Medical Record Review Consultants: 61

Armond Kotikian, DDS, MD, FACS, is double board certified in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. In the clinic setting, Dr. Kotikian routinely performs IV sedations for complex cases including:

Dr. Kotikian is focused on patient care. He has been an expert witness on over 125 malpractice cases, given depositions on over 65 cases and testified at court over the past seven years.  He has been retained on nerve injury cases, wrong tooth extraction cases, wrongful death/anesthesia complications, dental implant complications, head and neck infection cases, misdiagnosed pathology, jaw fracture due to extraction cases, TMJ and all aspects of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 

Dr. Kotikian routinely lectures on subjects related to his field at both the local and national level. Topics include his areas of specialization such as Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma, Infections, Oral Pathology Resection and Reconstruction, Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients (surgical and non-surgical), and Craniofacial Anomalies (orthognathic surgery / corrective jaw surgery).

Dr. Kotikian has been featured in the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Glendale Newspress and many other local newspapers for his work in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He has also been featured on CNN Headline News local edition and the Diane Sawyer Nightly News on ABC.Dr. Kotikian is a member of numerous organizations, including the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and the Southern California Orofacial Academy. 

View Dr. Kotikian's Expert Witness Profile.

• Pediatric Neuromuscular Diseases - Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Muscular Dystrophy, Peripheral Neuropathies
• Hip Diseases in Children - Hip Dislocation, Perthes Disease, Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
• Peripheral Deformities - Club Foot, Rocker Bottom Foot, Pes Cavus, Pes Planus, Leg Length Discrepancy, Missing Bones
• Fractures in Children - Growth Plate Injuries, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Child Abuse

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.

Thomas J. Zaydon, MD, FACS,  is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon with over 30 years of experience.. Dr. Zaydon is the founder of The Cosmetic Surgery Institute of Miami and is a recognized authority on Plastic and Reconstructive and Burn Surgery. During his tenure, he has worked in the medical field in the emergency room, providing surgical procedures and performing surgery on patients who need long term or short-term care.

Dr. Zaydon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a noted author of numerous articles and chapters on various aspects of plastic surgery. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Zaydon serves as a plastic surgery expert witness on liability cases around the country. He has had the opportunity to work both with defense and plaintiff attorneys. Working in the emergency room at major hospitals has given him opportunities to work with all types of injuries from major reconstruction to minor revisions. He can provide factual synthesis of any issue regarding the medical care or not appropriate medical care rendered. He navigates medical records and understands procedural terminology and insight with professionals, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, as well as physician practices and attorneys.

Video: Plastic Surgeon As Expert Witness: How to Choose Your Expert Witness - A Guide for Lawyers

Areas of Expertise:

Research & Planning Consultants, LP (RPC) has been assisting clients with expert services for over 45 years, including consulting and expert witness testimony for personal injury, healthcare litigation, commercial litigation and Certificate of Need matters. RPC also offers a wide selection of health data. They have served clients across the U.S, from Alaska to Florida and from New England to California. 

A Complete Team of Damages Experts for Personal Injury Litigation

Research & Planning Consultants, LP provides the following services: 

• PERSONAL INJURY - RPC provides comprehensive damages analysis in personal injury litigation. Their expert team has life care planners, vocational evaluators, board-certified physicians, economists and neuropsychologists. 

Areas of Expertise include: Life Care Plans, Loss of Earning Capacity or Support, Present Value of Damages, Medical Bill Analysis, Chargemaster Analysis, Neuropsychological Testing & Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Evaluations, IMEs, Section 18.001, Prestanding ED Chargemaster Analysis

• COMMERCIAL LITIGATION- RPC has provided expert analysis on commercial litigation concerning many industries: chemicals, refining, forestry, waste management, pipelines, water resources, oil and gas EDP, fisheries, agriculture, electrical generating plants, transmission lines, telecommunications, and real estate development. Our special expertise in the healthcare industry has proven valuable to business litigators unfamiliar with this complex industry.

Areas of Expertise: Breach of Contract / Commercial Economic Damages, Construction Disputes, Litigation over Non-Competitive Agreements, Environmental Torts and Toxic Torts, Commercial Disparagement, Wrongful Termination

• HEALTHCARE LITIGATION - RPC offers economic, statistical, data and clinical analysis in a wide range of healthcare litigation. They have experience with payment disputes, qui tam litigation, physician-hospital disputes, practice valuations and construction litigation. 

Areas of Expertise: Qui Tam Healthcare Litigation, Medical Staff Disputes, Professional Liability, Payment Disputes, Health Facility Construction Disputes, Freestanding ED Chargemester Analysis

• CERTIFICATE OF NEED - RPC provides Certificate of Need (CON) planning services nationwide. We have over 35 years of experience developing regulatory strategy, preparing applications and testifying in public and administrative hearings.

Areas of Expertise: Satellite Hospitals, New Hospitals, Relocation and Transfer of Beds, Observation Beds, Geriatric Psychiatric Units, Children’s Hospitals, Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Open Heart Surgery Services, Long Term Acute Care Units, Projects that exceed CON Capital Threshold Limits, Projects for Specifically Listed Services, Programs Requiring CON, Hospices, Senior Living Facilities

Ronald T. Luke, JD, PhD, is a principal consultant and President of RPC, LP. Ron joined RPC in 1976 and became its president and principal owner in 1979. He has consulted on projects for health care providers, managed care plans and public agencies in more than 25 states. He also serves as an expert witness in trials, administrative proceedings and legislative hearings.

Active in the Health Policy Arena, Dr. Luke has been accepted as an expert in Economics, Socioeconomic Impact Analysis, and Policy Analysis by state and federal courts, and state administrative agencies. The types of cases in which he has provided expert testimony include personal injury, contractual disputes, health care payment disputes, construction defects, utility construction permitting, and certificate of need. He has testified on health care matters including market structure, billing fraud and abuse, reasonableness of charges, medical staff credentialing, workers’ compensation fee guidelines, utilization review, physician contracts, and managed care contracts.

Kacy L. Turner, MS, CRC, CVE, CLCP, is a Certified Life Care Planner and Vocational Consultant with RPC. She has over 20 years of experience in Rehabilitation. Ms. Turner has experience writing life care plans for both plaintiff and defense clients. She has experience as a rehabilitation consultant in three states and has been qualified as a testifying expert in state and federal court.  

Ms. Turner has worked on cases in several states as well as the country of Trinidad. To determine the pre-injury and post-injury employability in personal injury cases, she provides vocational testing, transferable skills analysis, job requirements analysis, rehabilitation plans, and definition of reasonable accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act. She is a member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, the Texas Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and Providers of Services, and Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals.

Brian Piper, PhD,  is an Economist with RPC specializing in Quantitative Analysis and Modelling. He works on a variety of cases including personal injury and certificate of need. He is experienced in data extraction, management, simulation, and analysis using STATA, SQL, ARC GIS and a variety of other programs. Dr. Piper has taught graduate classes in statistics and econometrics in both MBA and Ph.D. programs.

Dr. Piper is an experienced expert, providing testimony, reports, and affidavits on the issues of economic damages in personal injury litigation, healthcare litigation, False Claims Act litigation, and other commercial litigation. He has testified on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. 

Dr. Piper specializes in the economics of healthcare. He has been retained by healthcare providers and insurers in payment disputes. He has analyzed the reasonableness of charges and expected payment for past and future medical services for providers, insurers, plaintiffs, and defendants. Besides work in litigation, Dr. Piper has provided analysis of Certificate of Need applications and the economic impacts of proposed legislation.

• 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

Sasse Surgical Associates, PC is Northern Nevada’s premier provider of minimally invasive surgical solutions. Dr. Sasse is a nationally recognized expert in bariatric surgery, colorectal surgery, minimally invasive hernia and gallbladder surgery, and regenerative wound healing. 

Areas of Expertise:

Founder and Medical Director, Kent C. Sasse, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCRS, FASMBS, is certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, American Board of Surgery, and the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. 

Dr. Sasse performed the first laparoscopic colon resection procedure and the first laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure in northern Nevada more than 14 years ago. More recently, he is credited with performing the first daVinci Single Site gallbladder procedure in late 2013. 

With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Sasse is a sought after speaker and mentor to surgeons around the nation. He hosts cadaver courses on surgical topics including complex abdominal wall reconstruction at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, for visiting surgeons. He has also authored numerous peer-reviewed research articles, and some of his most recent papers discuss sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic rectopexy, gastric physiology, endoscopic techniques for gastric repairs, and minimally invasive hernia repair. He is an acclaimed award-winning author of five books www.SasseSurgical.com/books.

View Dr. Sasse's Expert Witness Profile.

Elliott M. Stein, MD is a Geriatric Psychiatrist with over 45 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 Geriatric Psychiatry (April, 1991; Re-Certified, December, 2001, April, 2011, December 2022). He is licensed 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 (Voluntary) 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 and a Life Member of the International PsychoGeriatric Association.

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.

Consulting Specialties:

• Contested Wills and Trusts
• Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Insane Delusions
• Geriatric Competence/Capacity
• Financial Elder Abuse
• 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 Expert Witness Profile.

Stephen M. Raffle, M.D. is double Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Dr. Raffle has over 49 years as a clinical and forensic psychiatrist offering his expert opinion in Federal and State jurisdictions nationwide. In addition to serving as an expert witness, Dr. Raffle consults to attorneys, judges, insurers, and to employers regarding Fitness for Duty and Risk of Violence (Threat) Assessment:

• 5000+ psychiatric assessments
• Expert testimony in 700 depositions and trials
• Successful clinical practice

The job of an expert witness is to educate a jury, judge, attorney, and trier of fact about the forensic psychiatrist's conclusions and how those opinions were derived in a manner well-reasoned, skillful, and easily understood by every person, not only another forensic psychiatrist. In short, an educator. Dr. Raffle’s experience as an educator extends well beyond a forensic venue, yet underpins the key to his ability to explain his opinions.

• Prof. of Psychiatry, UCSF Medical School, 20 years
• U.C. Hastings College of the Law postgraduate course "Trial and Appellate Advocacy" instructing seasoned attorneys about the direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses, with special focus on mental health experts and licensed medical professionals, Psychiatrists (MDs), Psychologists (LCSWs / MFTs), and physicians in other medical specialties, 11 years

Stephen M. Raffle, M.D. & Associates' expertise is well-established in forensic assessment in the areas of:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Dementia and Competency
• Testamentary Capacity
• Undue Influence
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Malingering
• Emotional Distress: Intentional & Unintentional infliction
• Emotional Distress: Forensic Evaluation to render medical-legal opinion
• Diagnosis and Need for Treatment
• Fitness For Duty
• Risk/Threat Workplace Violence Assessment
• Wrongful Termination
• Discrimination (ADA, Title VII, EEOC)
• Harassment
• Employment Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Catastrophic Injury
• Temporary and Permanent Disability
• Medical Records Review
• Assist in Preparation for Direct and Cross-examination of Expert Witnesses and Deposition of expert witnesses

Licensed in California.

William B. Stetson, MD specializes in Sports Medicine with an expertise in Arthroscopic and Reconstructive Surgery of the shoulder, knee, elbow and ankle. He has first hand knowledge of athletic injuries and the desire that all of us have to “get back in the game”. He is an associate clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the USC Keck School of Medicine and is the team physician on the USA Men’s and Women’s volleyball teams and was with both teams in London, England for the 2012 Summer Olympics. 

Dr. Stetson utilizes leading edge diagnostic solutions to assess and repair knee injuries, shoulder injuries, elbow injuries, and conditions relating to Arthritis . State-of-the-art, minimally invasive surgery techniques such as arthroscopic surgery means faster recovery times.

Areas of Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Specialization:

Dr. Stetson has traveled extensively throughout the world teaching and lecturing about shoulder arthroscopy and recently returned from Romania and Beijing, China where he lectured about the latest techniques of shoulder arthroscopy. He has started a non-profit organization, Operation Arthroscopy, whose mission is to bring orthopaedic surgery and arthroscopy to countries and communities in need.

View Dr. Stetson's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. James Strader, Jr., MD, FACC is a full-time practicing General Invasive Cardiologist, experienced in all areas of cardiovascular medicine>. Dr. Strader is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and Nuclear Cardiology. He is currently in private practice and serves as the Chief of Cardiology at The Medical Center of Plano, TX. A published author in his field of expertise, Dr. Strader has given Presentation and Lectures both nationally and internationally. His most recent awards include Cardiologist of the Year”, from The Medical Center of Plano in 2011 and the Max R. Ungar Award from the USAF Society of Flight Surgeons in 2008.

Dr. Strader's main focus is on the Medical Management of all Cardiovascular Disease. He possesses specialized knowledge of Cardio Vascular Imaging and Therpeutic Procedures, including cath lab, TEE, echocardiography, stress testing, and arrhythma testing. He also has special expertise in Aeromedical Cardiology and Return-To-Flight-Status Decisions. Cardiovascular Consultation Services:

Certifications:

• Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2002
• Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, 2005
• Diplomate, Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology, 2008
• Fellow, American College of Cardiology, 2008
• Aeromedical Examiner, Federal Aviation Administration, 2010 View Expert Witness Profile.

Tracy L. Skaer, PharmD, FASHP, FASCP is a Professor Emeritus of Pharmacotherapy with over 30 years of pharmaceutical experience. Dr. Skaer's research and professional experience include pharmacy practice, chronic pain, mental health, substance abuse, and complementary and alternative medicine. She is licensed pharmacist in California, Idaho, and Washington.

Dr. Skaer’s current research involves the use of mindfulness and multiple family group problem solving for the Treatment of Chronic Pain in those with high risk of Opioid Use. Her plans are to expand this intervention to manage chronic insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents, American Indians, veterans, and other populations. Other 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.

Dr. Skaer has published 110 professional abstracts, 82 research papers, 43 review articles, and 6 book chapters. She serves on the editorial boards of 3 medical professional journals, Clinical Therapeutics, Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders, and Pain Studies and Treatment. Dr. Skaer's publications have appeared in numerous journals including, Drugs, Clinical Drug Investigation, PharmacoEconomics, Journal of Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics, American Journal of Medicine, Harvard Review of Psychiatry, and the New England Journal of Medicine among others.

View Dr. Skaer's Expert Witness Profile.

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: