Medical-Legal Research Expert Witnesses

Dr. Patricia J. Bartzak, DNP, RN, CMSRN, is a highly educated Bedside Registered Nurse with an active practice in a level one trauma center for a leading academic medical center in the northeast. Dr. Bartzak has more than 17 years of bedside experience with multiple nursing certifications including trauma and burn care, as well as cardiac and advanced cardiac life support. In addition to her current role, Dr. Bartzak has practice experience with cardiac, stable ventilator and geriatric-psychiatry patients. Dr. Bartzak has a program of research with the veteran population in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder. She is a column editor for a peer-reviewed nursing journal and frequently submits and has been published in MedSurg Matters, the journal of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. Dr. Bartzak is well-versed in research protocols, and remains current on a number of research trials. Dr. Bartzak maintains CITI certification and is a voting member of an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Dr. Bartzak is currently co-chairing the American Nurse's Association (ANA) Nursing Scope & Standards of Practice used by the country's 3 million nurses. Dr. Bartzak is also a peer reviewer for the Journal of Trauma Nursing. Dr. Bartzak views nursing as a way of life. She teaches nursing at all levels of educational preparation: associates, bachelors, masters and doctoral levels. Dr. Bartzak is a fierce advocate for her students and patients, while also ensuring that nursing standards are met. Dr. Bartzak has expert witness experience, and is know for her meticulous medical record review, footnoted and referenced information to supplement her own knowledge and experience to bring critical information and insight to a case and has reviewed more than 40 cases, and been deposed in approximately 8 cases. View Dr. Bartzak's Consulting Profile.

Kimberly M. Pearson, MHA, MBA, RN, CCHP is a Correctional Healthcare Consultant with over 35 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 75 cases in the past five 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.

Constance J. Paine CCRN, LNC, is a Legal Nurse Consultant with over 40 years of nursing experience. Ms. Paine offers comprehensive services to the legal community in cases involving Critical Care, Interventional Radiology, Medical Surgical, and Discharge Planning. She is currently the Principal at CP LegalMed Consulting and a Staff Nurse in ICU at UC San Diego Health System.

Ms. Paine has been retained as a nursing expert over 70 times for actions involving Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, and Product Liability. She provides non-biased opinions for attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense. Ms. Paine is available to identify causation and damages issues and attend IME's. Her services also include assessment, review, analysis, and research of medical cases, and education of nursing standard of care issues.

Areas of Specialization:

Hospital Policy & Procedure Open Heart Surgery Patients Pacemaker / Implantable Defibrillator Management Intra-aortic Balloon Pumps Continuous Dialysis Advanced Cardiac Life Support Ventilated Patients - acute and chronic

Stroke Care Conscious Sedation Intravenous Therapy Epidural Catheters Skull Base Surgery Wound Care Fall Risk Management

View Constance Paine's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Matthew Lee, MD, RPh, MS. is a Physician, Pharmacist, Pharmacologist and Toxicologist who also practices as an Expert Witness and Legal Strategy Consultant. Specific Benefits Include:

• Increased quality and integrity of written expert reports, based on an expanded knowledge base
• Time savings by only having to coordinate and discuss a case with one expert as opposed to two or more
• Since there is so much overlap between fields in the medical profession it is often hard to determine where one scope ends and another begins. This ambiguity is dramatically decreased , and scope increased by combining physician, pharmacist, and pharmacologist into one
• Communication skills of a pharmacist and experience dealing directly with the lay-public, in addition to the knowledge and background of a physician is extremely beneficial describing technical details to a jury
• Practicing in different realms within the healthcare field has allowed Dr. Lee to integrate the multiple facets giving him a unique and distinct perspective that no other expert has.

Case Experience Includes:

Criminal and Civil Cases Anaphylactic Reactions Overdosel Wrongful Death Cardiac Arrest Respiratory Arrest Fentanyl Overdose Dilaudid Overdose Pharmacist Mis-Fills Pharmacist Dispensing Errors

Pharmacy Standard of Care Medication Adverse Effects Falls Related to Medications (in and out of hospital) Toxicology/Toxic Reactions Medical Marijuana Positive Drug Screens in the Workplace Workplace Safety Fit for Duty Testing

Board Certified Family Medicine 32 years. Experience in review of Standard of Care and Expert Testimony. Clinical Faculty UCLA School of Medicine. Expert Reviewer - State Medical Board of California.

Kenneth A. Stein, MD
 Board Certified Emergency Medicine & Internal Medicine
Subspecialty Certified in NeuroCritical Care

Kenneth A. Stein, MD, ABPS, ABIM, UCNS, is Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Louis University School of Medicine (a Level 1 Trauma Center). Dr. Stein currently practices Emergency Medicine and Critical Care / Intensive Care Medicine. For 20 years, Dr. Stein was an Emergency Physician at St. Anthony's Medical Center of St. Louis, one of the busiest emergency departments in the State of Missouri. 

Dr. Stein has extensive experience in providing medical-legal expert services, having reviewed over 500 cases (both plaintiff and defense) and having given testimony  over 200 times. Dr. Stein furnishes an unbiased opinion on medical malpractice/negligence cases. He also provides medical opinion concerning causation. Dr. Stein does not guarantee a favorable outcome but provides an honest assessment.

Dr. Stein has lectured nationally, and consults in the area of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Product Development and Marketing.

Dr. Stein reviews cases (for both Plaintiff and Defense) of alleged Medical Malpractice / Negligence in areas including:

• Emergency Medicine        
• Critical Care Medicine / Intensive Care Medicine          
• Internal Medicine

Services provided include:

• Medical chart review and analysis   
• Providing opinion concerning the presence or absence of Negligence / Breach of the Standard of Care, Damages / Injury and Causation      
• Survey of case for merit 
• Preparation of reports and / or affidavits        
• Preparation for opposing expert deposition and cross-examination        
• Medical literature search    
• Expert witness testimony at deposition and trial

Call 314-495-7009 for a complete CV, including presentations.

EXPERTISE IN:

1. The pathobiology, clinico-pathologic correlation, and histopathologic diagnosis of: diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, anus, liver, and pancreas.

2. Human neoplasms (cancer) and preneoplastic conditions.

3. Establishing standard of care, causation and cause of death.

Dr. Torres was instrumental in creating a rather unique model of GI subspecialty-focused laboratory, that during his 12 yrs tenure became one of the largest private national Anatomic Pathology laboratories-Caris/Miraca Life Sciences.

BACKGROUND:

1. Anatomic Pathology Residency: Washington Univ-Barnes Hospital 1991-94.

2. Oncologic Pathology Fellowship: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 1994-95.

3. Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology Fellowship: Harvard-Brigham & Womens Hospital 1995-96.

4. Instructor at Harvard Medical School: 1996-1998.

5. Assistant Professor and Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology Division at Univ. of Texas Health Science Center-Hermann Hospital, Houston Medical Center: 08/1998 - 12/2000.

6. Staff GI Pathologist and Quality Assurance Director at Caris/Miraca Life Sciences, Dallas TX: 01/2001 - 04/2012.

7. Staff Pathologist, Anatomic Pathology Division of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, Long Island NY: 05/2013 - 05/2015.

8. Staff Pathologist, Anatomic Pathology Division of Alliance Health Sciences, Dallas TX: 01/2016 - present.

9. Sole-Proprietor of "Expert Pathology Consultation Services", Dallas TX: 2001-present.

A senior clinical faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Harold J. Bursztajn, M.D., is active in patient care in medical, psychiatric and judicial education nationally. He is qualified in both state and federal courts and is nationally recognized as a distinguished impartial, clinical, ethical and forensic expert to P/D attorneys and institutions. Individual and multispecialty team consultations available.

• Informed Consent & Malpractice
• Employment Litigation: ADA, Disability, Sexual Misconduct Discrimination, Worker's Compensation
• Emotional & Physical Damages: Conscious Pain & Suffering, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Neuropsychiatry & Pain Imaging
• Standards For Experts
• Product Liability: Medical Devices & Pharmaceuticals, Toxic Tort
• Criminal Justice & Public Safety: Diminished Capacity, Drug Addiction, Competency to Confess, Death Penalty Mitigation, Workplace Safety
• Family & Custody Issues
• Testamentary & Contractual Capacity
• Professional & Organizational Ethics: Patient Care, Managed Care, Privacy
• Psychoanalysis & Cultural Perspectives

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. Mayer is an independent consultant and scholar that holds the position of Visiting Fellow in Human Flourishing, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,  Harvard University. He has been a full-time tenured professor with recent appoints in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, biomedical informatics, public health and medicine (psychiatry). He held various titles including , Professor (Part-time), Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Affiliated Professor, Mayo Clinic/ASU joint program in Biomedical Informatics, a member of the Research Staff at Mayo Clinic, and Professor at Arizona State University He continues to do research and mentor young physicians and medical students while doing a limited amount of consulting in epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics, observatioan studies and clinical trials. His consulting projects often focus on model development, execution and inferences. He is one of the few MD/PhD epidemiologists. He now resides in Dana Point, California.

Andrew Lawson, MD, is a Stanford trained, board certified Emergency Medicine Specialist. He works full time in a high volume regional adult & children’s medical and trauma center that sees over 60,000 patient visits per year. As a Quality Assurance Director for the last 10 years, Dr. Lawson has personally reviewed hundreds of cases and has overseen the review of thousands of medical records. He has been selected as a member of an elite group of physicians to provide hospital wide quality case reviews.

Dr. Lawson is uniquely qualified to comment on Standard of Care Issues in Emergency Medicine. He has developed expertise in reviewing medical records for quality improvements and for reducing medical-legal pitfalls in his group’s medical practice. As an Expert Witness, he has developed the skills to provide thorough research and background information, pros and cons to the case, precise timelines, a unique approach and understanding of the opponent's expert witness testimony, and the highest quality consultation, chart review, and testimony for any situation. His unique teaching methods and presentation skills transform difficult, complex, and diverse topics into easy to understand information for jury members and other laypersons.

Areas of Expertise include:

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Critical Care Issues
• Medical Case Review
• Pre-hospital Care
• Quality Assurance

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.

Expertise: Expert in Infectious Disease-infections in all medical specialties:HIV/ AIDS; Infection Control; Food poisoning; Hepatitis. Medicolegal consultant in above areas with extensive experience: case reviews, independent medical evaluations, Objective reviews for plaintiff and defense.

Degrees / Licenses: MD (Licenses: AZ, CA), American Board of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases; Certification Board of Infection Control. HIV Specialist.

See CV on Website for more details.

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.

The Physician Assistant Experts Network™ is a referral resource for attorneys seeking expert medical opinions on the standard of care provided by physician assistants and advanced nurse practitioners. The PA Experts Network™ was founded by Jeffrey G. Nicholson, PA-C, Ph.D., M.Ed., MPAS, an experienced medical-legal consultant and a leader in the physician assistant profession. He will either help you personally or facilitate a physician assistant expert from his network of board certified Physician Assistant Experts in all medical specialties. See his article on this website. Practicing 29 years, a PA Educator, Assistant Professor, and Director of the University of Wisconsin Physician Assistant Program.

Services Include:

• Medical Records Review, Deposition, Testimony, Referrals

Education and Certifications:

• Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, 2008
• Master of Education, M.Ed., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1989
• Masters Degree in Physician Assistant Studies, University of Nebraska Click here for Website to see complete resume and photo.