Medical Malpractice Expert Witnesses

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

Jeffrey M. Wilder, DC, FIANM(us), CCSP, FICC, has 38 years of experience in private Chiropractic Practice. Engaged in private family-oriented practice as a chiropractor in Madison, Wisconsin since 1981, Dr. Wilder has completed a post-doctorate program in chiropractic orthopedics from National College and is a Board Certified Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Specialist, a Diplomate of the American Board of Chiropractic Orthopedists, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromuscular Medicine. This program is successfully completed by less than 1% of the nation’s chiropractors.  Dr. Wilder has also been certified by the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council as a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, a 120-hour certificate program dealing with sports training, and the treatment and prevention of sports injuries. He has completed state requirements in physiological therapeutics, surface EMG, and clinical nutrition, among others.

Dr. Wilder has also served as an officer on the Board of Directors for the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, which commissioned the chiropractic profession’s first nationwide clinical protocol, known as, Guidelines for Chiropractic Quality Assurance and Practice Parameters: Proceedings of the Mercy Center Consensus Conference, 1993, Aspen Publishers, Gaithersburg, MD.

A Past President of the 1,800 member Wisconsin Chiropractic Association, Dr. Wilder had one of the longest terms (6 years) in the 100+ year history of the organization. He currently serves as the representative for the chiropractic profession to the Wisconsin Medicare Carrier Advisory Commission.  He has been a frequent spokesperson for chiropractic in the press, television and radio, including regular appearances on statewide Wisconsin Public Radio. 

Litigation Support: Dr. Wilder has extensive experience over the past 26 years as a court-recognized Chiropractic Expert throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. He has been a consulting expert to the state of Wisconsin's Worker's Compensation Division for the past 20 years.

Dr. Wilder has served as an expert in over 250 cases of alleged Chiropractic Malpractice and Motor Vehicle Accidents. He has reviewed and testified in court for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving chiropractic treatment, including claims of:

Chiropractic Standard of Care Clinical Malpractice Negligence Sexual Boundary Issues License Issues Disciplinary Actions

Fraud Review Informed Consent Documentation Worker's Compensation Diagnosis / Evaluation Management

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.

Emin Gharibian, PsyD, is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology with over 10 years of experience in assessing, treating, and consulting on psychological disorders.

Dr. Gharibian's training and experience have been in psychological and neuropsychological assessments in a variety of clinical settings including private practice, outpatient mental health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, forensic hospitals, and correctional facilities. 

He specializes in providing comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for a variety of conditions including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, complications from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, concussions, learning disabilities, ADHD, and PTSD in clinical, civil, and criminal cases. 

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Gharibian is a staff psychologist and medical staff member at Patton State Hospital, a 1,500-bed maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital housing judicially committed patients under the following commitment types: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), Incompetent to Stand Trial, Mentally Disordered Offender, and Mentally Disordered Sex Offender.  

As a forensic psychologist at Patton State Hospital, Dr. Gharibian conducts competency evaluations with criminally committed patients with severe mental illness and cognitive deficits. He routinely conducts psychological evaluations to evaluate patients and determine if they are competent to stand trial, writes court reports, and testifies in court as an expert witness. 

Dr. Gharibian has been appointed to the Los Angeles Juvenile Court Expert Witness Panel. He is also a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the American Psychology and Law Society. 

Areas of Forensic Expertise:

Personal Injury Independent Medical Evaluations Worker's Compensation Fitness for Duty Police Officer Pre-Employment Evaluations Immigration Cases Diminished Capacity Violence Risk Assessments Mitigating Factors in Criminal Cases Civil Capacity (Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Contractual Capacity) Symptom Validity/ Malingering

Forensic Psychology Forensic Neuropsychology Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Concussions Neurocognitive Impairment from Substance Use Complications from stroke Dementia Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Learning Disabilities ADHD Sexual Harassment Discrimination

Timothy P. Luckett, BS, RN, CNOR, CRNFA, CIC, LNC a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) gives expert opinions and testimony in all types of medical malpractice cases for both Plaintiff and Defense. Mr. Luckett is a Registered Nurse Expert in Surgery, ICU, Nursing Home Neglect, Outpatient Surgery Center Matters, and Hospital Surgical Matters.

Mr. Luckett has served as a circulating nurse, RR nurse, and as a registry nurse in General Surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Gynecology, Vascular and Urology Surgeries. He has given numerous laser safety lectures and is a clinical assistant for the University of California at Los Angeles, Registered Nurse First Assist (RNFA) program. Mr. Luckett has also served as a case consultant and reviews nurse malpractice cases for the California Board of Registered Nursing.

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.

Vikas Aggarwal, MD, MPH, is a Board-certified Interventional and General Cardiologist with additional specialization in Vascular Disease and Pulmonary Embolism. He has vast tertiary care experience in the medical management of cardiovascular conditions as well as interventional techniques such as coronary and peripheral vascular interventions, pulmonary vascular intervention, mechanical circulatory support, and structural heart interventions.

Dr. Aggarwal holds certifications in Peripheral Vascular Ultrasound Interpretation (ARDMS) and Adult Comprehensive Echocardiography. He has extensive academic and teaching experience in the areas of interventional cardiology, cardiology, and vascular disease. He is a frequent invited lecturer and presenter at noted universities and cardiovascular institutions around the world.

Research:

• Novel percutaneous therapies for acute pulmonary embolism and chronic thrombo- embolic pulmonary hypertension including catheter based thrombus removal and Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty
• Clinical research involving intravascular imaging and contrast sparing coronary intervention
• Novel percutaneous device therapies for patients with cardiogenic shock

Litigation Support: Dr. Aggarwal has extensive experience as an expert medical witness having completed more than 50 case reviews and depositions over the past 3 years. His cardiology and vascular disease services are available to attorneys for both plaintiff and defense, and include medical review, thorough reports, deposition, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise: 

Cardiovascular Disease Interventinal Cardiology Vascular Medicine Coronary Peripheral Arterial Disease  Vein Thrombosis Pulmonary Embolism

Stents Cardiac Catheterization Bleeding Anticoagulants Antiplatelets Circulation Arteries

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.

Dr. Ernst specializes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Competency/Capacity evaluations, Mitigation evaluations, and Employment Evaluations. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and one of fewer than 35 psychologists in California who have undergone the rigorous examination process necessary to obtain Board Certification in Forensic Psychology. As a trauma expert, Dr. Ernst chose to complete an additional year of fellowship training in PTSD at the San Francisco Veterans Hospital.  Having completed over 350 forensic evaluations, Dr. Ernst is frequently retained to conduct a diverse range of civil and criminal evaluations including, but not limited to, mitigation evaluations (juvenile & adult), competency/capacity evaluations, personal injury evaluations, mental state at the time of the offense evaluations, violence risk assessment, and employment evaluations. He is currently a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the California Department of Industrial Relations and serves as a member of the Criminal Panel for Psychological and Psychiatric Experts for multiple Superior Courts. Dr. Ernst's past professional experiences including providing treatment and expert testimony as a member of the medical staff of Napa State Hospital and completing VA forensic evaluations on veteran's alleging psychiatric injury from military trauma. Areas of Expertise:

Assessment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Personal Injury Evaluations Employment Evaluations Assessment of Civil and Criminal Competencies Violence Risk Assessment / Threat Assessment Mitigation Evaluations Capital Sentencing Evaluations MSO Evaluations Assessment of Neuropsychological Functioning Assessment of Malingering

Independent Medical Exams (IME) Trial Consultation Disability Evaluations Drug Abuse / Drug Addictions Anxiety Disorders Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) Depressive Disorders Panic Disorders Schizophrenia Assessments Violence Evaluations

Alameda Office 1402 Park St., Suite C Alameda, CA 94501 Telephone: 415-913-8096

View Dr. Ernst's Consulting Profile.

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.