Standard of Care Expert Witnesses: 121

Kevin Kucko, MAPT, ATC is a licensed Physical Therapist with over 23 years of experience. His specialty areas include Work-injury Reduction, Outpatient Services Development, and Physical Rehabilitation. 

Background Experience - Mr. Kucko began his career as an athletic trainer working with athletes from college through the NFL. He quickly focused on accelerating recovery times while rehabilitating orthopedic injuries. In 1995, he completed his Masters’ degree in Physical Therapy. Since that time, he has served as Department Director at various rehabilitation facilities throughout the east. 

Litigation Support - With over 13 years of experience performing Functional Capacity Evaluations, Mr. Kucko has helped hundreds of clients resolve cases with the best possible outcome. He provides services to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense. Kevin Kucko offers meticulous review of medical records in preparation for trial and depositions. For cases where therapy and physical rehabilitation are involved, he sets the foundation by explaining medical conditions and interventions in a clear and concise manner that jurors understand. Mr. Kucko has been deposed and/or testified 14 times since 2010. 

Areas of Expertise:

Joel L. Kent, MD, is an expert in all realms of Pain Medicine and has focused expertise in the prescribing and oversight of opioid analgesics. His specialties include acute and chronic pain management, opioid analgesics, interventional pain management therapies, spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal drug delivery, RSD/CRPS and low back pain.

Dr. Kent has provided expert case reviews and testimony for over twenty years.  The majority of his expert work has focused on the standard of care in the practice of Pain Medicine and the use of opioid analgesics.  Dr. Kent has provided expert case opinions in Federal and State civil courts.  He has provided defense support to the US Department of Justice in two cases.  He has served as an expert witness and case reviewer for both Maryland and New York State.  Dr. Kent assisted the District Attorney of New Jersey in prosecuting a case of unlawful prescribing of controlled substances.  He has provided expert case review and litigation support to health insurance carriers seeking restitution for fraudulent expenses related to opioid therapy.  

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kent has developed particular expertise surrounding the use of opioid analgesics.  He has provided over 50 lectures to other physicians regarding the safe and proper use of these medications.   He has been recognized as an expert in both State and Federal Court in cases related to opioid therapy.  He has served on advisory boards helping craft regulatory policies related to opioid medication.  All these accomplishments attest to Dr. Kent’s high level of expertise in the complex and evolving realm of opioid therapy. 

Primary area of expertise: Pain Medicine

Expert consulting experience:

• Authored over 50 expert case reports
• Participated in over 25 depositions
• Testimony experience in civil trials and professional hearings
• Provides litigation support and expert testimony in plaintiff and defense cases

Professional experience:

• Over 25 years of experience in Pain Medicine
• Triple Board Certified
• Practice Director of University Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Practices from 1998 to 2017
• Program Director of a Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Fellowship Training Programs from 1998 to 2015
• Professor of Anesthesiology, Palliative Care, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University of Rochester School of Medicine
• Lectures extensively and published 

Jeffrey S. Lapin, CPM, ARM, DREI, is an expert in maintenance and management procedures and reasonable standards of care for commercial and residential multifamily properties. He has been directly involved in Property Management, Leasing and Construction for over 40 years. 

Mr. Lapin is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and an Accredited Residential Manager (ARM), certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®). Mr. Lapin is a certified instructor for IREM® and is a co-author of IREM's Maintenance and Risk Management Course (MNT 401). Mr. Lapin teaches for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA®) and is a Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI). Mr. Lapin teaches courses for these prestigious international property associations, including courses required by IREM® and by BOMA® for the respective professional accreditations they offer, centered around inspection and maintenance topics. He also served as President of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®) Chapter 22 in Sacramento, California in 2016. 

Mr. Lapin specializes in Standard of Care for Landlords, Property Maintenance and Inspection Procedures, Management Policies and Procedures, and Asset Value Protection. His background includes roles with a diverse group of private property owners. His experience is in managing and leasing all types of property including commercial and multi-family residential, industrial, office, and retail real estate assets. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Lapin provides expert witness services on Commercial and Residential Real Estate Standards of Practice. His cases involve injuries, personal and financial, that occur as a result of an alleged failure by a commercial or multifamily landlord to follow reasonable standards of care and industry standard practices.

Areas of Expertise:

View Jeffery Lapin's Consulting Profile.

Joseph A. LaRovere, CEM, has over 35 years of experience as a contractor, owner/operator, technician, and consultant to the construction industry with specialties in HVAC, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Energy Management and Control Systems. Licensed PE, Project Manager, Design Professional, Construction Manager on staff.

Project Types - Health care facilities, Clean Rooms, Operating Suites, Apartments and Condominiums, Medical Office Buildings, K-12 Schools, Higher Education, Commercial Office Buildings, Highrise Buildings, Casinos, Hospitality, Assisted Living Facilities, Military Facilities, Manufacturing and Semi-Conductor Facilities

Litigation Support - Mr. LaRovere is a Forensic Expert Witness for cases involving HVAC, Mechanical, Plumbing, Construction Defects and Project Management for a variety of clients. He has worked in Arizona, California, Texas, Colorado, and Hawaii as an expert

Areas of Expertise:

Certifications:

• C.E.M. - Certified Energy Manager
• Honeywell Tridium Niagara AX
• Honeywell Tridium Niagara 4
• Johnson Controls Facility Explorer
• LEED AP BD&C (Inactive)

View Joseph LaRovere's Consulting Profile.

Jeffrey D. Diamond specializes in Insurance Coverage Disputes and Litigation. He has established his law firm as one of the premier Insurance Coverage law firms in the Metro Atlanta area on behalf of policyholders, as well as throughout the State of Georgia and, as he was initially admitted to the State Bar of California in 1978, he serves policyholders in California, as well.

In addition to his full time law practice, Mr. Diamond has served as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law since 1995 in both California and Georgia, having joined the Georgia State University College of Law faculty in 2009 as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law and, in 2012, he joined Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in a similar capacity. 

Mr. Diamond is also a law instructor for the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), a national educational organization which conducts continuing education programs for financial professionals across the country, teaching in NACVA’s Expert Witness Bootcamp program. Mr. Diamond has been an invited guest speaker on topics of interest at numerous insurance conferences throughout the country.

Over his 37 year career, Mr. Diamond has successfully represented policyholders, and formerly Insurance companies, in a wide variety of insurance coverage and bad faith actions including:

• Business Insurance Litigation
• Homeowners Insurance Litigation
• Construction Defect Litigation
• General Business Property and Liability Claims
• Long Term Disability Claims
• Life Insurance Claims

Litigation Support - Mr. Diamond's experience as an insurance litigator and insurance law professor allows him a unique perspective as an expert witness. His extensive knowledge of insurance law and keen insights into insurance policy interpretation, as well as the covenant of good faith and fair dealing under each State’s insurance related statutes and case law, make him an exceptional expert witness with regard to coverage and bad faith actions. 

Mr. Diamond's services are available to counsel for both Plaintiff and Defense. He has been retained more than 20 times for his expertise in matters regarding Bad Faith, First and Third Party Insurance Coverage, and Insurance policy Interpretation for the following:

View Jeffrey Diamond's Consulting Profile.

Attorney, Lawrence H. Jacobson, has been practicing in the area of Real Estate Transaction Law and Litigation for more than 50 years. Over the past 30 years, he has been sought out as an expert witness in real estate and legal malpractice disputes and lawsuits in litigation cases throughout the country. 

His firm, The Law Offices of Lawrence H. Jacobson, A Professional Corporation, is recognized as one of the nation's premier offices providing expert testimony in litigation involving all Real Estate Matters and Legal Malpractice. 

Mr. Jacobson has been engaged in the practice of law in Los Angeles since 1968. Formerly Vice President of Legal Affairs for the California Association of Realtors, Mr. Jacobson has served as a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Municipal Court Systems and as an adjunct professor of law focusing on real estate secured transactions and administrative law. He is Past President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has written and lectured extensively on business and real estate related matters. He has served on the faculty of the Graduate Realtors Institute of the California Association of Realtors and a lecturer author for the California Continuing Education of the California Bar.

Litigation Support - Mr. Jacobson offers an impressive record of success as an expert witness in real estate, business, and finance. Included among the numerous cases in which he has testified as an expert witness are disputes over the interpretation of real estate documents, real estate and mortgage brokers’ standard of care and legal malpractice related to real estate transactions and business law including issues involved in corporate finance, merger and acquisition and ethics.

Areas of Expertise:

View Lawrence Jacobson's Consulting Profile.

Tom LeTourneau, LPO, CPO, FAAOP, has over 45 years of experience in the Design, Manufacture, and Fitting of Orthotic and Prosthetic Devices, including all Myoelectric applications and all Microprocessors.  He is a Certified Orthotist and Prosthetist by the American Board of Certification of Orthotist and Prosthetists and Fellow of the American Academy of Orthotist and Prosthetists.

Litigation Support - Mr. LeTourneau has over 20 years of experience  providing Orthotics and Prosthetics expert opinions to life care planning care management personnel and law firms for both plaintiff and defendant. Licensed Prosthetist and Orthotist by the state of Texas, he is available for record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Memberships, Certifications, & Highlights:

• Member of the Upper Extremity and Lower Extremity scientific society of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
• Member of the American Association of Orthist and ProsthetistsCertification extensions in all myoelectric upper extremity Orthotics and Prosthetics, Micro-processor prosthetic Knee and feet applications, and X-finger applications
• Inventor / and or co-designer in Te-Evolution Above the Knee socket design, Stealth Ankle foot orthosis, " No more knee pain " Knee orthosis, acti-ankle
• CEO and Founder of a Multi-million dollar ( licensed and certified ) Orthotic and Prosthetic company
• Featured in articles and news organizations ( local and National )including CNN, NBC., CBS, the History Channel, and family circle magazine
• Awarded Freedom award for exceptional service for veterans ( only 35 companies nationwide receive an award )

Maurice Lieberman, CLU, ChFC, RHU, LUTCF, has over 40 years of experience specializing in Insurance and Financial Planning. Mr. Lieberman holds three professional designations from the American College, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Registered Health Underwriter. He is a Life Insurance Training Council Fellow, and a member of the American College of Financial Services Professionals, Forensic Expert Witness Association, and the American College of Forensic Examiners International.

Background Experience - Mr. Lieberman started as an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life and then advanced in his career to manage brokers. He successfully built agencies for Aetna, and Principal Financial Group. He was later promoted to Regional Director for New England Financial, and CSAA Life. Over the years he mentored hundreds of insurance agents, brokers, financial planners and agency managers to build their own successful careers and agencies. He was also a member of the Million Dollar Round Table and utilized his selling and management experience to train insurance agents, brokers and financial planners in advanced areas of estate, business insurance, and financial planning.

Litigation Support - . Mr. Lieberman has utilized his financial planning and insurance industry knowledge to consult with attorneys for over the past 12 years. He consults with attorneys and assists council in trial preparation regarding issues of life insurance and annuity coverage analysis, coverage disputes, and company practices. He has been called upon to be an expert witness in insurance litigation cases for both plaintiff and defendant.

Areas of Expertise:

View Maurice Lieberman's Consulting Profile.

Lezlee Liljenberg, CIC, CRIS, MLIS, PA, MA, entered the Insurance business in 2004 as she started her first agency from ground zero, growing the business to over $6 million in revenue in less than 12 years.

Ms. Liljenberg holds a BA in Journalism/Public Relations and a MA in Political Science/Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a Professional Financial Representative holding licenses as 6 & 63 Securities, a Property & Casualty Agent, Life & Health Agent, Risk Manager, Public Adjuster, and Texas Real Estate Broker.

She is well-known in the insurance and real estate industries for her responsiveness, knowledge, and professionalism in handling situations in both of these industries. Her 36 years of contractual knowledge is extensive and is strengthened by her years as a Commodity Electricity trader during Deregulation in 2001.

Litigation Support - Ms. Liljenberg provides Insurance Expert Witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. She offers thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Megan M. Hamilton, MS, CCC-SLP earned her Master of Science degree from Marquette University and holds a lean six sigma green belt from Purdue University as well as a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA).  Megan currently provides consultation to hospital speech language pathology and serves as a forensic medical SLP throughout the United States.  Megan has held positions as direct care provider, site manager, regional vice president, and division manager of clinical education for national rehabilitation providers in long term care, sub acute, and pediatric care.   She brings over 30 years of experience to her clients.  

Litigation Support - No healthcare provider can prevent aspiration and/or choking for all patients at all times, but all SLPs can be expected to practice within accepted standards of care.  Megan's exhaustive review of case materials can determine whether diagnosis, evaluation, recommendations and discharge determination were based upon sound clinical reasoning to mitigate adverse outcomes and facilitate improvement.  If standards of care were met, Megan provides evidence-based opinions of such.  When care failed to meet accepted standards, Megan can illustrate how the SLP provider deviated from standards.  She can assist in determining if substandard care contributed to negative outcomes including suspected choking event, aspiration, dehydration, health decline or death.  

Areas of Expertise:

Megan has been an instructor in the areas of cognition, dysphagia / swallowing, end of life nutrition, and Medicare regulatory compliance. She has presented at conferences for the American Occupational Therapy Association and local Speech Language Hearing Associations as an employee of national Rehab companies.

The Lios Manhe (pronounced LIZ munee) mission is to be a trusted partner to plaintiff or defense by providing thorough analysis and independent opinions supported by science and based upon evidence collected.  
   

John L. Lovecchio, MD, has over 35 years of experience specializing in Gynecology and Oncology.  He is one of the nation’s top clinicians and researchers in the field of uterine and ovarian cancers.

Dr. Lovecchio is currently Professor Emeritus of Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecology at Hofstra University School of Medicine, NY, and Attending Physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY. 

Prior to that, for 20 years, Dr. Lovecchio served as Professor and Chief of Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital-Long Island Jewish Medical Center (Northwell Health) while also working as an Investigator at the Center for Oncology & Cell Biology at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

Litigation Support - Dr. Lovecchio offers expert witness services to attorneys representing the plaintiff and defense, including medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. He has been deposed and testified over 10 times since 2020.

Areas of Expertise:

Victor L. Mandoff, BSc, MBBS, is a Board-Certified fully practicing Professor of Anesthesiology at a teaching hospital. With 17 years of experience in Anesthesiology and 10 years in Critical Care Medicine, his training keeps him current in the knowledge and practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). Evidence Based Medicine is the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available research evidence from systematic research and the patient's values and expectations.

UAMS Medical Center provides care to the highest acuity patients from the state and surrounding areas. It is the only level-one trauma center in Arkansas and the only one that does liver transplantations. Dr. Mandoff provides anesthesia for a variety of cases like liver transplants, kidney transplants, vascular surgery, thoracic, obstetric, neurosurgical, ENT, outpatient, GI, radiology, Cath Lab, Electroconvulsive therapy, etc. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Mandoff offers expert witness services to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant. Services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Mandoff is the director of MOCA Simulation for Anesthesiologists, the Assistant Medical Director of the Simulation Center, and the Director of Liver Transplant Team and Transplant Anesthesia at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science. He is an award-winning educator who feels privileged to teach medical students, nurses, residents, SRNAs and junior faculty, and other faculty using simulation training. Dr. Mandoff has won many teaching awards, including “Golden Apple Award,” “Red Sash Award,” and  “Educational Excellence Award,” presented by residents, students, and the College of Medicine.

Dr. Mandoff is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA). The FASA designation is the “highest acknowledgment that recognizes years of dedication to exceptional education, leadership, and commitment to the specialty” as per the American Society of Anesthesiologists website. He is also Critical Care Fellowship trained at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Foundation, Critical Care Board Certified, and practiced Critical Care Medicine from 2006 to about 2016.

An Oral Board Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, Dr. Mandoff has been named in Arkansas Times Best Doctors in Arkansas list in both Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.

Chinemerem Y. Ugorji, MD, is a board certified Internal Medicine doctor with over 10 years of experience as a Hospitalist and Nocturnist. She has knowledge  of Critical Access Care, Level 2 Trauma, and Telemedicine.

Litigation Support - Dr. Ugorji's mission is to provide accurate expert assessments of Medical Billing / Coding, Medical Fraud, and Medical Necessities. She helps attorneys for plaintiff and defense make informed decisions about their cases. Dr. Ugorji's services include medical record review, thorough reporting, interrogatories, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

William Santoro, MD is board certified in Addiction Medicine and board eligible in Family Medicine. He is the Chief of the Section of Addiction Medicine at Tower Health and was the Medical Director at the Reading Hospital & Medical Center detoxification/rehabilitation program. Dr. Santoro was also the Medical Director at a Methadone Treatment center  for 22 years, until 2021, where he is responsible for prescribing methadone to approximately 950 opiate dependent patients.

Dr. Santoro is the Addictionist on staff at The Reading Hospital & Medical Center within the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is consulted by hospitalists to care for patients admitted to the hospital with addiction complicating their condition. Dr. Santoro runs an outpatient program treating over the 300 patients with buprenorphine (Suboxone/Sublocade) or Vivitrol maintenance. With an interest in Sports Medicine in 2001, he served as a volunteer physician for the U.S. Olympic Training Team in Lake Placid, New York.

Dr. Santoro has been deposed more than a dozen times in the past several years. He has testified in court numerous times on behalf of the plaintiff as well as for the defense. He has testified in Federal Court and been involved in cases concerning the pharmaceutical industry.

Areas of Expertise:

• All aspects of Addiction Medicine
• Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
  • Buprenorphine
  • Naltrexone
  • Methadone
• Dual Diagnosis Pain/Addiction

View Dr. Santoro's Consulting Profile.

Paul J. Michaels, MD, is a nationally renowned Anatomical and Clinical Pathologist with over 20 years of experience in his field. Dr. Michaels completed his medical residency and earned a Fellowship in Cytopathology from Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School.

Litigation Support - Dr. Michaels offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. He has written over 100 general causation reports focusing on pathology and providing an extensive differential diagnosis in order to provide an opinion with a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Dr. Michaels has participated in numerous MDLs, been deposed over 60 times, and testified in court 6 times.

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience - Dr. Michaels is currently a member of a 10-pathologist group that operates the largest and most comprehensive anatomic pathology services laboratory within Central and Coastal Oregon. He is one of two pathologists responsible for covering Bay Area Hospital, the largest hospital on the Oregon Coast, which serves as a regional referral center.

Dr. Michaels' roles at Bay Area Hospital include: Chairman of Pathology; Member of the Hospital Medical Executive Committee; Medical Director for Transfusion Medicine, Hematology, and Cytopathology; Member of the Cancer Committee; and Member of the Trauma Committee.

At Southern Coos Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Michaels serves as Laboratory Medical Director where his Anatomic Pathology responsibilities include frozen sections, gross evaluation and sign-out of complex surgical specimens, review of numerous outpatient biopsies, GYN and NON-GYN cytology, presentation at tumor board conferences, and performing hospital autopsies. Clinical pathology responsibilities include peripheral blood smear and body fluid review, crystal identification, and evaluation of blood transfusion reactions.

Speaking Engagements and Presentations - Dr. Michaels has delivered seminars and presentations in Canada, Japan, and throughout the United States. Topics have included cytopathology, breast cancer, acute cellular rejection, and many more.