Professional Malpractice (General) Expert Witnesses: 132

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a Certified Financial Planning Expert with 18 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Ms. Cheng is a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional® and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Ms. Cheng helps educate the public, policymakers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013 – 2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). 

Marguerita Cheng CNBC Interview on Social Security 

Awards and Honors - Ms. Cheng is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC).

Litigation Support - Ms. Cheng serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for CFP Board, contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. She also volunteers for CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings. Services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant include financial due diligence, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

Financial Planning Issues Social Security Elder Financial Abuse

Financial Planner Standard of Care Financial Planner Code of Ethics Investor Rights

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 over 36 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 cares for a panel of patients that is 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 and has received a national award for scholarship in medical education. 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.

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.

Tyla A. DiMaria has a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), with over 25 years of experience in Serious Injuries and Catastrophic Illness within various clinical settings, management, work comp, and home care. Ms. DiMaria is a Registered Nurse certified in Case Management as well as Life Care Planning. She has owned her own homecare company since 2008.

As Principal of Best Care Life Solutions, based in Carlsbad, California, Ms. DiMaria reviews medical records, performs past billing analysis, consults and collaborates with physicians and other health professionals to formulate future care needs and Life Care Plans for patients with catastrophic injuries and chronic illness.

Ms. DiMaria provides nationwide services to both plaintiffs and defense attorneys. Expert Witness Services include Independent Medical Evaluations, Depositions, and In-Court Testimonies.

Areas of Expertise:

Life Care Plans Life Care Plan Rebuttals

Standard of Care Reports Cost Comparisons

The Life Care Plan is crucial to individuals with injuries or chronic conditions requiring complex long-term healthcare intervention and management. It is an integrative plan for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions that includes items and services required, along with specific costs that addresses current and future needs. The Life Care Plan includes estimates for the current and future healthcare needs of individuals along with the associated costs.

Monica M. Argumedo, MD, is a Board-Certified Forensic and Clinical Psychiatrist (ABPN). Dr. Argumedo has testified about her forensic opinions in more than 40 cases in open court. In psychiatric practice for more than 15 years, Dr. Argumedo teaches at Rush University Medical School/Rush University Medical Center as Assistant Professor in Psychiatry. She teaches psychiatry residents in topics related to psychiatry and the law, and psychiatry in medicine. She also interviews prospective medical students through her role on the Medical Admissions Committee.

Dr. Argumedo works with Employers in cases where mental health/psychiatric concerns about an employee require an objective and unbiased Fitness for Duty Evaluation and report. She also consults in employment matters and litigation and serves as a disclosed expert witness. Her work addresses fitness for duty (FFD) in a litigated environment, Wrongful Termination, and Psychiatric Disability. Additional experience includes FFD of peace officers and first responders.

Services - Forensic Psychiatry, Medico-Legal evaluations, medical complications, review of records, written reports, deposition testimony, trial testimony, consultation to attorneys addressing psychiatric issues relevant in a case, opposing counsel expert reports or expert qualifications, assisting with cross-examination questions, and lines of inquiry.

Areas of Expertise:

Fitness for Duty Wrongful Termination Psychiatric Disability Depression Anxiety PTSD Competency Dementia Cognitive Behavior Emotional Distress

Pain and Suffering Standard of Care Institutional Care Medical Malpractice Discrimination Harassment Hostile Workplace Pre-employment Evaluation Security-sensitive Security Clearance

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

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

Ramzy Rimawi, MD, is American board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Critical Care Medicine. He has authored dozens of articles and given hundreds of lectures in the fields of IM, ID, and critical care. Dr. Rimawi is extremely well qualified in topics including sepsis, infections, critical care, and ethics.

 As an expert medical witness, Dr. Rimawi has reviewed hundreds of medical malpractice cases for both plaintiff and defense.

LIST OF PHYSICIANS REVIEWED BY DR. RICK CHAVEZ AS AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT (OVER 155 CASES.) CAN SEND A LIST OF CASES COMPLETED, DEPOSITIONS, TESTIMONY IN FEDERAL AND STATE COURT.

LIST INCLUDES INDEPENDENT LAWYERS REGARDING PLAINTIFFS AND DEFENDENTS, MEDICAL BOARD REPORTS, U.S. ATTORNIES, USDOJ, DEA, EXPERTISE IN:

PAIN MANAGEMENT, PAIN INTERVENTIONS, DISCOGRAMS, EPIDURALS, INTRATHECAL PUMPS, OPIOID TREATMENT, ADDICTION MANAGEMENT, ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE DEFENSE AND LAWSUITS

Marilyn McCullum, BSN, RN, CEN, is a certified Emergency Nurse with peer-reviewed publications, speaking engagements, and testifying experience. She specializes in emergency nursing, general nursing care, medical documentation bias, and medical products as an end-user. She stays active in her clinical position and teaches her peers about documentation and triage.

Ms. McCullum's expert opinions are unbiased, neutral, and fact-based, following the national Standard of Care.

Jeffrey Grusenmeyer, Architect; 40 years of experience; NCARB National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Certified; Certified as a Building Official by the Council of American Building Officials; Certified as a Building Official, Master Plans Examiner, Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector and Residential Building Official by the State of Ohio; Numerous Ohio Board of Building Standards Approved Courses and Presenter.; Appearances and testimony before the Ohio Board of Building Appeals.

Fred Beck, DC, with over 45 years in practice, performs Chiropractic Medical Malpractice Reviews, Expert Witness, IME's (1500+), Peer Reviews (7500+). Dr. Beck allows videotaping and observers in room if requested by patient / claimant. Zero IME's and Peer Reviews have gone to deposition or court. Licensed in New York & Florida. Past Public Relations Director of Broward County Chiropractic Society. Chiropractor of the Year (Broward County). Writer, lecturer, ringside physician, Pharm patent etc.