Medical Causation Analysis Expert Witnesses

Dr. Jeffrey Stone, DO, MPH, FCCWS, specializing in Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, served as Medical and Fellowship Director for the Hyperbaric Medicine Unit at the Institute for Exercise & Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Dallas from 1992- May 2016. Dr. Stone received his medical degree from Western States University and received a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University. Dr. Stone completed a residency in aerospace medicine at Brooks Air Force Base and a fellowship in hyperbaric medicine and Wound care at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Dr. Stone started visiting nursing facilities in the Dallas Metroplex  in the early 1990's teaching, educating and caring for individuals with chronic wounds. He is one of the first 60 physicians in the U.S. to receive his certification in Wound Care. Dr. Stone currently provides care to patients in acute care, LTAC, long term care facilities SNF and Nursing Home) and outpatient care.

Dr. Stone has been widely published in many medical journals regarding his expertise in Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine. He serves as an Expert Witness for Peer Reviews, Legal Reviews, and Medical Malpractice Cases.

Areas of Expertise: Wound Care and Hyperbaric Oxygen-

• Pressure Sores
• Arterial Ulcers
• Diabetic Foot Wounds
• Acute Traumatic Ischemias
• Decubitus Ulcers
• Non-Healing Wounds, Venous or Arterial or Pressure Related

View Consulting Profile.

Andrew Wittenberg, MD, MPH, FACEP, is a practicing Emergency Medicine Physician with over 10 years of experience. He is Certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Dr. Wittenberg is currently the chairman of Emergency Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. He has been practicing Emergency Medicine in Long Beach for over 10 years. He is a part of Columbia Emergency Medical Group, Inc., which staffs the ER at Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s and Community Hospital of Long Beach. Dr. Wittenberg graduated from Temple University School of Medicine and completed his residency at LAC-USC. He has been recognized for excellence in teaching with awards from two residency programs.

Litigation Support - Dr. Wittenberg offers expert witness services in medical malpractice cases involving Emergency Medicine. He provides consultation for chart reviews, expert witness depositions, and testimony. Dr. Wittenberg's services are available to both plaintiff and defendant.

Areas of Expertise:

Trauma Stroke Myocardial Infarction / STEMI Pregnancy / Ectopic Pregnancy Sepsis Pulmonary Embolis(PE)

Aneurysm Pneumonia Appendicitis Intubation Ischemia Testicular and Ovarian Torsion

Merrill S. Wise, MD, is a  a Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology with special qualifications in Child Neurology, and special qualifications in Sleep Medicine. Involved in the full-time practice of sleep medicine, Dr. Wise has evaluated and managed the full range of Sleep Disorders since 1991.

Dr. Wise evaluates children, adolescents, and adults with the full range of sleep problems and disorders. He is involved with supervision and interpretation of polysomnography (sleep studies), Multiple Sleep Latency Tests (MSLT), Maintenance of Wakefulness Tests (MWT), and integration of these findings with the clinical history in order to develop a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Because of the population served in Memphis, Dr. Wise evaluates a large number of pilots (FedEx world hub), air traffic controllers, commercial drivers and barge pilots, rail engineers, and shift workers. He is experienced in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), narcolepsy, and other disorders of excessive sleepiness, insomnia, circadian rhythm sleep disorders, restless legs syndrome, and parasomnias.

Litigation Support - Dr. Wise has reviewed a wide variety of cases involving both neurology and sleep medicine for greater than 20 years including report generation, testimony at deposition, and at trial. He has served on numerous national task forces and committees, as well as the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). These experiences have exposed him to the full range of sleep disorders, as well as healthcare systems, best practices and evidence-based standards of care, policies, and the legal aspects of sleep problems and disorders. 

Special Interest and Expertise:  

• Individuals with Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
• Downstream Effects of Sleepiness on
  • Cognitive Function
  • Driving
  • Safety
  • Work
  • Behavioral Regulation

Jonathan Wiesen, MD received training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine with a special focus on Medical Ethics.

Dr. Wiesen is currently a Pulmonary and Intensive Care Attending Physician at Community Intensivists where his duties include general clinical care and workflow organization and protocol authorship. He also serves as a Medical Technology Analyst at OurCrowd where he is responsible for the Scientific and financial assessment of medical technology start up companies and provides multi-disciplinary interactions for assessments and investments.

Dr. Wiesen has extensive academic experience with over 75 publications, including first authorship on over a dozen full length manuscripts. He has been honored with the Teaching Excellence Award from the Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical center, which provides clinical and hospital care and leads in research, education, and health information. He also received the Best Abstract Award, Critical Care session, at the ACCP CHEST annual conference in 2014.

Litigation Support - Dr. Wiesen provides expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. His services include medical record review, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Cardio-Pulmonary Hemodynamics Respiratory Physiology End of Life Sepsis / Septic Shock Pneumonia COPD Asthma Life Support

Mechanical Ventilation Smoking Related Diseases Interstitial Lung Disease Pulmonary Hypertension Lung Transplantation Biomedical Ethics Conflict Resolution Triage

James M. Wheeler, MD, MPH, JD, magna cum laude in Biology / Psychology from Harvard, is an OB/GYN trained at Baylor, with subspecialty training in Reproductive Endocrinology / Infertility at Yale. He is also a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale, focusing upon clinical epidemiology and biostatistics and health policy. He also earned his MPH at Yale majoring in Biostatistics, minoring in Maternal/Child Health. He graduated from the University of Houston Law Center with a JD in 2005, and was invited to join the Health Law division there. He has completed ADR training, having completed training programs separately in mediation, and arbitration.

Dr. Wheeler is a former national officer of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and served on several of their health policy committees including the Health Care Commission and the Hysterectomy Committee. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers on a wide array of topics in ob/gyn, with a particular emphasis on methodology. He has given over 200 invited lectures to ob/gyns, reproductive endocrinologists, radiologists, midwives, nurses, surgical technologists, law students et al. He sees himself first and foremost as a caregiver, and second to only that, as a teacher.

Dr. Wheeler has consulted in several hundred medicolegal matters for over 20 years, mostly in ob/gyn, but including family practice, internal medicine and several of its subspecialties, general surgery and several of its subspecialties, and dermatology. He has been a testifying expert before the FDA for drugs and devices, and has testified before U.S. Congressional staffers on health policy issues. He reviews for attorneys from both plaintiff and defense bars, as well as insurance companies (e.g. Pro-Assurance), and health plans (e.g. Harvard Community Health Plan). He has helped with Board of Medicine reviews, and constructing/defending class action suits. The combination of his training in medicine, basic and clinical research, clinical epidemiology, biostatistics and law make him a uniquely qualified person to review the complex issues of medicolegal cases.

Dr. Wheeler is a qualified first-reviewer, and a convincing expert during testimony. He has never been excused from a case as insufficiently expert.

Areas of expertise:

Gynecologic surgery Forceps / Vacuum Uses/ Complications Fetal Stress vs. Distress Cesarean vs. Vaginal Birth Shoulder Dystocia Pregnancy induced Hypertension / HELLP Syndrome Hysterectomy: Indications and Complications

Preterm Labor Incompetent Cervix Endometriosis Pelvic Adhesions Leiomyomata Uteri Infertility Advanced Reproductive Technology (IVF)

Clinton F. Merrill, Jr., MD, has over 35 years of experience in clinical Internal Medicine and 28 years of experience in Medical Oncology and Hematology.

Dr. Merrill is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of all solid tumors as well as the full range of hematologic malignancies. He has special expertise in benign hematology including: anemias, low blood cell counts, iron overload disorders, bleeding and clotting disorders.

Litigation Support - Dr. Merrill offers expert witness services to counsel representing Plaintiff and Defendant. His services include medical record review, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony. Dr. Merrill takes pride in providing thorough record review, meticulously researched reports reflecting unbiased opinions, and excellent communication skills with the ability to make the complex understandable.

Areas of Expertise:

Breast Cancer Colon Cancer Lung Cancer Tumors Leukemias Lymphomas

Myeloma Myeloproliferative Disorders Myelodysplastic Syndromes Benign Hematology Anemia Bleeding and Clotting Disorders

Tracy L. Skaer, PharmD, FASHP, FASCP is a Professor Emeritus of Pharmacotherapy with over 30 years of pharmaceutical experience; 5 years as an expert witness. She is a licensed pharmacist in California, Idaho, and Washington. Dr. Skaer is a Fellow of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacist, and a Member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacist's (ACCP) Pain and Palliative Care Practice and Research Network (PRN).

Dr. Skaer's research interests include chronic pain, comorbid mental illness in chronic disease, depression, anxiety disorders, insomnia, mindfulness, complementary and alternative medicine, and pharamcoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology. Her research has been supported by over $3.2 million in grants from foundations and pharmaceutical industry.

Litigation Support - Dr. Skaer has completed several expert cases across the United States. Her services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include record review, written reports, deposition, and trial testimony. Dr. Skaer's cases involve:

Chronic Pain Narcotic Use Opioid Pill Mills Illicit Substance Abuse Opioid Overdose Wrongful Death

Urine Drug Testing Medication-Related Suicide Medication Reactions and Interactions FDA Controlled Substances Act Opioid Prescribing Opioid Dispensing Regulations

View Dr. Skaer's Consulting Profile.

C. Thomas Vangsness Jr., MD, is a board certified Orthopedic Surgeon, Chief of Sports Medicine at USC, and a tenured Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.

Upon graduation from medical school, he completed his Residency in Orthopaedic Surgery along with two fellowships in Sports Medicine and Bioengineering. Dr. Vangsness specializes in the conservative and operative treatment of Sports Injuries and is recognized as a leader in the field of Sports Medicine. Over his 30 year career, he has published more than 100 journal articles, lectured extensively both nationally and internationally, has been on the editorial boards of several journals, and is the recipient of numerous academic awards for his contributions to the field. Dr. Vangsness has recently published a book entitled The New Science of Overcoming Arthritis.

In 2014, Orthopedics This Week named Dr. Vangsness as one of the “Top 28 North American Sports Knee Surgeons”. In 2016, Castle Connolly named Dr. Vangsness as one of America’s Top Doctors. In Southern California, he continues to be voted top doctor numerous times and received multiple awards in both Los Angeles and Pasadena.

Litigation Support - Dr. Vangsness has been providing expert witness services for numerous years. His services include consultations, medical record reviews, and independent medical exams. As an expert witness, he has presented 30 depositions and issued numerous expert opinions. He has experience in a wide range of cases including workman’s compensation, personal injury, and medical malpractice.

Areas of Expertise:

Orthopedic Surgery Sports Medicine Musculoskeletal Injuries Knee Surgery

Shoulder Surgery Rotator Cuff Surgery Arthritis Knee Arthroscopy

View Dr. Vangsness' Consulting Profile.

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:

Pelvic Mesh Sexual / Genital Injury Personal Injury / Motor Vehicle Accident

Criminal Cases Foley Catheter Implant / Device Complications

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.

William Santoro, MD is Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and Family Medicine. In addition to being the Chief of the Section of Addiciotn Medicine at Tower Health and Medical Director at the Reading Hospital & Medical Center detoxification/rehabilitation program, Dr. Santoro is also the Medical Director at New Directions, Methadone Treatment center where he is responsible for all admission physical exams and for prescribing methadone to approximately 950 opiate dependant patients. Dr. Santoro is the Addictionist on staff at The Reading Hospital & Medical Center within the Department of Psychiatry. He is consulted by hospitalists to care for patients admitted to the hospital with addiction complicating their condition. Dr. Santoro runs a Medication Assisted Recovery Clinic, an outpatient program treating over 200 patients with buprenorphine (Suboxone) 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 pharmacuetical 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.

Herschel R. Lessin, MD, CMCE, has been a full-time practicing Pediatrician since 1982. Trained at Stanford and Yale, he the senior partner of one of the larger single specialty Pediatric practices in the United States, The Children's Medical Group, PLLC, with 9 offices and 24 clinicians in NY's Hudson Valley. His practice includes children from birth through the end of college.

Dr. Lessin see office based patients and rounds on newborns in the nursery. He takes call at nights and weekends as well. With 36 years of clinical practice, he is experiences in all aspects of general Pediatric care.

Dr. Lessin is active on a national policy level, having been co-lead author on several American Academy of Pediatrics policy statements and technical reports, as well as being a member of the authoring committee on several others. He has reviewed a majority of AAP policy statements during his 6 years on the nation Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, making comments for possible revision as needed. He is currently serving on the committee revising the national guidelines for the care of ADHD.

Dr. Lessin has had broad media experience, hosting medical spots on radio, TV, and online. He has authored a biweekly column for a regional newspaper on general pediatrics. He has appeared on regional radio providing advice, both prerecorded and live call in.

Litigation Support - Dr. Lessin has served as an expert witness in Pediatric Malpractice litigation for over 30 years, working for both plaintiff and defense. He has reviewed and provided opinions in hundreds of case and testified at deposition dozens of times. He has been qualified as an expert at trial on 16 cases to date (March 2018) He is willing to travel if required. Dr. Lessin provides honest opinions based solely on the facts of the case materials reviewed, without regard to the position of retaining counsel. He has lectured to physicians on medical liability issues at a national level as well as regional and local groups.

C. Perry Cooke, III, MD, is an Orthopedic Surgeon with more than 35 years of experience in the management of Musculo-Skeletal Injury and Disease. He has treated all Orthopedic conditions, but now concentrates on Disorders of the Shoulder and Knee.

Dr. Cooke is a founding member and has been the long-term managing partner of a large private Orthopedic group in Syracuse, NY. His Patient Satisfaction Surveys are consistently very high. He is on the active staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Community General Hospital, Upstate University Hospital, and Specialists’ One-Day Surgery Center, all in Syracuse, NY. In the past, he was occasionally assisted at Surgery by a Resident in Orthopedics, but for many years is now assisted by a PA or LPN…performing as the primary surgeon on every case.

Litigation Support - Dr. Cooke is comfortable in the legal environment. He is experienced in Depositions, Video Testimony, and Courtroom Testimony. He is not intimidated by the proceedings of a courtroom or an opposing attorney.

Dr. Cooke testifies for both defense and plaintiff cases. He relates well to juries, being able to explain complicated situations using plain English terminology. Dr. Cooke can use documents, charts, and anatomic models to educate members of a jury. He will participate in a case only if his opinion is supported by the evidence.

Manonmani Antony, MD, DABA, DABIPP, is triple board-certified in Anesthesiology (ABA), Pain Medicine (ABA), and Interventional Pain Medicine (ABIPP).

Dr. Antony completed medical school at University of Peradeniya and later finished her residency at Texas Tech University, where she was awarded the Outstanding Resident Award. Dr. Antony was trained to perform advanced pain procedures utilizing cutting-edge technology during her Pain Management Fellowship at the University of Maryland. She currently lectures on Opioid Risk Management for the Medical Society of Delaware and the Delaware State Medical Board.

Dr. Antony's personal philosophy as a physician motivates her to explore every treatment option possible in order to avoid invasive surgeries and Opioid drug abuse in chronic pain patients. With great success, she uses Interventional Spinal / Joint Procedures along with Physical Therapy as alternative pain-management therapies to supplement patients' pharmacological regimens.

Litigation Support - Dr. Antony provides expert witness services for cases involving Interventional Pain Management and Opioid Risk Management. She has performed numerous Independent Medical Reviews (IMEs) and has testified in court approximately 25 times. Dr. Antony's services are available to counsel representing plaintiff and defendant and include Workers Compensation Review, Auto injury Review, Depositions, Narrative Reports, and Peer Reviews.

Areas of Expertise:

Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection Cervical Facet Joint Injection Cervical Medial Branch Block Cervical Medial Branch Neurotomy Diagnostic Ultrasound Fluoroscopic-Guided Hip Injection Fluroscopically-Guided Spinal Injection Ganglion Impar Block Implantable Peripheral Neurostimulator Intercostal Nerve Block Lumbar Discography Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection Lumbar Facet Joint Injection Lumbar Selective Nerve Root Block

Lumbar Sympathetic Block Lumbar Transforaminal Injection Myofascial Trigger Point Injection Neuromodulation Neurostimulation Peripheral Nerve Block Piriformis Injection Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection (PRP) Sacroiliac Joint Injection Spinal Cord Stimulation Stellate Ganglion Block Thoracic Epidural Steroid Injection Thoracic Facet Joint Injection Total Disc Replacement

Steven Burres has over 30 years of experience in the practice of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Burres provides all aspects of care including surgery, evaluation, treatment, and complications. He specializes in:

• Ear, Nose, and Throat
• Facial Plastic Surgery
• Liposuction
• Allergy

Dr. Burres has in-depth expertise in procedures such as cosmetic plastic surgery including hair, forehead, eyelids, nose, lip, facelift, neck lift, ear pinning and reshaping, cheek and chin implants, fillers, Botox, lasers, skin, scars, liposuction, and others except for breast implants and tummy tuck.

Dr. Burres' ear nose and throat experience includes broken noses and other facial fractures, hearing loss, vertigo, dizziness, smell, taste, nasal obstruction, sinusitis, tinnitus, hoarseness, GERD, sleep apnea, cancer, headaches, TMJ, skin disorders, facial nerve, and allergy.

Dr. Burres also has expertise in medical manufacturing having creative from concept-to-sales two medical businesses, one an injectable filler and the second a set of ear cleaning tools sold at major retailers.

Litigation Support - Dr. Burres has 20 years of experience serving as an expert witness and evaluator. He is a licensed QME/IME in California. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant for any medical legal matter including personal injury, workman's compensation, QME, IME, medical malpractice, or other medical manufacturing issues.

Education / Training:

• BA - University of Chicago, 1975
• MD -University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine, 1979
• Residency Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery, 1983
• Fellowship Facial Plastic surgery - Stanford University, 1985