IME / DME Observations / Examinations Expert Witnesses: 49

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:

Matthew E. Karlovsky, MD, FACS is double board certified in Urology as well as in Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, by the American Board of Urology, a distinction held by a select few of all urologists in the United States. He is fellowship trained in Neurourology & Prosthetics (Female Urology) and has been in private practice in Phoenix, AZ since 2005.

Dr. Karlovsky's expertise is in Injury to Male or Female Genitalia or Urinary Tract whether from surgery, a motor vehicle accident, device implantation, or other occurrence which may result in significant morbidity and possible long term difficulty with urination or sexual function. Traumatic injury to nerves that affect urinary and sexual function, assessment of mechanism of injury, and assessment of function and form of the genitourinary tract are critical to establishing causation, damages, and any potential lifelong debility.

Litigation Support - Dr. Karlovsky has reviewed medical malpractice for plaintiff, defense, and national insurance carriers (GEICO, MetLife). He provides timely review of records, reports, case research, testimony at deposition or trial, and IMEs. A thorough case review involves, but is not limited to, assessing the diagnosis and surgical indication, surgeon training, implant or surgery selection, patient risk factors, unforeseen issues, expectations, definitions of a successful surgery, post operative care and complication management, accident reports, radiology images if available, medical and billing records, Interrogatories, depositions and reports. He opines on cases involving:

Dr. Karlovsky has reviewed cases for attorneys and clients in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut.

Seminars & Speaking Engagements - Urology & Mesh Medical Consulting PLLC and Dr. Karlovsky provide seminars on assisting with malpractice and litigation avoidance. Education and better understanding of perioperative and surgical planning benefits patients and physicians. Their standard seminar reviews common Negligence and Standard of Care concepts, Informed Consent, Informed Refusal, Disclosures, and Documentation Pitfalls. This seminar may benefit: residency training programs; private physician groups; physician societies; insurance malpractice carriers who may wish to lower risk or potential claims among their insured physicians.

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:

View Dr. Choby's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Ernst specializes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Competency/Capacity evaluations, Mitigation evaluations, and Employment Evaluations. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and one of fewer than 35 psychologists in California who have undergone the rigorous examination process necessary to obtain Board Certification in Forensic Psychology. As a trauma expert, Dr. Ernst chose to complete an additional year of fellowship training in PTSD at the San Francisco Veterans Hospital.  Having completed over 350 forensic evaluations, Dr. Ernst is frequently retained to conduct a diverse range of civil and criminal evaluations including, but not limited to, mitigation evaluations (juvenile & adult), competency/capacity evaluations, personal injury evaluations, mental state at the time of the offense evaluations, violence risk assessment, and employment evaluations. He is currently a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the California Department of Industrial Relations and serves as a member of the Criminal Panel for Psychological and Psychiatric Experts for multiple Superior Courts. Dr. Ernst's past professional experiences including providing treatment and expert testimony as a member of the medical staff of Napa State Hospital and completing VA forensic evaluations on veteran's alleging psychiatric injury from military trauma. Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Ernst'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.

Dr. Richard K. Skala, DC, QME, has been a Doctor of Chiropractic since 1976, providing chiropractic manipulation and spinal manipulation, as well as related physiotherapy. Certified in Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), he has been granted Hospital / Surgery Center privileges for MUA and has performed hundreds of MUA cases. He was one of the first chiropractors in California to train for and provide Extracorporeal Shockwave Treatments (EWST). He has post graduate certification in the performance and interpretation of neuro-electrodiagnostics. Consultation and Expert Witness Services for Attorneys regarding

• Personal Injury
• Industrial Medical-Legal Cases
• Standard of Care involving General Chiropractic, Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression, and Extracorporeal Shockwave (EWST)
• Chiropractic Licensure Compliance California
• Workers Compensation

One of the foremost experts in Workers’ Compensation in California, he has taught many doctors on the subject and testified at numerous WCAB trials and hearings. He has been declared an expert witness by the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. He has been a Qualified Medical Evaluator since 1992, an Independent Disability Evaluator since 1992, a certified AMA Impairment rater since 2003, a Fellow of the Academy of Chiropractic Forensic Consultants (AFICC) since 2003, and a consultant to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners since 2008.

Dr. Skala is a noted author in his field of expertise. He has written numerous published newsletter articles on Chiropractic and other topics related to that field.

Robert M. Stark, MD, has 40 years of experience practicing Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Preventive Medicine. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he is in full-time practice in cardiology and internal medicine. Dr. Stark is past-president of the Connecticut Society of Internal Medicine. He serves as Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College. and Director of his hospital’s Cardiovascular Prevention Program.  Dr. Stark teaches residents and medical students as Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine. He also speaks frequently on cardiovascular topics for lay and professional groups as well as the media. Education: B.S.  University of Michigan  (Phi Beta Kappa) M.D.  Harvard Medical School  (Honors) Medical Residency  U. of Pennsylvania Hospital Cardiology Fellowship  National Institutes of Health  (N.I.H.)

Litigation Support: Dr. Stark has 20 years of litigation experience in state and federal jurisdictions. He has served as a senior member of his state’s Medical Malpractice Claims Review Panel, where he helped determine the defensibility of cases on behalf of malpractice insurers and individual law firms. He also had responsibility for advising on defensibility of cases for Aetna Life & Casualty and CNA Insurance, as well as for individual law firms.

Dr. has given deposition and trial testimony in over 125 cases. He specializes in reviewing and explaining medical treatments and potential complications of cardiac conditions, and in evaluating medical treatments for standard of care. Dr. Stark provides summaries and reports that are cogent and complete. He firmly believes that the ability to communicate effectively is as essential to medicolegal work as it is to quality patient care.

 Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine Expertise:

View Dr. Stark's Consulting Profile.

Randall N. Smith, MD, has over 40 years of experience as an Orthopedic Surgeon. Dr. Smith practices in General Orthopedics, Non-Surgical Orthopedics, and Pain Management Medicine. He specializes in Joint and Trigger Point Injections and Pain Management Treatment. Litigation Support - Dr. Smith provides expert witness services to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. His cases involve injury issues from Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, and Motor Vehicle Accidents. Dr. Smith's services include written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Areas of Expertise:

• Pain Management - A branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain.
• Independent Medical Examination - Independent orthopedic evaluations including review of medical records and expert narrative reports.
• Disability Assessment Evaluations - Evaluations to determine ability to work and/or restrictions from work or daily activity.

Ray S. Kim, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Forensic Psychologist. Dr. Kim is also a Board Registered Mental Illness / Substance Abuse Provider, Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychological Specialties, Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, and Fellow of the American College of Advanced Practice Psychologists. Dr. Kim is currently the Director of Chicago Metropolitan Forensic Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services where he supervises a team of clinical psychologists and social workers who evaluate the placement of individuals into forensic facilities. He also serves as the Director of Clinical Training at Chicago Metropolitan Forensic Services where he developed and supervises a forensic practicum program which provides opportunities for specialized clinical training in the area of forensic psychology. Litigation Support - Since 2010, Dr. Kim has testified in over 40 cases in both criminal and civil court proceedings. He is sensitive to the nature of legal matters, and provides comprehensive, timely, and professional services. Dr. Kim's services are available to attorneys or defendants seeking a qualified evaluator to help support a case, or wishing to obtain a second opinion on a legal matter already in progress. He is skilled in utilizing the field of psychology's most up-to-date assessments to provide recommendations for prosecution or defense teams. Areas of Expertise:

• Psychological Evaluations
• Pre-Sentencing Evaluations
• Sex Offender Evaluations
• Violence Risk Assessments
• Competency to Waive Miranda Rights
• Diminished Capacity
• Fitness for Duty Evaluations
• Substance Abuse Assessments
• Independent Medical Examinations (personal injury, workers' compensation, disability determination, malpractice)
• Detection of Malingering
• Federal Evaluations (competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility)

View Dr. Kim's Consulting Profile.

Steven Gaskell, Psy.D. is a Forensic Psychologist, license eligible in all 50 states, and licened in Illinois, Georgia, Florida, and Kansas. He has years of extensive experience providing a variety of Forensic Psychological Evaluations and testifying regarding a variety of legal issues. Dr. Gaskell has completed more than 2000 Forensic Psychological Assessments including over 1000 pre-trial Competency to Stand Trial or Fitness to Stand Trial and Criminal Responsibility (Insanity Defense) psychological evaluations and he has provided expert testimony these issues on numerous occasions. Competency to Stand Trial/ Fitness to Stand Trial Criminal Responsibility or Sanity at the Time of the Offense Mitigating Factors Assessment Miranda Rights Issues (voluntariness, competency to confess, interrogative suggestibility) Malingering and Deception Sexual Assault Allegations Sex Offender Evaluations Sexually Violent Person Evaluations Pedophilia Paraphilias Future Likelihood of Sexual Re-Offense