Hypertension Expert Witnesses: 4

Gerald W. Smetana, MD, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, is a General Internist with over 33 years of experience in an academic primary care practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he teaches internal medicine to medical house staff and also extensively to practicing clinicians in continuing medical education settings. 

Practicing in an outpatient setting, Dr. Smetana cares for a panel of patients that is weighted towards those with multiple chronic illnesses and high disease complexity. In addition to all aspects of office based general internal medicine, his areas of interest include Preoperative Medical Evaluation, Hypertension, and Headache.

 Dr. Smetana has been repeatedly selected as a Best Doctor in a national survey and has received a national award for scholarship in medical education. He publishes in the peer reviewed medical literature and medical texts, has edited textbooks, and has helped to develop national guidelines on topics in internal medicine. He has been invited to deliver seminars and presentations on various topics within his area of expertise nationally and internationally.

 Litigation Support - Dr. Smetana reviews cases for both plaintiffs and defendants, and has testified at deposition and trial as an expert more than 45 times. He has reviewed several hundred medical malpractice cases over the past 10 years both for plaintiffs and doctors. Dr. Smetana also consults for risk management insurers. His primary care, record review, and medicolegal consultation services are available throughout the United States.

Michael Blumenkrantz, MD, FACP, FACN, CNSP, dFASN has over 40 years of experience specializing in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Dr. Blumenkrantz is an internationally recognized expert in Internal Medicine, Dialysis, Kidney Disease, Total Parenteral Nutrition, and Nutrition. Achieving the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine (in residence) at UCLA, he has been in private practice for the past 30 years. Dr. Blumenkrantz is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology.

Litigation Support - Dr. Blumenkrantz has been offering litigation support services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense for 15 years. Approximately 40% of his cases involve renal issues and the remainder are in the field of internal medicine. Dr. Blumenkrantz has been involved in 350 cases in the past 15 years and has been deposed approximately 120 times. He has testified at 30 trials and arbitrations.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Blumenkrantz's Consulting Profile.

Lloyd Marks, MD, MBA, FACC, is an MIT trained Electrical Engineer, Johns Hopkins trained Pediatric Cardiologist, and Inventor. Always active in both medicine and medical engineering, Dr. Marks has been granted 22 Medical Device Patents. He currently gives advice to academic institutions, investors, and corporations regarding the commercialization of medical technology.

Background Experience - Dr. Marks was in academic medicine for 15 years, as the Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and the Division Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at the Children's Hospital of New Jersey. He was then in private practice for 18 years. In 1997 he opened his clinical practice, specializing in Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease, where he provided clinical evaluation, electrocardiography, echocardiography, stress testing, Holter/event monitoring, diagnostic cardiac catheterization, and interventional cardiac catheterization.

After closing his clinical practice in 2015, Dr. Marks went to business school and obtained an MBA from the Haslam School of Business, University of Tennessee. While there, he wrote a business plan with financial projections for his startup company, MGI Medical, LLC, commercializing a non-invasive patient monitor for the detection of post-operative bleeding. Dr. Marks has successfully licensed 9 of his inventions to industry and assigned 8 to MGI.

Litigation Support - With his unique background in the field of medical device commercialization, Dr. Marks has been involved in protracted Patent Infringement litigation with a successful outcome. He is adept at explaining to a jury in lay terms complex medical technology and terminology, ranging from MRI readings to the difference between "clinical" and "statistical" significance. Dr. Marks' cases include all matters pertaining to:

• Pediatric Cardiology Medical Malpractice
• Medical Devices Standard of Care
• Intellectual Property Protection
• Invention Commercialization

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Lloyd Marks' Consulting Profile.

Joshua A. Schwimmer, MD, FACP, FASN, is a Columbia-trained, double board-certified, full-time practicing Nephrologist and Internist based in New York City. With over 20 years of clinical experience, Dr. Schwimmer is on the medical staff at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. An award-winning physician-teacher of medical students and doctors, Dr. Schwimmer trained at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Schwimmer has published more than 30 scientific papers, abstracts, and book chapters; his scientific publications are cited in the medical literature and in textbooks; and his research has been presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Schwimmer is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Nephrology.

Degrees / Certifications: Nephrology Fellowship, Columbia University Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Internal Medicine Residency, Strong Memorial Hospital. M.D., University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Board Certified in Nephrology. Board Certified in Internal Medicine. New York State Medical License.

Awards / Honors: Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. Clinical Fellowship Award, National Kidney Foundation of NY and NJ. Clinical Fellowship Award, Kidney and Urology Foundation of America. Medicine Fellow of the Year Award for House Staff Teaching, Columbia University Medical Center. Human Values in Health Care Award, University of Rochester Medical Center. Phi Beta Kappa, Wesleyan University.

Litigation Support - Dr. Schwimmer is a Nephrologist (kidney specialist) and internist (general medical doctor) available for expert witness consultations to both defense and plaintiff attorneys. His services include medical record review, causation determination, thorough reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. He has provided expert review and testimony in cases involving: