Wrongful Death Accidents Expert Witnesses: 20

Joseph E. Gunja is a Jails, Prisons and Corrections Expert with more than 30 years of experience in the corrections industry. Mr. Gunja had a distinguished career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) for over 28 years serving as a Correctional Officer, Shift Supervisor, Investigator, Captain, Associate Warden, and Warden at three complex correctional facilities. 

He also served as Regional Director of the Western Region for over 2 years and was assigned to the FBOP's Headquarters in Washington, DC where he was responsible for authoring national policy and official publications, providing technical expertise to the Assistant Director of Correctional Programs and facility Wardens, Associate Wardens, and Captains. 

After retiring from the FBOP in 2007, Mr. Gunja has been providing correctional consultation and expert witness services. In addition, he has worked for two of the largest private corrections companies, CCA and GEO Group, as Warden at the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Oklahoma. 

Litigation Support - Joseph Gunja has an over 90% success rate in all cases he has been retained as an expert, both working with plaintiffs and defendants, as well as several cases of sentencing mitigation or reductions.  While some cases were settled in lieu of court, the settlements were all in favor of the attorneys or firms he represented. He offers advice, expertise, and expert testimony for a variety of issues in matters pertaining to: 

View Simco Correctional Consulting's Business Consulting 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.

Professor Christopher J. Tennant, PhD, CIH, has over 40 years of experience in the field of Environmental Health and Industrial Hygiene. He is Board Certified in the Comprehensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene. Dr. Tennant is currently President, CEO, and Principal Consultant at San Joaquin Environmental, in Fresno California, where he consults with Federal, State, County, City, various public agencies, and private industry sectors from public housing to Aerospace. His services are available in all 50 US States and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Tennant also serves as Professor Emeritus for the Department of Public Health at Fresno State University where he's taught Environment Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Health and Safety for 35 years at both undergraduate and post graduate levels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Tennant has been retained by numerous insurances companies and law firms on various Industrial Hygiene matters throughout the US, including workers compensation, property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death. He has testified as an expert witness in Federal Court, Superior Court, and Workers Compensation Appeals Board over 100 times. He's been deposed many more times. 

Areas of Expertise:

Michael J. Welton, a Self Employed Consultant since 1998, has been retained as an expert in over seventy-five separate cases in the areas of Property Management, Asset Management, Wrongful Death, Premises Liability, Real Estate Development and Toxic Mold Remediation Protocol for Commercial and Multi-Family properties. He has extensive experience dealing with injuries that occur on income-producing properties, toxic mold in residential and commercial properties, premises liability, life-safety issues, wrongful death, and standard of care in multi-family, retail, and commercial properties.

As a seasoned and experienced real estate professional, Mr. Welton has the background to develop successful income-producing assets, evaluate and complete the acquisition of income-producing assets, and create teams of individuals to professionally manage any type of real estate.

Significant Accomplishments:

• Increased annual rent from $18 million in 1990 to $49 million in 1995
• Supervised/negotiated credit tenant lease transactions generating in excess of $500 million of long-term revenue
• Consistent double-digit rates of return on invested capital
• Developed 1,212,000 square feet of retail shopping centers from 1990 to 1998
• Directly responsible for the acquisition and disposition of one asset generating before-tax profits of $32 million

Mr. Welton has court and deposition testimony experience in AZ, CA, OK, MO, OH, NC, and TX. He is available to travel ANYWHERE.

Dr. David H. Schaffer, MD, MRO is a Harvard-trained, dual-boarded MD in both Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine, serving as the Director of Medical Toxicology at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville, SC and Prisma Health–Upstate hospitals. He is also a certified Medical Review Officer (MRO, MROCC).

Dr. Schaffer is extensively published and is an experienced expert witness in cases including Med Mal, wrongful death, personal injury, child custody, and more.