Healthcare (General) Expert Witnesses

Emin Gharibian, PsyD, is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology with over 10 years of experience in assessing, treating, and consulting on psychological disorders.

Dr. Gharibian's training and experience have been in psychological and neuropsychological assessments in a variety of clinical settings including private practice, outpatient mental health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, forensic hospitals, and correctional facilities. 

He specializes in providing comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for a variety of conditions including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, complications from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, concussions, learning disabilities, ADHD, and PTSD in clinical, civil, and criminal cases. 

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Gharibian is a staff psychologist and medical staff member at Patton State Hospital, a 1,500-bed maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital housing judicially committed patients under the following commitment types: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), Incompetent to Stand Trial, Mentally Disordered Offender, and Mentally Disordered Sex Offender.  

As a forensic psychologist at Patton State Hospital, Dr. Gharibian conducts competency evaluations with criminally committed patients with severe mental illness and cognitive deficits. He routinely conducts psychological evaluations to evaluate patients and determine if they are competent to stand trial, writes court reports, and testifies in court as an expert witness. 

Dr. Gharibian has been appointed to the Los Angeles Juvenile Court Expert Witness Panel. He is also a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the American Psychology and Law Society. 

Areas of Forensic Expertise:

Personal Injury Independent Medical Evaluations Worker's Compensation Fitness for Duty Police Officer Pre-Employment Evaluations Immigration Cases Diminished Capacity Violence Risk Assessments Mitigating Factors in Criminal Cases Civil Capacity (Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Contractual Capacity) Symptom Validity/ Malingering

Forensic Psychology Forensic Neuropsychology Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Concussions Neurocognitive Impairment from Substance Use Complications from stroke Dementia Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Learning Disabilities ADHD Sexual Harassment Discrimination

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.

Willeam A. Choby, DMD, MPA, MAGD, FICCMO, DICOI, has over 40 years of experience Dentistry and Oral Surgery. He is a Board Certified Implant Dentist that perfoms both the Surgery and the Restoration of Implant Teeth. A “Master” in the Academy of General Dentistry (MAGD), Dr. Choby has been recognized by other general dentists as a leader and an example to other dentists of the importance of quality continuing dental education to patient care. Masters have accepted the charge to keep abreast of advances in dentistry for the benefit of patients and the betterment of dentistry. Dr. Choby is also a Fellow in the International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics (FICCMO), earned a Masters of Public Administration (MPA), and is a Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (DICOI). He is recognized as One of America's Top Dentists by the Consumers Research Council of America. Litigation Support - Dr. Choby's expertise is frequently called upon for second opinions for quality assurance companies, peer review panels, workmen's compensation disputes, automobile accident claims, dental insurance companies, physicians, attorneys, and other dentists. He has offered his expert opinion in more than 100 dental malpractice cases, inspected over 1,100 dental offices for insurance companies, and performed over 1,000 second opinion case reviews, IMEs and peer reviews. His cases have included issues concerning:

Dental Implant Surgery Dental Implant Restorations Neuromuscular Occlusion Crowns Bridges / Dentures

Root Canals Hard and Soft Tissue Lasers Extractions Cosmetic Dentistry Oral Cancer Treatment

View Dr. Choby's Consulting Profile.

Manonmani Antony, MD, DABA, DABIPP, is triple board-certified in Anesthesiology (ABA), Pain Medicine (ABA), and Interventional Pain Medicine (ABIPP).

Dr. Antony completed medical school at University of Peradeniya and later finished her residency at Texas Tech University, where she was awarded the Outstanding Resident Award. Dr. Antony was trained to perform advanced pain procedures utilizing cutting-edge technology during her Pain Management Fellowship at the University of Maryland. She currently lectures on Opioid Risk Management for the Medical Society of Delaware and the Delaware State Medical Board.

Dr. Antony's personal philosophy as a physician motivates her to explore every treatment option possible in order to avoid invasive surgeries and Opioid drug abuse in chronic pain patients. With great success, she uses Interventional Spinal / Joint Procedures along with Physical Therapy as alternative pain-management therapies to supplement patients' pharmacological regimens.

Litigation Support - Dr. Antony provides expert witness services for cases involving Interventional Pain Management and Opioid Risk Management. She has performed numerous Independent Medical Reviews (IMEs) and has testified in court approximately 25 times. Dr. Antony's services are available to counsel representing plaintiff and defendant and include Workers Compensation Review, Auto injury Review, Depositions, Narrative Reports, and Peer Reviews.

Areas of Expertise:

Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection Cervical Facet Joint Injection Cervical Medial Branch Block Cervical Medial Branch Neurotomy Diagnostic Ultrasound Fluoroscopic-Guided Hip Injection Fluroscopically-Guided Spinal Injection Ganglion Impar Block Implantable Peripheral Neurostimulator Intercostal Nerve Block Lumbar Discography Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection Lumbar Facet Joint Injection Lumbar Selective Nerve Root Block

Lumbar Sympathetic Block Lumbar Transforaminal Injection Myofascial Trigger Point Injection Neuromodulation Neurostimulation Peripheral Nerve Block Piriformis Injection Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection (PRP) Sacroiliac Joint Injection Spinal Cord Stimulation Stellate Ganglion Block Thoracic Epidural Steroid Injection Thoracic Facet Joint Injection Total Disc Replacement

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

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.

Cyndy Minnery has been an expert witness for elder abuse cases within Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) since 2012. Her reputation for providing exceptional care as an RCFE owner/administrator is well known within San Diego county, caring for residents with the highest level of compassion. Ms. Minnery provides medical record review and other services to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

Residential Care for Elderly Assisted Living Nursing Homes Title 22 Regulatory Compliance Standards of Care

Elder Abuse Bedsores Wound Care Falls Medication Management

View Cyndy Minnery's Consulting Profile.

Georgia J. Persky RN, MBA, PhD, CLNC, CNOR is a Columbia University trained nurse researcher with over 40 years of broad Clinical Nursing experience and 25 years of senior leadership in Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Home Health organizations. She also has 20 years of Surgical Nursing and Operating Room experience. Dr. Persky has expertise in the micro issues in nursing for adult patient care and the broad management, quality, and regulatory issues in hospitals. 

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

Litigation 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. She has testifying experience in malpractice and personal injury cases, as well as, with human resource and employee discrimination with an ability to attest to standards of care in clinical litigation. Dr. Persky's services are available to attorneys for the plaintiff and defense seeking an expert in nursing and patient care with a strong understanding of how heath care organizations work.

Areas of Expertise:

Nursing/Hospital Standards of Care Nursing Home and Skilled Nursing Surgical and Perioperative Nursing Quality and Risk Management Fall and Pressure Ulcer Prevention

Hospital Policy and Procedure Medication Safety Medical Device Safety Hospital Administration State, Federal, Joint Commission Regulatory Compliance

View Dr. Persky's Consulting Profile.

Justina E. Ogbuokiri, BSc, RPh, PharmD, FASCP, is currently an associate professor of Clinical Pharmacy at Xavier College of Pharmacy and the Consultant Clinical Pharmacist at the HIV Outpatient Clinic of the Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans. She has over 30 years of experience in her field of expertise.

Dr. Ogbuokiri serves as a researcher and consultant to the World Health Organization Tropical Diseases Research Programme in Onchocerciasis, a clinical pharmacy specialist and consultant to the HIV Outpatient Program, and Co-principal investigator to the National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center. She also offers technical support and consultant to the HIV / AIDS pharmaceutical industry and Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) in the area of HIV / AIDS, mental disorders, and other co-morbidities.

Dr. Ogbuokiri has provided medication management services in HIV / AIDS to the HIV Outpatient Program (HOP) in New Orleans, with a patient load of 3,000-plus registered patients, the largest HIV ambulatory care clinic in the Southeastern Region of the United States. She has served as a reviewer to the Annals of Pharmacotherapy for over 2o years and technical consultant to the HIV / AIDS Bureau of the HRSA.

Litigation Support - Dr. Ogbuokiri offers technical defense and support for litigation and serves as an expert witness in major trials when necessary. She served as the expert witness for the Dow Breast Implant Case of 1997 where she offered technical advice on the role of the medications that the patient (clients) who had received the implants were prescribed. Her services are available to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

Pharmacy / Medication Outcome Medication Personal Injury Medical Malpractice

Drugs in Pregnancy Drug Interactions HIV / AIDS Drugs

View Dr. Ogbuokiri's Consulting Profile.

Milliman’s Tampa Office provides Health Insurance, Health Care and Employee Benefit Consulting to law firms, insurance companies, hospitals, HMO’s, Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, employers and government agencies. Our staff is experienced with medical, dental, long-term care, Medicare supplement & critical illness.

We assist clients nationwide with forensic actuarial work, rate filings, regulatory compliance, reserve projections, valuations, employee benefit analysis and design, mergers and acquisitions, demutualizations, claim cost analysis, and utilization management programs.

These health care services are used in litigation relating to:

• Pricing & Underwriting
• Senior Services
• Contract Development and Negotiations
• New Plan Design

mdi Consultants, Inc - Experts in FDA regulatory affairs, quality assurance and ISO 9000 certification. With 6 years in the FDA and 26 years consulting to the industry, mdi Consultants, Inc. has been an invited Speaker worldwide on FDA regulations and policies and has obtained FDA expert status as third party auditors.

OUR APPROACH

We utilize the following three part approach to providing high quality services to our clients:

Unsurpassed consultant experience – we identify and recruit only top quality consultants with deep industry knowledge to provide the most complete and insightful advice to our clients

Up-to-date systems and processes – we have highly defined systems (e.g. manuals, training programs, technical files) and processes (e.g. audit methodologies, 510(k) submission, validations) that are constantly refined and kept current across the ever changing regulatory environment

Involvement in regulation development – we stay ahead of policies by participating in the development of regulation (e.g. HACCP, Scientific Advisor to U.S. Congressmen)

Mary Wickens, JD, CFE, CHC has over 35 years experience in the Healthcare Insurance, Managed Care, and Compliance Industry. Her experience includes advising and counseling health care providers, insurers, government contractors, and others in compliance, ethics, fraud and abuse, Medicare, Medicaid and Federal Employees Plan, managed care, and other matters. Background Experience - Ms. Wickens is a former compliance officer for a major health insurer and former legal and compliance specialist for a CMS Medicare Program Safeguard Contractor. Also a former operations director for government programs (Medicare Part C, Medi-gap, and FEHBP) for a major HMO, she is experienced with government audits and investigations, commercial audits, as well as self-reporting and internal investigations. Ms. Wickens has decades of experience as in house counsel to HMOs and health insurers. She has drafted, developed, negotiated, and implemented numerous healthcare provider-payor contracts, and developed and implemented codes of conduct, ethics programs, compliance programs and numerous corrective action plans. Litigation Support - Mary Wickens provides litigation support, including skilled expert services, reports and testimony in federal False Claims Act cases, arbitrations, and provider-payer disputes. She is an experienced testifying expert, responsive to the needs of counsel, with excellent report writing skills. Ms. Wickens' services are available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. Areas of Expertise:

Medicare False Claims Act (FCA) Health Insurance HMO Medicare Advantage Provider / Payor Disputes Claims Audits and Appeals Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP)

Medicare Part D Government Audits DME Home Health Care Hospice Managed Care Contracting Anti-Kickback Compliance Self-disclosures

View Mary Wickens' Consulting 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

Kathryn J. Wild RN, MPA, CCHP has worked in the Correctional Healthcare field for over 28 years. She has many years of experience in Clinical Nursing, supervision, management and strategic planning. Ms. Wild provides consultative reviews for detention facilities regarding the health programs they operate as well as review of medical records and expert witness work in the correctional health care field.

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 been retained as an expert over 100 times. Her services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Services Include:

• 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
• NCCHC and ACA Accreditation Preparation
• Policy and Procedure Development

View Kathryn Wild's Consulting Profile.

Jacqueline N. Bloink, MBA, RHIA, CHC, CFE, CPC, CPC-I, CPCO, CMRS has over 20 years of experience in the field of Healthcare Compliance and Medical Coding / Reimbursement.  Educational degrees, certifications and awards in healthcare management, coding, billing, reimbursement, compliance, education, and fraud prevention and identification. 

Background - Ms. Bloink served as the Director of Compliance for the largest provider group in Arizona. For several years she worked as a Medical Coding Manager, Reimbursement Manager, and Compliance Liaison for a University Physician Group - Department of Medicine, and as Corporate Responsibility Auditor for a large 3 Hospital network. Ms. Bloink is a Professor and Instructor in the area of Medical Coding, Billing, Health Information Management, and Healthcare Fraud. She also serves as a remote Compliance Officer for a Telehealth organization and works with healthcare providers of multispeciality departments assisting them to better understand medical coding and billing guidelines.  She is a national, state and local speaker (author) for such groups as ACFE, HCCA, AAPC, American College of Physicians, CLM, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, CA AHIMA, and others. As a co-designer and presenter with CMS (MLN) and OIG in 2014 webinar - ACA Provider Compliance Program - she assisted in reaching thousands of healthcare providers learn more about healthcare compliance.  In 2015, she was honored to be the recipient of the Arizona ACFE Sentinel Award “Truth Over Self” that acknowledged her assistance to the Office of Inspector General / Department of Justice with the largest Healthcare Fraud Case (FCA) in Arizona history. 

Litigation Support - Jacqueline N. Bloink is a knowledgeable expert witness with Healthcare Fraud litigation support history and proven experience with evaluating case allegations and calculating Usual, Reasonable and Customary charges. She offers services to expert witness firms, attorneys, health plans, providers, forensic consulting firms, governments, and IROs. 

Areas of Expertise:

Healthcare Compliance Healthcare Management Medical Coding Medical Billing Medical Reimbursement

Medical Fraud Prevention and Identification False Claims Act Reverse False Claims Regulatory Health Information Admin. (RHIA) Medical Documentation Usual, Reasonable and Customary (UCR) calculations

View Jacqueline N. Bloink's Consulting Profile.

Expert Witness: Retained in Washington, D.C., and over 25 states as an expert in hospital administration who could render opinion after assessing medical records, hospital policies and procedures, medical staff bylaws and regulations, JCAHO standards, depositions, etc. Served as Expert Witness for Plaintiff and Defense. 

Consultant: Has assisted hospitals and health systems with accelerating their performance improvement efforts. Speaks, writes and consults on ethical issues in health care. 

Background Highlights:

• Consultant, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the health system.
• Executive Director of two academic medical centers: Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, Stanford University Hospital and Clinics at Stanford.
• Past chairman of the national advisory board for the University of Chicago’s Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.
• An author of over 175 publications, he has written articles for USA Today, Health Management Quarterly, Trustee, Health Progress, the Journal of Health Administration Education, Frontiers of Health Services Management, Bioethics Forum, Modern Healthcare, the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Stanford Medicine, and Healthcare Executive among others.
• Co-editor of Management Mistakes in Healthcare: Identification, Correction, and Prevention, published by Cambridge University Press in 2005.
• Co-editor of Managing Ethically: An Executive's Guide, published by Health Administration Press in 2001, and a second edition, Managing Healthcare Ethically: An Executive's Guide was published in 2010.
• Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a past member of its Leadership Advisory Committee, and a consultant on health care management ethics since 1994.
• Served as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Center for Biomedical Ethics.
• Recipient of American Hospital Association's Award of Honor in 2009 and an Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award in 2012.
• Faculty appointments held at Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, Emory, the University of California, and Seton Hall University.
• Bachelor of Science, Master of Public Health, and Doctor of Public Health degrees are from the University of California, Berkeley.