medicine. As a researcher he worked on studies related to post traumatic stress disorder, depression and cardiovascular disease, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. 

Dr. Mufti completed his residency training at the Delaware Psychiatric Center and went on to complete a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been published in numerous reputable journals and he has presented at conferences nationally and internationally. In addition to his clinical and administrative responsibilities, Dr. Mufti is actively involved in the teaching of medical students, future psychiatrists, and forensic fellows in training.

Litigation Support - Dr. Mufti provides expert witness services for attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

• Competency to Stand Trial
• Mental State at the Time of the Offense
• Mental State for Death Penalty
• Disability
• Malpractice
• Testamentary Capacity
• Terrorism / Radicalization

View Dr. Mustafa A. Mufti's Consulting Profile.

Specialties & Experience

General Specialties: Psychiatry, Telepsychiatry, TeleHealth, Correctional Healthcare

Specialty Focus: Prisons & Jails, Wrongful Death, Suicide, Deliberate Indifference, Medical Malpractice, Gross Negligence, Addiction, Nursing Homes, Geriatric Psychiatry, Violence,  Telepsychiatry, Overdose, Involuntary Hospitalization

Education: MD, Northwestern University; Residency, Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati; Fellowship, Child/Adolescent, University of Cincinnati

Years in Practice: 30+

Additional Information:

• Board Certified actively practicing psychiatrist.  Northwestern Educated 
• Vast experience in disability and file review.
• Special interest in Telepsychiatry.  
• 30+ years of diverse clinical experience including telepsychiatry, locum tenens, private practice (treated over 20,000 outpatients and admitted over 10,000 patients to hospitals), correctional healthcare (Folsom and Pelican Bay State Prisons) and nursing homes.  
• Served as a psychiatric consultant to over 40 nursing homes.
• Experienced expert witness case reviewer.
• Experienced Independent Medical Examiner.
• President and Founder - MasteringTeleHealth.com (online training for clinicians and therapists)
• Licensed in California & Illinois  

UCLA-trained double-boarded psychiatrist (adult and child & adolescent psychiatry) in active clinical practice. Experienced in academic psychiatry, community mental health, inpatient psychiatry, residential treatment, incarcerated juvenile treatment, and private practice outpatient care. Lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and Central America--proficient in Japanese, Spanish, and French. One year of public school teaching experience. Undergraduate education in classical music, history, and literature. Experienced in medical-legal consultation for medical record review and deposition preparation, as well as expert witness testimony for child and adult emotional injury cases, representing both plaintiff and defense. Private practice in Los Angeles specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry since 2013. Candidate in adult psychoanalysis since 2012 at the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC). Taught seminars at both the PCC and the Maple Counseling Center, focusing on the integration of medication treatment and psychotherapy.

EMPLOYMENT

2013-Present Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry Private Practice

2012-2014 Staff Psychiatrist LA County DMH

2010-2012 Staff Psychiatrist Pacific Hospital

2010 Staff Psychiatrist St. Elizabeth Hospital

EDUCATION

2012 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Harbor-UCLA

2010 Adult Psychiatry Residency University of Cincinnati

2007 MD Medical College of Wisconsin

1995 BA University of California Berkeley, First Honors

Board certified in Adult Psychiatry

Board certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Qualified Medical Examiner (QME) for State of California DWC

• Criminal Court Evaluations - Competence to Stand Trial, Assessment of Criminal Responsibility, NGRI Assessments
• Civil Court Evaluations - Personal Injury with Psychiatric symptoms, Brain Injury with Psychiatric symptoms, Malpractice related questions
• Family Court Evaluations - Involuntary Commitment, Guardianship, Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Contractual Capacity, Fitness to Parent, Child Custody
• Third Party Forensic Evaluations - Fitness for Duty, Return to Work, Disability, ADA Accommodations, Medical Necessity, Independent Psychiatric Evaluations

Prudence L. Gourguechon, MD, is a clinical Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst with over 35 years of in-depth experience diagnosing and treating patients with Trauma, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. She is a nationally known leader and educator in the field and is frequently sought out by the media as an expert commentator on human behavior. 

Dr. Gourguechon is Yale and Michigan-educated and Northwestern-trained. She is Past President of the American Psychoanalytic Association, former Northwestern Faculty, and former Dean of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Gourguechon has clinical expertise in trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, moral injury and other types of emotional injury, and psychological damage due to trauma, discrimination, accidents, abuse (including the effect of childhood abuse in adulthood) and harassment.

Litigation Support - Dr. Gourguechon has over 10 years of experience as an expert witness and independent medical examiner, and has worked with both plaintiff and defense attorneys. As an expert in the Psychology of Leadership and Decision Making , she is interested in the conditions leading to and the consequences of executive malfeasance, or “Leadership Malpractice,” and its effects on victims and survivors, a particular kind of emotional damage known in psychiatry as “moral injury.” 

Leadership malpractice is one way of describing the neglect by institutional bystanders who fail to act and protect when informed of abuse by their employees. The ideal client for her expertise is an individual who was subject to sexual abuse by a doctor or coach within the context of an institution that failed in its duty to protect, or covered up the abuse.

Areas of Specialization:

View Dr. Gourguechon's Consulting Profile.

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

Expertise: Specializing in applications of clinical psychiatry to legal issues in civil and criminal matters at the interface of Psychiatry and the Law. Has served as an evaluator or expert witness in about three hundred cases in State and Federal courts in matters relating to:

Professional Background: Certified by ABPN in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychiatry and Law Program at MCP Hahanemann University. Director of Psychiatry & Law Program and Director of Correctional Mental Health Services Program/Provider of Mental Health Services for the City of Philadelphia Prison System. Formerly Director of Psychiatry & Law Program at the Medical College of Virginia. M.D. Degree -University of Massachusetts. Psychiatry Residency & Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship -Tulane University Medical Center.