Life Care Planning Expert Witnesses: 12

Mr. John F. Schulte, is an accomplished Orthotic and Prosthetic practitioner with 40 plus years of experience consulting and treating Body and External powered upper and lower extremity prosthetics for all age groups.

Mr. Schulte has vast knowledge and experience in clinical practice prosthetic and orthotic component development, design, and manufacturing. A Clinician, Patient Care Consultant, and Senior Manager of 27 offices throughout 5 states, he is considered an expert in his field. Mr. Schulte continues to be asked to consult on Clinical ‘Best Practices’ by physicians, third party payors, peers, and patient users on the most appropriate component utilization and outcome measurements.

A published author, consultant, and Clinical Board Examiner, Mr. Schulte has treated and been involved with the treatment of persons of all ages with congenital birth defects, limb weakness and loss, and spinal cord injury.

Litigation Support - John Schulte's intimate knowledge in prosthetic and orthotic clinical practice and management, component prescription recommendation, and selection and utilization for all patient ages and levels of function make him an excellent expert witness resource. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include medical record review, second opinions, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

• Appropriate Prosthetic / Orthotic Component Selection Recommendation
• Utilization and Failures Due to Improper Manufacturing Processes
• Prescription Appropriateness
• Clinical Applications and Negligence Directly Related to Limb Weakness and Loss
• Spinal Cord Injury and Treatment
• Wrongful Death Investigation and Determination
• Limb Damage and Loss in Diabetics as Related to Footwear
• LifeCare Plan Consultation and Preparation as Related to Orthotics and Prosthetics

Education:

• New York University Medical School Orthotics and Prosthetics Certificate Program, Certification as Certified Prosthetist, 1973
• Northwestern University Medical School Orthotics and Prosthetics Certificate Program, Certification as Certified Orthotist, 1973

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.

MRK Medical Consultants provides Medical-Legal Evaluations to help legal and insurance professionals reach appropriate conclusions about their client's situations. MRK provides a wide array of medical experts that offer objective review and analysis of personal injuries. Each stage of the process—research to review, analysis to opinion—is addressed in a comprehensive manner in order to help legal and insurance professionals reach appropriate conclusions about their client’s situations. MRK's prestigious list of more than forty consultants are active clinicians and surgeons, who are all board-certified or eligible in one or more specialties. MRK provides physician experts to the entire State of California, the Reno/Lake Tahoe area, and Las Vegas, and we travel to many areas of the United States. Physical therapy, registered nurses, physician assistant, and billing review consultants are available services MRK provides. Our office physicians are available for telephone review of the merits of your case before you decide to proceed.  

Edward W. Younger, III, M.D., Medical Director of MRK Medical Consultants, specializes in Orthopedic Surgery. He has extensive experience in total joint replacement, as well as reconstructive surgery of the knee, hip, and shoulder. He was instrumental in bringing computer navigation technology to his hospital. He served on the orthopedic trauma staff at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, California, for more than fifteen years and was instrumental in bringing computer navigation technology to that institution. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and the California Orthopedic Association.

Dr. Michael R. Klein, Jr., M.D., specializes in Orthopedic Surgery and is a founding member and the first Medical Director of Northern California Orthopedic Centers. He was involved with the development of the orthopedic section of the Level II Trauma Center at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. He served as a clinical professor at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center for more than thirty years. He has been a member of the North American Spine Society since 2009 and was awarded the David O. Selby Award in 2020 for his contributions. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and a member of the American Medical Association and the California Medical Association. He retired from the USAF in 1998 after being on active duty during the Vietnam War, and he was activated for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. 

MRK's Areas of Expertise:

Orthopedics Neurosurgery / Neurology Anesthesiology / Pain Management Bariatric Surgery Cardiology Chiropractic Orthopedics Covid Critical Care/ICU Chronic Pain  Dentistry Emergency Medicine Endocrinology Gastroenterology General Surgery / Trauma Geriatrics Family Practice Life Care Planning

Medical Billing / Bill Auditing Metallurgical Engineering Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physical Therapy Obstetrics / Gynecology / OB/GYN Ophthalmology Optometry Orthopedic Implants Otolaryngology Plastic Surgery Podiatry Pulmonary Medicine Radiology Rheumatology Thoracic Surgery  Urology Vascular Surgery

Cathy Ciolek, DPT, FAPTA, President of Living Well With Dementia, LLC, has over 30 years of experience as a Geriatric Physical Therapist. Dr. Ciolek is board certified as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist, a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and Certified Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainer (CADDCT) by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. 

Dr. Ciolek previously served as Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Restraint Reduction Initiative (PARRI),  providing education and consultation for issues related to well-being (falls, engagement, medication reduction) to nursing homes throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania via a CMS grant. 

Prior to that, Dr. Ciolek served as assistant professor and director of clinical education for the University of Delaware, Department of Physical Therapy. She has practiced as a physical therapist in outpatient, SNF, home health and CCRC facilities over the course of her career.  She is a former Instructor/ Guest Lecturer/Lab Instructor at multiple universities including: Drexel University, Temple University, AT Still University/Arizona School of Health Sciences, Widener University, and Rocky Mountain University.

Dr. Ciolek delivers speaks and delivers seminars throughout the nation on topics including dementia, exercise for aging adults, falls and fall risk mitigation, and Person-Centered Care.

Geriatric Physical Therapy Thought Leader:

• President, Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy (APTA Geriatrics)
• Past President, Delaware Physical Therapy Association (APTA Delaware)
• American Physical Therapy Association
• APTA Geriatrics
• APTA Delaware
• Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association Award

Litigation Support - Dr. Ciolek is available as an expert witness for attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. Her services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Falls Nursing Home Negligence Dementia Functional Decline Person-Centered Care Nursing Home Standard of Care Goals of Care Long Term Care Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Resident Rights Independent Living Transfers Restraints Safety Anti-psychotics Home Health Exercise Pain

View Dr. Cathy Ciolek's Consulting Profile.

James Kemmler MD Consulting is a Medical-Legal Consulting firm based on years of Medical and Orthopaedic clinical experience and years of medical legal consulting experience. Medical legal consulting and expert witness testimony is focused to help save legal time and money, as well as formulate a cogent and concise medical opinion that will help put your money and time in the right place. The experts at James Kemmler Consulting MD are Honest, Ethical, and Neutral.

Areas of Expertise:

Orthopaedic Surgery OB / GYN General Medicine General Surgery Neurosurgery Anesthesia ICU

Infectious Diseases in Children Skilled Nursing Facilities Long Term Care Life Care Planning Psychiatric Nursing Medical Cost Analysis

James E. Kemmler, MD, is an Orthopaedic Surgeon in practice since 1995. Dr. Kemmler has expanded his offerings to include a global medical legal consulting process. He has years of experience with IMEs, Depositions, Worker's Compensation Reviews, and Medical Standard of Care.

Education / Degrees: MD, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL James Scholar; Residency: Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; Fellow: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 

Memberships / Affiliations: American Medical Association; American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; American College of Sports Medicine

Dr. Christopher A. Lowery, DHSc, CLCP is a Clinical Health & Rehabilitation Consultant with a special interest in helping individuals and organizations with public health impairment issues.

Since 2002, Dr. Lowery passion is to educate, empower and provide hope to individuals that deal with Catastrosphic Health Impairments by educating them on how to live a better quality of life due to poor health care conditions, which will address social, cultural and behavioral barriers across all diverse populations.

He currently hold the following degrees at University of North Texas, Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Studies (07); University of Oklahoma, Master of Arts in Human and Health Administration Services (10); Capital University Law School, Post-Speciality Certificate in Life Care Planning (12); University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Post-Master's Certificate in Rehabilitation Counseling (14); and Nova Southeastern University, Doctor of Health Science in Global Health (16).  

Due to the broad knowledge of education, he practice as an expert on the following topics: expert testimony, litigation support, vocational evaluations, employment support/job placement, earnings capacity evaluations, rehabilitation consulting, medical life care planning, formulate reviews/opinions on independent medical examinations, disability case management, and a wide range of public health, medical, psychological and psychosocial aspect of disabilities. 

**If you have a case that needs Dr. Lowery's expertise, please feel free to give his office a call for a free consultation.

Note: Please see below or website for more expertise areas. 

Areas of Expertise:

Vocational Evaluations Employment Support/Job Placement Life Care Planning Personal Injury Medical Malpractice / Medical Negligence Counseling Independent Medical Examination Review

Family Law / Domestic Relations Worker’s Compensation Veteran’s Benefits Labor and Employment Discrimination Jones Act / Longshoreman Cases Matrimonial / Divorce Matters Health & Rehabilitation Education Expert Testimony on a variety of health related topics

View Christopher Lowery's Consulting Profile.

Lois Hawkins, RN, CLCP of Hawkins Forensic Consulting, Inc, specializes in Medical and Vocational Damage Assessment in personal injury and catastrophic injury cases throughout the United States. For over 10 years, Ms. Hawkins has been evaluating cases involving children and adults with complex, catastrophic injuries, as well as less serious injuries.

Areas of Expertise:

• Catastrophic Medical Case Management - Traumatic Brain Injury, Acquired Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Amputation, Soft Tissue Injury, Chronic Pain, Burns, Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Delay, Chronic Respiratory Conditions, Visual & Hearing Impaired
• Life Care Planning - Comprehensive Record Review and supportive documentation / Case Analysis, Case Summary Chronology, Clinical Interview and History with Patient, Medical-Legal Research, Assessment of Future Medical / Rehabilitation Needs
• Legal Nurse Consulting

Professional Memberships and Associations
International Academy of Life Care Planners (IALCP) - Present
International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) - Present
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) - Past
American Operating Room Nurse (AORN ) - Past

Dr. Kelly S. Harvey, MS, PT, DPT, TPS, CLCP, CFCE, is a Medical Legal consultant with 27 years of clinical leadership experience and acute, rehabilitation, and concierge practice expertise. Dr. Harvey has been recognized for demonstrating a natural aptitude for Forensic Analysis and Catastrophic Case Management as well as for creating Medical Cost Projections and Life Care Plans.

Dr. Harvey founded Harvey Medical Legal Consulting in 2012 to offer her orthopedic trauma, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury expertise. She maintains a private practice, as well as certifications as a Life Care Planner, Industrial Ergonomist, Functional Capacity Evaluator, Return to Work, Work Readiness, and Work Hardening Evaluator.  Dr. Harvey holds Therapeutic Pain Science Specialty certification that allows her to autonomously evaluate and treat Pain Management patients.

Litigation Support - Dr. Harvey serves the legal industry as a Forensic Analyst, Damages Expert, and Medical Consultant. She is an Industry Best Practice Advisor and Expert Witness in the fields of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation, and Pain Management. Dr. Harvey offers services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. She provides medical chart review, thorough reporting, depositions, arbitration, and trial testimony as needed. Dr. Harvey has been deposed and/or testified in a court of law over 48 times.

Areas of Expertise:

Life Care Plans Future Medical Cost Projections Catastrophic Care Manager Physical Therapy Orthopedic Injuries Traumatic Brain Injury Spinal Cord Injury Amputation Burns

Pain Management Evaluations Rehabilitation Case Management Defense Medical Exam Functional Capacity Evaluations Product Liability Personal Injury Medical Malpractice Home and Site Evaluation

Education / Training:

• Doctorate of Physical Therapy, International Spine and Pain Institute;
• Therapeutic Pain Specialist, International Spine and Pain Institute;
• Master of Physical Therapy, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; 
• BA in Psychology and Biology, University of California at Santa Barbara

Garson M. Caruso, MD, MPH, PA, is a board certified Occupational Physician in private consulting practice with extensive clinical and administrative experience in emergency and occupational medicine, including:

• Case Review, Analysis, and Management
• Impairment Determination and Disability Rating
• Medical Direction
• Industrial Illness and Injury Care
• Medical Review Officer functions

Dr. Caruso has performed occupational health services and consulting for organizations including Lockheed Martin, Bechtel Aberdeen, PepsiCo, Dean Foods, The New York Transit Authority, and multiple Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He has very broad and in-depth case management and file review experience involving complex disability and workers’ compensation claims. 

Dr. Caruso is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME); a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME; 2009-2014); and a Certified Medical Review Officer. He has also held numerous leadership roles in ACOEM, and both published and presented at national, state, and local conferences in his areas of expertise. Dr. Caruso's primary professional interests are worker disability prevention and management, with a particular focus on the psychosocial aspects of occupational medicine and workers compensation, and prevention or minimization of unnecessary work disability. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Caruso's expertise is available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. His services include Independent Medical Evaluations, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Dr. Caruso is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Louisiana, and North Carolina. 

Areas of Expertise:

Occupational Medicine Causation Analysis Disability Prevention and Evaluation Workers Compensation Impairment Evaluation and Rating

Fitness for Duty Return to Work Drug Testing Work Capacity Work Life Expectancy

View Dr. Caruso's Consulting Profile.

Vera Dolan is an epidemiologist with over 30 years of experience in the life and health insurance industries. She is one of the leading mortality experts in the life insurance industry. She writes underwriting manuals and policy and procedure manuals for life and health insurance companies.

Vera has testified in both state and federal court, and has been retained in over 150 cases since 2006 for plaintiffs and defense on an equal basis. She is very credible testifying in deposition and on the stand.

* Life expectancies that are personalized and accurate to the standards of the life insurance and life settlement industries. Addresses the cases when life expectancies that are simply taken from a life table or estimated by a doctor, actuary or biostatistician are too long, too short, insufficient or not credible. Addresses the cases when a complete insight into the individual's medical conditions and/or personal history of high-risk behaviors is needed to assist the judge or jury in their decision. This information often decides the case, see article for details.

* Expert in bad faith/wrongful denial of life/health insurance claims.

* Expert in life/health insurance underwriting material misrepresentation.

* Expert in medical risk assessment and underwriting issues.

* Expert in life insurance underwriting policies and procedures.

* Expert in epidemiology. Previous cases include infectious diseases, occupational and environmental exposures, pesticides and tobacco.

* Approved life expectancy expert with the U.S. Department of Justice.

* Active consultant to the life insurance industry conducting cohort mortality studies, and writing underwriting and policy and procedure manuals.

* Over 100 articles published on mortality research and underwriting.

* Friendly, clear, concise, objective and quantitative.

* There is no charge for the initial phone consultation.

* There is no charge for travel time.

Dr. Roberto Contreras, II, MD, CLCP, is the CEO of the California Life Care Planning Association, a company created by experts in the field of Life Care Planning with more than 30 years of experience working in the health care industry. 

Dr. Contreras is a Certified in Life Care Planner with over120 hours in Life Care Planning coursework. He graduated from George Washington University School of Medicine with specialty training in Internal Medicine / Hospitalist Medicine at the University of Southern California with a fellowship in Physician Leadership at the University of California at San Francisco.

The Physicians employed by the California Life Care Planning Association have diverse backgrounds allowing them to provider Expert Witness services as well in Internal Medicine, Addiction Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as Psychiatry.

Areas of Expertise: Medical Billing, Life Care Planning, Hospitalist, Medical Devices, Medical Management, Medical Coding, Legal Medicine, Legal Nurse Consulting, Nurse Practitioner, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Addiction Medicine, Family Medicine, General Practice
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Services:

• Life Care Plan Development - Life Care Plans are generated to meet the specific needs of an individual and their family. A Life Care Plan will provide an organized, detailed plan that estimates a person’s estimated future medical needs.
• Life Care Plan Critiques - Life Care Plans are developed for people with injuries such as spinal cord injury, birth injury, traumatic brain injury, amputations, chronic pain, chronic health conditions, geriatric needs, people with special needs. Dr. Contreras work with both plaintiff and defense attorneys with Life Care Plan generation as well as critiques.
• Medical Cost Projection - Dr. Contreras and his team provide assessments of an individual's medical condition, future medical requirements, and associated costs.
• Medical Bill Review - Reliable, transparent, and consistent reports on past medical bills for both plaintiff and defense attorneys, as well as individuals looking for an assessment of their medical bills.
• Consultative Examinations - Communicate, Interview and Examine the injured party to provide an assessment and discuss future care. In areas of high Covid-19 infectivity, or for clients who prefer to be seen remotely, Dr. Contreras also offers telehealth consultative examinations, that allow us to fully assess the client without risk of infection to anyone.