Medical Causation Analysis Consultants: 39

Vera Dolan is an epidemiologist with over 30 years of experience in the life and health insurance industries. She is one of the leading mortality experts in the life insurance industry. She writes underwriting manuals and policy and procedure manuals for life and health insurance companies.

Vera has testified in both state and federal court, and has been retained in over 200 cases since 2006 for plaintiffs and defense on an equal basis. She is very credible testifying in deposition and on the stand.

* Life expectancies that are personalized and accurate to the standards of the life insurance and life settlement industries. Addresses the cases when life expectancies that are simply taken from a life table or estimated by a doctor, actuary or biostatistician are too long, too short, insufficient or not credible. Addresses the cases when a complete insight into the individual's medical conditions and/or personal history of high-risk behaviors is needed to assist the judge or jury in their decision. This information often decides the case, see article for details.

* Expert in bad faith/wrongful denial of life/health insurance claims.

* Expert in life/health insurance underwriting material misrepresentation.

* Expert in medical risk assessment and underwriting issues.

* Expert in life insurance underwriting policies and procedures.

* Expert in epidemiology. Previous cases include infectious diseases, occupational and environmental exposures, pesticides and tobacco.

* Approved life expectancy expert with the U.S. Department of Justice.

* Active consultant to the life insurance industry conducting cohort mortality studies, and writing underwriting and policy and procedure manuals.

* Over 100 articles published on mortality research and underwriting.

* Friendly, clear, concise, objective and quantitative.

* There is no charge for the initial phone consultation.

* There is no charge for travel time.

Lori S. Corley MD, FAAP, is Board Certified in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Also certified in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Neonatal Advanced Life Support NALS, she provides comprehensive medical care for infants, children, and adolescents, acting as their primary care physician. 

Employment Experience

• Consultant / Expert Witness for Medical Malpractice cases - Case list available on request (2004-present)
• Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Georgia Health Sciences University /Medical College of Georgia (2002-present)
• Adjunct Professor, MSN Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program, Kennesaw State University (2001-present)

Dr. Corley provides litigation support services to attorneys representing Plaintiff and Defense. She is available to review medical records, give depositions, and trial testimony for cases that include issues of causation, quality control, and standard of care. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Pediatric Medicine - General infections and illnesses (fevers, sore throats, ear infections, etc.) and minor injuries, as well as some diseases (septic shock), emotional stressors in children that may lead to psychiatric or mental health complications, including developmental and anxiety disorders, behavioral problems and functional complications
• Adolescent Medicine - Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), substance abuse, obesity, eating disorders, mental illnesses (ADHD), acne, pregnancy, birth control programs, menstrual disorders, problems with puberty, among many other conditions and disorders

Yolanda Anderson, RN, BSN, CEN, CLNC is a Registered Nurse and has been working in the Emergency Department for more than 25 years. She began work in the Emergency Department of Los Angeles County, USC Medical Center, a level I Trauma Center. She then worked in the Emergency Department at Saint Anthony Hospital Central in Denver, Colorado, a level I Trauma Center where she helped initiate the Hyperbaric Medicine program. For 15 years, she was employed as a staff RN, Charge RN and Assistant Nurse Manager in the Emergency Department at Littleton Adventist Hospital - Littleton, Colorado, a level II Trauma Center. There, she helped with the expansion and reconstruction of the current Emergency Department facility.

A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Ms. Anderson is knowledgeable about all aspects of Hospital Care and Standards of Care for Physicians, Nurses and Ancillary Personnel. Her consulting services include:

• Hospitals, Clinics, and Offices - Consult and organize for the development and expansion of a new facilities or offices and related care patterns
• Personal - Consult with family members to organize health care history, needs, and medications and to help understand healthcare information and interpretation
• Teaching - Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course Instructor, Triage Class instructor, Charge Nurse class instructor

View Yolanda Anderson's Expert Witness Profile.

Clive M. Segil, MD, FACS, FRCS is an internationally renowned Orthopedic Surgeon with 30 years of experience in the management of Musculoskeletal Disorders. Dr. Segil sees the patient as a “whole person” not only a “disease,” and places great emphasis on the mind-body connection, applying the concept of what is best for the patient. This means that he uses treatments that result in a cure, at best, and at very least, a marked improvement in their well-being.

For the past 25 years, Dr. Segil has been involved in research and teaching. He is a past assistant clinical professor of orthopedics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and as a past Clinical Chief of Orthopedics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He continues as a leading orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Segil treats the following Orthopedic conditions:

• Injuries - Bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, cartilage, nerves
• Deformities - Scoliosis, club feet, spondylolisthesis, leg length discrepancies
• Degenerative Conditions - Joints and Spine
• Tumors
• Congenital Defects - Hips, club feet

Dr. Segil is a lecturer and visiting professor in Japan, South Africa, England, Canada, Israel, and China. He speaks and teaches on such topics as sports injuries, spinal cord injuries, innovative orthopedic surgery procedures, and workers' compensation issues.

View Dr. Segil's Expert Witness Profile.

Ernest N. Charlesworth, MD, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Allergy & Immunology, and the American Board of Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. He has over 40 years of experience in his field of expertise.

Dr. Charlesworth is one of only a few United States physicians who is board certified in both Allergy / Immunology and Dermatology. Well-versed in his area of expertise, he has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, several textbook chapters, and two textbooks. He has been honored by the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology for both Distinguished Service and as a Distinguished Fellow.

Dr. Charlesworth offers litigation support, except independent medical examinations, to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense. He has been deposed and/or testified approximately 15 times since 2010. His services include issues of causation and standard of care. Dr. Charlesworth has completed the National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics. He retired from active medical practice in May of 2014 but continues to be active in academic medicine.

Areas of Expertise:

Respiratory Diseases Asthma Immunologic and Allergic Disorders Dermatologic Diseases Allergic Skin Diseases

Allergic Drug Reactions Skin Cancers Health Effects from Toxic Mold Mycological Diseases Allergic Pulmonary Disease

Garson M. Caruso, MD, MPH, CLCP, FACOEM, FIAIME is a board certified Occupational Physician and Certified Life Care Planner, with expertise in Life Expectancy Determination, in private consulting practice:

• Trained at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH) and the University of Pennsylvania (Residency in Occupational Medicine), with additional training at the American Academy of Insurance Medicine
• Broad background in consulting, medical direction, and occupational health services for organizations including AmTrust North America, Bechtel, Bell & Evans, Dean Foods, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Lockheed Martin, The New York Transit Authority, PepsiCo, Service Employees International Union, and the US Department of State and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Extensive experience with supervision of physician extenders (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in onsite occupational health clinics
• Review of thousands of complex disability and workers’ compensation claims for Advance Medical, AmTrust, Assurant, CorVel, Mutual of Omaha, and others
• Medical Expert Witness in Life Expectancy Determination, professional liability, and impairment and disability evaluation (multiple depositions)
• Fellow, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME)
• Certified Medical Review Officer (MROCC 2008-present) and Independent Medical Examiner (ABIME 2009-2014)
• Numerous Leadership roles in ACOEM, including: Chair, Practice Guidelines Revision Panel on Disability Prevention and Management (2009- present) and Co-Chair, Depression in the Workplace Project (2006-2010)
• Licensed in Florida, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

 Areas of Expertise:

Causation Analysis Disability Prevention and Evaluation Drug Testing Fitness for Duty Impairment Evaluation and Rating

Life Expectancy Determination Occupational Medicine Physician Life Care Planning Return to Work Work Capacity

View Dr. Caruso's Expert Witness Profile.

Elbridge F. Bills, MD, FACOG, is a board certified OB/GYN with over 20 years of clinical experience in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Bills is a graduate of Emory Medical School and received a Master's degree in Metabolic & Nutritional Medicine from the University of South Florida.

With a full-time practice caring for and managing low and high risk pregnancies and deliveries, Dr. Bills also has an active gynecological practice including hysteroscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures. He is licensed in both Georgia and Florida.

Dr. Bills is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Litigation Support - Dr. Bills offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. He is available for cases involving medical malpractice and other OB-GYN related injuries. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Normal & High Risk Pregnancies Hysteroscopic Gynecology Laparoscopic Gynecology Reconstructive and Robotic Surgery

Gynecological Ultrasound Integrative Medicine Hormone Therapy Testosterone Therapy

Gerald W. Smetana, MD, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, is a General Internist with 38 years of experience in an academic primary care practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he has taught internal medicine to medical house staff and also teaches extensively to practicing clinicians in continuing medical education settings. Dr. Smetana is a Master of the American College of Physicians.

Practicing in an outpatient setting, Dr. Smetana cared for a panel of patients that was weighted towards those with multiple chronic illnesses and high disease complexity. In addition to all aspects of office based general internal medicine, his areas of interest include Preoperative Medical Evaluation, Hypertension, and Headache.

Dr. Smetana has been repeatedly selected as a Best Doctor in a national survey. He publishes in the peer reviewed medical literature and medical texts, has edited textbooks, and has helped to develop national guidelines on topics in internal medicine. He has been invited to deliver seminars and presentations on various topics within his area of expertise nationally and internationally. He has been a section editor for the Annals of Internal Medicine. In April 2025, Dr. Smetana retired from clinical practice, but remains active in scholarly work, lecturing, and consulting.

Litigation Support - Dr. Smetana reviews cases for both plaintiffs and defendants and has testified at deposition and at trial as an expert on numerous occasions in most states in the eastern United States. He has reviewed medical malpractice cases over the past 20 years both for plaintiffs and doctors. Dr. Smetana also consults for risk management insurers. His record review and medicolegal consultation services are available throughout the United States.

Paul M. Adler, DO, FACEP, MBA, Medical Director for the Ventura County, California, Department of Corrections, has worked in Correctional / Jail / Prison Medicine & COVID-19 Preparation & Response. He has overseen the care of inmates in Jails in California and New York, as well as Prison inmates who have been transferred to county facilities to serve their terms for years in county jails in California. He has also overseen Correctional health car in locked units in Hospitals . 

Dr. Adler is the President-Elect of The American Correctional Health Services Association of California / Nevada, which represents all clinicians and administrators in Jails/Prisons in California and Nevada. He previously oversaw a County Hospital, County Nursing Home and ran a County Health Department and oversaw Correctional healthcare for the Westchester, New York Jail.

Litigation Support - Dr. Adler has defended Jails and Prisons in Southern California, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. He is currently the expert consultant to the California Prison System for Covid litigation and the medical consultant to the judicial consent decree overseeing care in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. He also served as the expert consultant to the ACLU for Covid in the Illinois Department of Corrections

Dr. Adler still works as a full-time practicing physician and has helped attorneys and insurance companies in Emergency Medicine, Nursing Home Medicine, Public Health and Hospital Administration since 1985. He has been involved in Plaintiff litigation in many states including against Rikers Island, NY and Cook County Jail and is available to review and consult on clinical Correctional/Jail/Prison cases for attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Services:

• COVID-19 Preparation & Response
• Medical Oversight of Federal Consent Decrees
• Screen Cases for Merit
• Review, Analyze and interpret Medical Records
• Provide Basic or Comprehensive Written Reports
• Interpret Standards of Care, Deviation and Adherences as they Relate to Correctional Health Care
• Develop Chronological Time Lines
• Policy and Procedure Development