Psychopharmacology Expert Witnesses: 13

Jessica Chaudhary, MD, is a Board Certified, Harvard and Yale trained Psychiatrist with specialties in Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacology. Dr. Chaudhary is a clinical instructor at Yale, and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. She has over 10 years of experience focusing on her fileds of expertise.

Dr. Chaudhary treats conditions such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, attention deficit disorders, women's mental health issues, substance use disorders, psychosis, and dementia with behavioral disturbance.  She has expertise in caring for those with complex medical and co-morbid psychiatric conditions, and she treats individuals across the life span. 

Dr. Chaudhary can provide all services through TELEHEALTH.

Litigation Support - Dr. Chaudhary offers litigation support services in civil and criminal cases to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense. She is a private consultant and expert witness for attorneys and organizations nationwide. Her services include:

• General Psychiatric Issues
• Women's OB / GYN Issues
• Substance Abuse Issues
• Evaluation and Treatment of Impaired Professionals (and/or consultation with their professional organizations)
• Independent Medical Examination
• Disability Evaluation

Education: Wellesley College, BA; University of Washington School of Medicine, MD; Yale University, Internship and Residency in Psychiatry; Harvard University, Fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine

Medical Licenses: CT, MA, FL, TX

View Dr. Jessica Chaudhary'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:

Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP's (fpamed) mission is to provide the legal profession with the highest quality evidence-based forensic psychiatric and psychological opinion and testimony. To accomplish this, they have built a specialty practice of highly trained forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. 

The psychiatrists at fpamed are multiply boarded by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. In addition to multiple board certifications, each has additional subspecialty expertise relevant to forensic psychiatric and psychological practice.

fpamed offers Forensic Psychiatric and Psychological Expert Assessment and Testimony about traumatic and non-traumatic psychological injuries including the following:

Dr. Mark I. Levy, MD, DLFAPA, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, has been practicing Clinical Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis full time for over 30 years. During the past fifteen years he has devoted a substantial portion of his clinical practice to Forensic Psychiatry, providing independent medical evaluations (IME's) and expert forensic psychiatric opinion and Consultation nationally for plaintiff and defense trial attorneys, major insurance carriers and the courts.

Dr. Levy has lectured on a wide range of forensic topics including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the role in personal injury litigation of pre-existing Personality Disorders, patient confidentiality, “Eggshell” Plaintiffs, stress management for attorneys and other topics and much more at state and local bar associations and in various other Continuing Legal Education programs for attorneys. He has written and lectured to medical audiences and is a frequent media expert and commentator on psychiatric, forensic, and mental health issues.

Dr. Levy has consulted as a psychiatric medical expert in more than 450 legal cases, have been deposed approximately 400 times and has been qualified as an expert by various State and Federal District Court to testify at trial on 52 occasions. He is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry for the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, is on the Faculty at San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and is Chairman of the San Francisco Foundation for Psychoanalysis.Licenses.

Charles E. Saldanha, MD, FAPA, graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and completed his Doctor of Medicine degree at the Duke University School of Medicine. After internship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he completed residency in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Yale University. He is certified in Psychiatry with Added Qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Saldanha has practiced in the areas of Emergency Psychiatry, Inpatient Psychiatry, and Community Psychiatry with a focus on persons with Serious Mental Illness. Over the course of his career, he served in medical leadership roles for several facilities, hospitals, and programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has served on the faculty of the UCSF Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program and has delivered educational presentations to a variety of professional and lay audiences.

Dr. Saldanha's areas of interest include administrative psychiatry, violence and suicide risk assessment, substance use disorders, medical malpractice, and civil and criminal competencies. He has performed over 60 forensic psychiatric evaluations and has testified over 25 times in court proceedings and depositions. Dr. Saldanha has been qualified as an expert in the field of psychiatry in courts in Connecticut, California and in the Federal Jurisdiction.

Anlee Kuo, JD, MD, received her B.A. degree from Dartmouth College. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Psychiatry and subspecialty fellowship training in both Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco. She is certified in Adult, Child, Adolescent & Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Kuo's areas of interest include child forensic issues such as child custody evaluations, competency to stand trial assessments, diagnostic evaluations and risk assessments for the juvenile courts, parenting assessments in dependency cases, child sexual abuse allegations and child trauma assessments and diagnostic assessments in school consultation and child immigration cases. She currently maintains a clinical faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco and a private practice in San Francisco and San Mateo treating children, adolescents and adults. She has also worked in the child psychiatry division of the San Mateo County Mental Health Department.

Dr. Kuo has performed over 250 forensic psychiatric evaluations and qualified as an expert in the field of psychiatry in the San Francisco juvenile and adult courts and in the Federal Jurisdiction. She is a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association.

Expertise: Specializing in applications of clinical psychiatry to legal issues in civil and criminal matters at the interface of Psychiatry and the Law. Has served as an evaluator or expert witness in about three hundred cases in State and Federal courts in matters relating to:

Professional Background: Certified by ABPN in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychiatry and Law Program at MCP Hahanemann University. Director of Psychiatry & Law Program and Director of Correctional Mental Health Services Program/Provider of Mental Health Services for the City of Philadelphia Prison System. Formerly Director of Psychiatry & Law Program at the Medical College of Virginia. M.D. Degree -University of Massachusetts. Psychiatry Residency & Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship -Tulane University Medical Center.

Gloria Kardong, MD, DLFAPA, DABPN is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with specialties in Psychotherapy and Psychomarmacology. In full time private practice in Palo Alto, CA for the past 25 years, Dr. Kardong offers services to individuals, couples, adolescents, and adults. She is an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Kardong offers Forensic Psychiatric litigation support services in civil and criminal cases to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense. Her services include General Psychiatric Issues, Women's OB/GYN Issues, and the Evaluation and Treatment of Impaired Professionals and/or consultation with their professional organizations. Dr. Kardong is a Psychiatric Consultant and Expert Witness for Stanford University Schools of Law and Medicine, the California Medical Board, and private attorneys nationwide. She has been retained as an expert over 20 times. Areas of Expertise:

Women's Health Care Specialist - Psychiatry / OB-GYN Interface:

Impaired Professionals:

• Physicians
• Mental Health Providers
• Attorneys
• Executives / Professionals
• Organizations

View Dr. Kardong's Consulting Profile.

James H. Reich, MD, MPH, is a board-certified Forensic Psychiatrist with extensive civil psychiatry experience who has done hundreds of evaluations.

After getting his MD from the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, Dr. Reich earned his MPH at Yale University and did his psychiatric residency at UC Davis. Dr. Reich has held academic positions at Yale, Iowa, Harvard, and Brown Universities.  Currently, he has teaching appointments at the professor level at both UCSF and Stanford University. Throughout his career, he has published over a hundred peer-reviewed publications. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Reich’s services are available for civil and some criminal law cases. Clients are assured of his personal dedication to each case. He does high quality research, expert evaluations, writes a solid report, and will testify well. Dr. Reich has been deposed over 50 times.

Areas of Expertise:

UCLA-trained double-boarded psychiatrist (adult and child & adolescent psychiatry) in active clinical practice. Experienced in academic psychiatry, community mental health, inpatient psychiatry, residential treatment, incarcerated juvenile treatment, and private practice outpatient care. Lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and Central America--proficient in Japanese, Spanish, and French. One year of public school teaching experience. Undergraduate education in classical music, history, and literature. Experienced in medical-legal consultation for medical record review and deposition preparation, as well as expert witness testimony for child and adult emotional injury cases, representing both plaintiff and defense. Private practice in Los Angeles specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry since 2013. Candidate in adult psychoanalysis since 2012 at the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC). Taught seminars at both the PCC and the Maple Counseling Center, focusing on the integration of medication treatment and psychotherapy.

EMPLOYMENT

2013-Present Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry Private Practice

2012-2014 Staff Psychiatrist LA County DMH

2010-2012 Staff Psychiatrist Pacific Hospital

2010 Staff Psychiatrist St. Elizabeth Hospital

EDUCATION

2012 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Harbor-UCLA

2010 Adult Psychiatry Residency University of Cincinnati

2007 MD Medical College of Wisconsin

1995 BA University of California Berkeley, First Honors

Board certified in Adult Psychiatry

Board certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Qualified Medical Examiner (QME) for State of California DWC

Leonard J. Weiss, MD, is a Forensic Psychiatrist with unparalleled qualifications, Board-Certified physician in 5 distinct and complementary disciplines applied to Medical-Legal questions:

Dr. Weiss has more than 40 years of experience as a physician. He has been in practice for more than 20 years as a Board-Certified Psychiatrist, Forensic Psychiatrist and Addiction Psychiatry specialist, preceded by more than 2 decades in Internal Medicine.

As an Addiction Psychiatry specialist, Dr. Weiss developed and served as Chief of the first Dual Diagnosis (Addiction) program at Michael Reese Hospital of the University of Chicago. He has served as Medical Director of Austin Lakes Hospital.

Before pursuing his interest in psychiatry, Dr. Weiss practiced Internal Medicine in Michigan where he maintains a Medical License. He has treated patients in psychiatric practice in Chicago and Atlanta. In 2013 he relocated to Austin, Texas where he has a private clinical psychiatric practice, Psychiatry Austin.

Dr. Weiss graduated from Wayne State University Medical School and MIT (Mathematics), with residency training in Internal Medicine, Fellowship in Clinical Nutrition, and Psychiatry at, respectively, the University of Michigan Henry Ford Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (Fellow) and Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago.

Litigation Support: Dr. Weiss has special training and experience in the application of psychiatric knowledge to legal issues, and works in areas where Mental Health and the Legal System overlap, such as Medical Malpractice and Standard of Care. He offers objective evaluations and psychiatric consultation in a wide variety of legal matters, including expert testimony, as well as clinical work with perpetrators and victims.

Dr. Weiss provides IMEs and expert opinions on mental health questions via written report, deposition, or courtroom testimony. He works with attorneys, courts, and other parties involved in actual or potential litigation. His research and assessment and his clinical practice cover areas such as:

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra is Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She opines about psychiatric issues in civil litigation, employment matters, and criminal cases. She has extensive experience with diagnosis and treatment of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD and other factors of emotional distress, both as a treating physician and in medical-legal cases. She serves as a forensic consultant, and/or disclosed Expert Witness. She assesses competency and undue influence,  standard of care, and mental status re judgment and clarity of thinking. Applies to civil, probate and CTST criminal matters including criminal responsibility. She is also experienced in treatment of psychotic disorders,  hallucinations, and delusions.

She opines about medication or drug impact on behavior.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra conducts IMEs and review of medical and legal records. Her assessments are thorough and inform thoughtful and objective expert opinions issued by verbal and written report and testimony. She conducts Independent Medical Evaluations face-to-face in person and by video.

She is a Certified Forensic Evaluator in Oregon.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra's clinical practice in Portland is Quimson Behavioral Health, providing psychiatric patient care, medication management, and psychotherapy, for patients who suffer from mental disorders, e.g., Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disord & PTSD and medication management. She continues to use her expertise in psychopharmacology to treat mental health conditions in the context of medicolegal medically complex cases.

Prior to expanding her private practice, she was a psychiatrist at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, in an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, a method to deliver an intensive level of services to patients in the local community. Her patients consisted of individuals who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness.  At Cascadia, she also treated patients with a history that includes forensic medical-legal issues.

Previously, Dr. Quimson-Guevarra treated patients who suffered from anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders at Cedar Hills Hospital, Multnomah County Detention Center, Washington County Jail, Snake River Correctional Institute, and the Portland Veteran's Administration. 

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra has served as a forensic consultant for the Washington County Mental Health Court in Oregon. She also has worked in the forensic evaluation service department at the Oregon State Hospital where she performed forensic evaluations.

Dr. Pitman is one of few experts to be board-certified in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Brain Injury Medicine. A Professor at Harvard Medical School (13 yrs full-time, now 7 years part-time), he is an internationally recognized researcher, teacher, clinician, and forensic expert. He has 52 years' experience practicing psychiatry, including 2 years active duty in the U.S. Naval Reserve,  28 years in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 22 years at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a recipient of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies' Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award and its Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Pitman offers forensic psychiatric consultation and expert testimony specializing in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Mental Damages, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).   He 36 has years' experience as a forensic psychiatric consultant and expert witness. 

• If your case. calls for an expert with the very highest credentials, consider Dr. Pitman.

Litigation Support Services - Dr. Pitman has rendered sworn expert testimony in approximately 70 cases. The comprehensive reports he typically generates have promoted the settlement of hundreds more. His areas of specialization include:

Dr. Pitman has presented seminars on forensic aspects of PTSD to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and other organizations. He has nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications in the psychiatry and clinical psychology literature,mostly on PTSD, including 8 on its forensic aspects. Publications:

• Forensic Psychiatry Publications: Sparr LF, Pitman RK. PTSD and the Law. In Friedman MJ, Keane TM, Resick PA (Eds.) PTSD: Science and Practice: A Comprehensive Handbook, New York: Guilford Press, 2007
• Pitman RK, Orr SP. Forensic laboratory testing for post-traumatic stress disorder. In Simon RI (Ed.) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Litigation: Guidelines for Forensic Assessment, 2nd Ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 2003:207-223
• Sparr LF, Pitman RK. Forensic assessment of traumatized adults. In Saigh PA, Bremner JD (Eds.) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Comprehensive Text. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1999:284-308
• Pitman RK, Sparr LF. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the law. PTSD Research Quarterly 1998;9(2):1-6
• Pitman RK, Sparr LF, Saunders LS, McFarlane. Legal issues in post-traumatic stress disorder. In van der Kolk BA et al (Eds.) Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and the Society. New York: Guilford Press, 1996:378-397
• Pitman RK, Saunders LS, Orr SP. Psychophysiologic testing for PTSD. Trial 1994; 30:22-26
• Pitman RK, Orr SP. Psychophysiologic testing for post-traumatic stress disorder: Forensic psychiatric application. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 1993; 21:37-52

Awards & Honors:

• Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
• Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• America’s Top Psychiatrists
• America’s Top Doctors
• International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Outstanding Scientific Achievement and Lifetime Achievement Awards
• Alpha Omega Alpha
• Sigma Xi 

Sanjay Adhia, MD, MRO, is triple-Board-Certified in Psychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine, and Forensic Psychiatry. In addition to forensic/expert witness practice, Dr. Adhia has provided patient care in the Houston area. Currently, he treats patients at TIRR Memorial Hermann. His forensic practice focuses on the psychiatric impact of personal injury, medical malpractice, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, competency, violence, and complicating mental illness, as well as psychiatric disability. Dr. Adhia is among one of the few Forensic Psychiatrists who is also co-Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine. Often, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be a major factor in litigation as it can result in psychiatric or neurocognitive impairments. He has expertise in psychopharmacology, the medicine of medication. 

In addition, Dr. Adhia works with Physicians for Human Rights to assess victims of kidnapping and false imprisonment, human trafficking, undue influence, physical and sexual abuse, rape, and fear of imminent death. In all populations, he assesses PTSD, Anxiety, Depressive Disorders, risk of suicide, and malingering. He is experienced in the treatment and impact of drug and alcohol abuse on decision-making. Dr. Adhia has also treated severe psychosis (Schizophrenia, hallucinations) and psychopathology. He was formerly treating patients at a Maximum Security Prison and prison psychiatric hospital. He has treated Opioid Use Disorders. 

Dr. Adhia’s findings consider complicating factors, such as emotional distress worsened by other active physical and mental conditions. Other factors are pre-existing mental and physical illness, competency, and capacity (e.g. dementia, Intellectual Disability.) As a physician, Dr. Adhia is uniquely qualified to review medical records and doctor reports. Institutional medicine, medical malpractice, and standard of care apply to both public and private facilities, including government, regulated correctional institutions, and psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Adhia is skilled in these med-legal issues. He conducts Independent Medical Examinations, review of records, and reports his med-legal findings and opinions. He is available to testify in civil, criminal, probate, Federal, Immigration, military, and administrative jurisdictions.

Elliott M. Stein, MD is a Geriatric Psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience caring for the elderly. Dr. Stein is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry (October, 1979), and in Geriatric Psychiatry (April, 1991; Re-Certified, December, 2001, and in April, 2011). He is licensed to practice in California and Florida. Dr. Stein was the Director of Psychiatry at the Jewish Home of San Francisco from 2010-2020, and the Medical Director of their Geriatric Psychiatry Hospital. He has treated older individuals, typically people who have complex combination of psychiatric and medical problems. Dr. Stein has been a Member of the Task Force on Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence, for the International PsychoGeriatric Association.

Dr. Stein is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.

He is available to serve as an Expert Witness, do legal and forensic consultation, record review, and assessments concerning Psychiatric issues in older individuals. Dr. Stein offers his services to attorneys for both Plaintiff or Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

• Contested Wills and Trusts
• Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Insane Delusions
• Geriatric Competence
• Dementia and Delirium, Alzheimer’s Disease
• Geriatric Psychiatry Evaluation and Treatment, Psychiatric Medication, Psychotherapeutic Issues
• Depression and Anxiety Disorders
• Relationship Problems between the Elderly and their Adult Children
• Aging and Mental Disorders
• Geriatric Psychiatry issues concerning Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Independent and Assisted Living Facilities
• Medicare Psychiatric Services Coding and Documentation

View Dr. Stein's Consulting Profile.

Suzanne Dupée, MD, is a triple board certified Adult, Child, and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist specializing in Independent Medical Examinations (IME), Child Custody Evaluations, Fitness for Duty Evaluations, and expert witness for the California Medical, Veterinary, and Dental Boards.

Litigation Support - Dr. Dupée has an active forensic psychiatric practice specializing in family law, criminal law, dependency law, civil litigation and disability.  She has been designated as an expert in Federal Court, Family Court, Criminal Court, Dependency Court, Juvenile Delinquency and Civil Court in California, Arizona, and New York states.  She is an expert for several Los Angeles Superior Court panels:  Criminal, Child Custody Evaluator, Dependency Court and Juvenile Delinquency.  

Dr. Dupée has testified over 150 times in various courtrooms and has been deposed over 80 times.  She has worked on high profile cases and death penalty cases. She specializes in forensic evaluations of families in crisis and has completed 100s of Child Custody Evaluations and all forms of psychiatric evaluations for families in crisis.

Dr. Dupee has been retained in 100s of legal cases in civil, family law, criminal, disability and dependency cases. She has completed over 1,000 evaluations in various courts and for insurance companies and government boards. She has been retained by plaintiffs and defense counsel in civil cases.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Dupée's Consulting Profile.