Medical-Legal Research Expert Witnesses: 22

David E. Saintsing, MD, is a board certified, residency trained, highly experienced Emergency Medicine Physician. Serving as chief resident during residency, he has been a leader for years - including in his current practice. 

For 20+ years, Dr. Saintsing has also been an educator of medical students, physician assistants, and residents. He currently serves on the physician assistant education faculty in a group of 200 ER doctors.  In addition he is on faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rocky Vista University.   This has helped hone his skills as a concise and clear communicator - critical ingredients to enhancing efficiency and knowledge of the legal team.  Serving on his practice's professional peer review committee furthers Dr. Saintsing's exposure to standard of care conversations and enhances his insight as an expert witness. Additionally, he is on the board of directors of his large multi-specialty physician owned corporation. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Saintsing offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. He has reviewed approximately 20 cases and has been deposed 3 times.  

Areas of Expertise:

Services include:

• Neurological Injuries (Brain and Spinal Cord Injury)
• Burns
• Orthopedic Injures
• Amputation
• Chronic Pain
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• 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

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 30 years, a PA Educator, Assistant Professor, and Director of the University of Wisconsin Physician Assistant Program.

Services Include:

• Medical Records Review, Deposition, Testimony, Referrals of PAs, NPs, Midwives, CRNAs, and allied health PT, EMT etc.

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.

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:

View Dr. Persky's Consulting Profile.

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

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

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

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Patricia J. Bartzak, DNP, RN, CMSRN, TCRN, CNRN is a skilled hospital nurse clinician with 19 years of direct nursing care of patients with infectious diseases and trauma patients, including injuries and diseases related to neurologic, cardiac, renal, renal transplant, spinal, orthopedic and acute and chronic pain and oncologic diagnoses.  Located on the east coast with current nursing licenses both in Massachusetts and California. Has reviewed more than 60 cases in 6 years, written several reports, and been deposed about a dozen times in person and video. Currently working in a hospital designated as level-1 trauma center.

Continued active contributions to the field of nursing as staff nurse, nurse researcher, professional journal column editor and leadership initiatives through active participation in professional nursing organizations.  Served 2 terms as an elected Regional Coordinator for Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society. Currently, serving on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. 

Direct care experience with complex airways, cervical instability, multi-drain management, invasive monitoring, complex wounds, pain management and surgical interventions from many services: orthopedics, neurology, general surgery, thoracics, infectious disease and gastrointestinal medicine. 

Co-chaired the American Nurse's Association (ANA) Scope & Standards of Practice (4th edition, 2021), a document that guides nursing practice for the country's 4 million nurses and Chair of Nursing Research in a level-1 trauma center. 

Nurse educator for several years from undergraduate through the doctoral level including clinical rotations.

Column writer for Nursing Evidence-Based Practice column, having published dozens of articles on safe bedside nursing care. Peer reviewer for the Journal of Trauma Nursing.

Served as a nurse voting members of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) with current Collaborative Institutional Training (CITI) certification.

Professional nursing certifications in medical-surgical nursing, trauma nursing, neuroscience nursing and telemetry. 

View Dr. Bartzak's Consulting Profile.

Grace T. Mondina, DNP, MSN, RN, PHN, has 14 years of experience as a Nurse in Skilled Nursing Facility / Long-Term Care and 6 years as a Case Manager and Post-Acute Care Management. 

Ms. Mondina has served as an Expert Practice Consultant for the California Board of Registered Nursing. She is currently an Expert Witness for the Department of Justice, where she reviews investigative case materials and prepares written opinions and assists investigators, prosecutors, and administrative law judges in understanding the nursing aspects of a case.

 Ms. Mondina also serves as a mentor for the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) students from the University of San Francisco.

Litigation Support: Ms. Mondina is available to review medical records, medical facts, and other medical situations for standard of care. She is licensed in California, Arizona, and Colorado.

Areas of Expertise:

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

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

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

Areas of Expertise:  

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

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

Joseph B, Marzouk, MD, FACP, has been in clinical practice exclusively in the field of Infectious Disease since 1982 and has consulted and treated thousands of patients. He has more than 35 years of experience in the medico-legal aspects of Infectious Disease and has provided numerous objective reviews and testimonies for defense and plaintiff’s attorneys. 

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.

Areas of Expertise:  Infectious Disease in all medical specialties: 

• HIV/ AIDS
• Infection Control
• Food Poisoning
• Hepatitis

• 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

Dr. Mayer is an independent consultant and scholar that (for identification only) holds the position of Visiting Fellow in Human Flourishing,  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. 

Dr. Mayer continues to do research and mentor young physicians and medical students while doing a limited amount of consulting in epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics, observation 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 leads a Facebook group of 4000 physicians and epidemiologists on reviewing  science daily on Covid-19.

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:

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

• 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

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