Legal Nurse Consultant Expert Witnesses: 12

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.

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

Research & Planning Consultants, LP (RPC) has been assisting clients with expert services for over 45 years, including consulting and expert witness testimony for personal injury, healthcare litigation, commercial litigation and Certificate of Need matters. RPC also offers a wide selection of health data. They have served clients across the U.S, from Alaska to Florida and from New England to California. 

A Complete Team of Damages Experts for Personal Injury Litigation

Research & Planning Consultants, LP provides the following services: 

• PERSONAL INJURY - RPC provides comprehensive damages analysis in personal injury litigation. Their expert team has life care planners, vocational evaluators, board-certified physicians, economists and neuropsychologists. 

Areas of Expertise include: Life Care Plans, Loss of Earning Capacity or Support, Present Value of Damages, Medical Bill Analysis, Chargemaster Analysis, Neuropsychological Testing & Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Evaluations, IMEs, Section 18.001, Prestanding ED Chargemaster Analysis

• COMMERCIAL LITIGATION- RPC has provided expert analysis on commercial litigation concerning many industries: chemicals, refining, forestry, waste management, pipelines, water resources, oil and gas EDP, fisheries, agriculture, electrical generating plants, transmission lines, telecommunications, and real estate development. Our special expertise in the healthcare industry has proven valuable to business litigators unfamiliar with this complex industry.

Areas of Expertise: Breach of Contract / Commercial Economic Damages, Construction Disputes, Litigation over Non-Competitive Agreements, Environmental Torts and Toxic Torts, Commercial Disparagement, Wrongful Termination

• HEALTHCARE LITIGATION - RPC offers economic, statistical, data and clinical analysis in a wide range of healthcare litigation. They have experience with payment disputes, qui tam litigation, physician-hospital disputes, practice valuations and construction litigation. 

Areas of Expertise: Qui Tam Healthcare Litigation, Medical Staff Disputes, Professional Liability, Payment Disputes, Health Facility Construction Disputes, Freestanding ED Chargemester Analysis

• CERTIFICATE OF NEED - RPC provides Certificate of Need (CON) planning services nationwide. We have over 35 years of experience developing regulatory strategy, preparing applications and testifying in public and administrative hearings.

Areas of Expertise: Satellite Hospitals, New Hospitals, Relocation and Transfer of Beds, Observation Beds, Geriatric Psychiatric Units, Children’s Hospitals, Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Open Heart Surgery Services, Long Term Acute Care Units, Projects that exceed CON Capital Threshold Limits, Projects for Specifically Listed Services, Programs Requiring CON, Hospices, Senior Living Facilities

Ronald T. Luke, JD, PhD, is a principal consultant and President of RPC, LP. Ron joined RPC in 1976 and became its president and principal owner in 1979. He has consulted on projects for health care providers, managed care plans and public agencies in more than 25 states. He also serves as an expert witness in trials, administrative proceedings and legislative hearings.

Active in the Health Policy Arena, Dr. Luke has been accepted as an expert in Economics, Socioeconomic Impact Analysis, and Policy Analysis by state and federal courts, and state administrative agencies. The types of cases in which he has provided expert testimony include personal injury, contractual disputes, health care payment disputes, construction defects, utility construction permitting, and certificate of need. He has testified on health care matters including market structure, billing fraud and abuse, reasonableness of charges, medical staff credentialing, workers’ compensation fee guidelines, utilization review, physician contracts, and managed care contracts.

Kacy L. Turner, MS, CRC, CVE, CLCP, is a Certified Life Care Planner and Vocational Consultant with RPC. She has over 20 years of experience in Rehabilitation. Ms. Turner has experience writing life care plans for both plaintiff and defense clients. She has experience as a rehabilitation consultant in three states and has been qualified as a testifying expert in state and federal court.  

Ms. Turner has worked on cases in several states as well as the country of Trinidad. To determine the pre-injury and post-injury employability in personal injury cases, she provides vocational testing, transferable skills analysis, job requirements analysis, rehabilitation plans, and definition of reasonable accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act. She is a member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, the Texas Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and Providers of Services, and Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals.

Brian Piper, PhD,  is an Economist with RPC specializing in Quantitative Analysis and Modelling. He works on a variety of cases including personal injury and certificate of need. He is experienced in data extraction, management, simulation, and analysis using STATA, SQL, ARC GIS and a variety of other programs. Dr. Piper has taught graduate classes in statistics and econometrics in both MBA and Ph.D. programs.

Dr. Piper is an experienced expert, providing testimony, reports, and affidavits on the issues of economic damages in personal injury litigation, healthcare litigation, False Claims Act litigation, and other commercial litigation. He has testified on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. 

Dr. Piper specializes in the economics of healthcare. He has been retained by healthcare providers and insurers in payment disputes. He has analyzed the reasonableness of charges and expected payment for past and future medical services for providers, insurers, plaintiffs, and defendants. Besides work in litigation, Dr. Piper has provided analysis of Certificate of Need applications and the economic impacts of proposed legislation.

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.

Debra McGuinty, RN, BSN, CLNC, CNOR, is a Certified Operating Room Nurse and Legal Nurse Consultant with over 30 years of experience, defining the roles and responsibilities of operating room attendants. She has 10 years of conscious sedation experience and knowledge of AORN standards and practices.

Ms. McGuinty and her team at Peak Legal Nurse Consulting are available to help review legal surgical cases, extract information, chronologize, and write reports for consulting or witnessing purposes.  They are able to carefully identify contributing factors associated with any surgical litigation. Gaining insight from a working operating room nurse who is familiar with the surgical environment, will give attorneys the edge in planning legal strategy.

Litigation Support - Ms. McGuinty's ideal client works with her to establish clear objectives at the beginning of the consultation, is available for questioning and feedback, and provides adequate material for examination. She is available to research, chronologize, organize, and write reports for consulting or witnessing purposes. 

Areas of Expertise:

General Surgery Nursing Standard of Care Conscious Sedation ENT Laparoscopy

Gynecological Cases Urological Cases Plastics Cases Orthopedics Cases Post-Op Recovery

Kenneth C. McCawley RN, BSN, VWCN, CICP, has been a Nurse since 1992, and is a Combat Decorated Military Veteran who was active and served as a “doc” in the field. He is now a retired Major.  

Mr. McCawley started the open heart program at CMC hospital in Scranton PA, has worked in trauma and ICU, and has 23 years of experience as a successful Director of Nursing, writing policies and ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations,. He also served as Senior Clinical Specialist for a national healthcare company.  

Mr. McCawley is currently the director of nursing for a 120-bed rehab facility in Pennsylvania. He has extensive experience in working in skilled nursing facilities where he deals with pressure ulcers, wound care, and nursing home falls. He has reviewed cases for attorneys on Nursing Home Negligence and has been deposed and/or testified numerous times.

Areas of Expertise:  

Pressure Ulcer /Pressure Ulcer Prevention Arterial Ulcer Diabetic Ulcer Wound Care Bedsores

Pressure Sores Nursing Homes Nursing Home Falls Nursing Home Fall Prevention Certified Infection Control Preventionist through CMS

Education: Diploma Prepared Registered Nurse (RN), Community Medical Center School of Nursing, Scranton PA; Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN), Penn State University; Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), National Certification; Wound Care Certified, VOHRA National Certification

View Tracy Liberatore's Attorney / Physician Assistant Consulting Profile.

Mary C. Meinhard RN-BC, BS, JD, CLCP, MSC-C is a Nurse Attorney/ Legal Nurse Consultant, Certified Life Care Planner, Board-Certified Nurse Case Manager, and Medicare Set-Aside Consultant-Certified. She has offices in California and Nevada, and provides Medical/Legal Consulting services nationwide. She has over 35 years of experience working with catastrophically injured patients/clients as a Registered Nurse, in addition to 20+ years of experience as a California Attorney, and is retained by both Plaintiff and Defense as a consultant in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Workers' Compensation cases.

Representative diagnoses include, but are not limited to:

Traumatic Brain Injury Acquired Brain Injury Spinal Cord Injuries / Paralysis Severe Burns Amputations Orthopedic Injuries Complications of Pregnancy, Premature Births and Birth Injuries Complications of Diabetes Chronic Pain / Illness

Organ Transplants Chronic Renal Failure End Stage Renal Disease AIDS Non-Healing Wounds Malignancies Toxic Exposure Mental Illness Addiction

Services Include:

• Legal Nurse Consulting
• Medical Record Review / Summary
• Case Merit Evaluation/Standards of Care
• Life Care Planning
• Mini / Preliminary Life Plans
• Medicare Set-Aside Allocations
• Expert Fact and Opinion Testimony
• Attendance at Independent Medical Exams
• Litigation Support - Formulation of Discovery Plans, Preparation of Deposition/Cross Examination Questions, Conducting Medical Expert/Opposing Life Care Planner Depositions

Ms. Meinhard also holds certification from the Pepperdine University School of Law Straus Institute for Alternative Dispute Resolution and is available as a Mediator for personal injury cases of all types - especially when competing Life Care Plans are at issue.

View 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.

Kimberly M. Pearson, MHA, MBA, RN, CCHP is a Correctional Healthcare Consultant with over 36 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including correctional healthcare (both medical and mental health), clinical nursing, management, and administration in a variety of healthcare venues. In her role as Deputy Agency Director for the Orange County Health Care Agency, Ms. Pearson was responsible for all medical and mental health care provided in the Orange County (California) adult and juvenile detention facilities. The adult jail system ranks in the "top ten" in the country in terms of size, with an average daily population of over 6,500 inmates. She has been honored as a National Award Recipient for Excellence in Executive Leadership at the 2016 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards (Giving Excellence Meaning). 

An expert in her field, Ms. Pearson delivers seminars and lectures on Correctional Healthcare topics around the country. In 2019, she  spoke on “The Art of Managing Regulatory Inspections,” to the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on “Clinical Management for High-Risk Patients in this Litigious Environment,” to the American Correctional Health Services Association in San Jose, CA, and “Sticking Together: A Cohesive Correctional Healthcare Delivery System,” to the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare Leadership Institute in Las Vegas, NV. 

Litigation Support - Ms. Pearson previously provided Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death case reviews as an in-house consultant for two law firms in the Midwest. She is currently the CEO/President of KP Consulting LLC, consulting on policy and procedure development and comprehensive correctional health system review and recommendations. Ms. Pearson has served as a correctional healthcare expert witness in over 100 cases in the past six years. Her services are available to attorneys representing plaintiffs or defendants and includes comprehensive written reports for both federal and state cases, standard of care evaluation, and correctional health care deviation identification.

Yolanda Anderson, RN, BSN, CEN, CLNC is a Registered Nurse and has been working in the Emergency Department for more than 25 years. A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant with a detail-oriented approach, Ms. Anderson is knowledgeable about all aspects of Hospital Care and Standards of Care for Physicians, Nurses and Ancillary Personnel.

Ms. Anderson's background experience includes work in the Emergency Department of Los Angeles County, USC Medical Center, a level I Trauma Center and in the Emergency Department at Saint Anthony Hospital Central in Denver, Colorado, a level I Trauma Center where she helped initiate the Hyperbaric Medicine program. For 15 years, she worked as a staff RN, Charge RN and Assistant Nurse Manager in the Emergency Department at Littleton Adventist Hospital - Littleton, Colorado, a level II Trauma Center. There, she helped with the expansion and reconstruction of the current Emergency Department facility.

Ms. Anderson has been retained as an Expert 27 times. Her litigation support services include chart review for merit, chronologies, medical care research, Independent Medical Assessments, and more. Ms. Anderson's services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

Emergency Department Care Inpatient Hospital Care Trauma, Cardiac, Neurological Emergency Adult, Pediatric, and Infant Care

Triage & Documentation Nursing Home Care Electronic Medical Records Worker's Compensation

View Yolanda Anderson's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Adrine S. Adams, CRNA, has been a Registered Nurse for 46 years with experience as a Certified Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), Certified Post-Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN)  and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).  She retired from the Army Nurse Corps Colonel, after 30 years of service. Additionally, she  has a background in Business Administration, Health Services Administration, and Information Systems.

Dr. Adams is a member of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) and enrolled in the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Certification (CLNC) Program. As a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in the capacity of a legal nurse consultant (LNC), she is willing to work on behalf of plaintiffs, defendants, and to testify in deposition or in person at trial.  With her board experience and doctoral degree, she has the capability to perform medical research. 

Background Experience - Dr. Adams is actively practicing at numerous outstanding facilities, including level 1 trauma units. She is experienced in numerous clinical settings with proficiency of several Anesthesia Health Informatics Systems, including EPIC and Cerner.  

In August 1996, Dr. Adams received a Master in Nurse Anesthesia degree with extensive didactic and clinical experience from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Graduate School. She has knowledgeable in anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and pharmacology as they relate to anesthesia. With over 24 years of experience as a CRNA clinical practitioner, Ms. Adams is competent with a variety of anesthetic agents and techniques for numerous types of surgical and obstetrical procedures, both general and regional anesthesia, IV sedation, and monitored anesthesia care. 

Dr. Adams possesses the skills necessary to deliver anesthesia care to patients of all ages, including infant, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric population. With several years of highly responsible clinical experience in the military, numerous critical care capacities, level 1 trauma facilities, and excellent training in nurse anesthesia, I can contribute to your organization. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Adams is available to extend her anesthesia clinical experience as a consultant and an expert witness. Her services include medical record review for standard of care, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Cases have been related to (but not limited to) the following surgical procedures:

General, Ophthalmologic, Otolaryngologic, Oral and Dental, Vascular, Thoracic, Cardiovascular, Plastic / Reconstructive, Neurological, Orthopedic, Podiatric, Urologic, Gastroenterological, Gynecologic, Obstetric, and Pediatrics.

Areas of Expertise:

General Anesthesia Regional Anesthesia Peripheral Nerve Blocks

Monitored Anesthesia Care Mild and Deep IV Sedation Pre and Post Anesthesia Care Adult and Geriatric Anesthesia Care Pediatric and Adolescence Anesthesia Care