Choking Expert Witnesses

Choking expert witnesses and consultants listed here may be able to form expert opinions, draft expert witness reports, provide expert witness testimony at deposition and/or trial as or serve as consulting (non-testifying) experts on choking. The choking expert witness listings on this page are typically from fields/areas of expertise such as: Assisted Living, Developmental Disabilities, Emergency Medical Services, Geriatrics, Hotel & Restaurant, Long Term Care, Nursing Homes, Slip Trip & Fall, Social Work, and Speech-Language Pathology.

View Full Profile

Gary R. Coburn

Restaurant Concept Innovations

San Juan Capistrano, California
Hotel & Restaurant, Slip Trip & Fall - Slip Trip & Fall, OSHA, burns, choking, food safety, dram shop, alcohol, negligent security, employee safety, commercial kitchen, customer injuries, ADA, management, franchise, ownership, permitting, training, investing, accounting, premises liability
Award-winning restaurant executive. Helped create, open, run, and advise hundreds of full-service restaurants, limited-service, quick-service, bars and nightclubs. Additional expertise in restaurant franchising and commercial kitchen design/build from remodels to ground up including conceptual development, viability, and business interruption. Over 45 years in the restaurant industry as owner, operator, franchisor, consultant, President, Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager of numerous restaurant and food service establishments. Experienced restaurant investor and developer. Active restaurant owner with consulting business developing restaurant concepts and turning around existing establishments. Concepts worked on include: Joe's Crab Shack, Cask ‘n Cleaver, Lord Charlie’s, El Gato Gordo, Pizza Pronto, Safari Bar Restaurant, Shark Club, Bull Dog Grill, Stronghouse, Pangea, The Ballroom, Juarez Grill, Dickerson’s Club 29, Yucatan Liquor Stand, Zepp’s Atomic Tex Mex, Cab...
View Full Profile

Elizabeth M McKinney

Forensic Speech Pathologist and Expert Witness

Forensic SLP Consulting Services, LLC

Melbourne, Florida
Speech-Language Pathology, Geriatrics - Dysphagia, Choking, Aspiration Pneumonia, Weight Loss, Dehydration, Malnutriiton, Dementia, Stroke/ CVA, TBI, Developmental Disabilities, Cognitive Impairments, Communication Disorders, Parkinson's Disease, SLP, Neurogenic Disorders, Swallowing Disorders
As a forensic speech-language pathologist with 18 years of experience, I specialize in legal consulting and expert witnessing services for both plaintiff and defense medical malpractice and nursing home neglect cases nationwide. My expertise is in cases involving dysphagia, choking, aspiration, weight loss, dehydration, malnutrition, developmental disabilities, dementia, and neurogenic disorders such as stroke, TBI, and Parkinson’s disease. As a graduate of the University of Florida, I received my BA in communication sciences and disorders and gerontology in 2006, and a MA in speech-language pathology in 2008. I hold additional certifications in dysphagia management and Parkinson's Disease and am a Certified Dementia Provider (CDP). With a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), I am qualified to opine on legal cases nationwide. I’m committed to evidence-based practices and maintaining the standard of care in speech-langua...
View Full Profile

Karen M Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S

Speech-Language Pathologist / Dysphagia & Choking

SwallowStudy & Associates, LLC; SwallowStudy.com

Boston, Massachusetts
Speech-Language Pathology, Geriatrics - swallowing, swallowing disorders, dysphagia, oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, oropharyngeal dysphagia, vocal cords, vocal folds, larynx, aspiration, aspiration pneumonia, aspiration precautions, safety, stroke, choke, choking, asphyxiation, hypoxia, anoxia
I am a medical Speech-Language Pathologist and a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders/Dysphagia (BCS-S). I achieved this BCS-S specialty certification in 2012. I have been a certified, licensed and practicing SLP since 1996, with licensure in Massachusetts from 1998 to current. I have enjoyed working as a dysphagia expert witness in litigation since 2016. I have reviewed over 60 cases, equally covering defendants and plaintiffs. I started SwallowStudy & Associates, LLC in January 2024 and now have an associate who is also a board certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders: George Barnes, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S. Please see his listing as well. We both take cases nationally. I have worked with the adult and geriatric populations, specializing in dysphagia evaluation and management in long-term care, rehabilitation centers, and acute care with inpatients and outpatients. I have also been invited to nursing conferences to speak for nursing and ...
View Full Profile

Neal C. Buddensiek, MD, DNBPAS, HMDC, CMD, WCC

Long Term Care Expert

Post Acute Medical Expert

Roseville, Minnesota
Long Term Care, Assisted Living - Assisted Living, Long-Term Care, Choking, Dysphagia, Elopement, Falls, Geriatrics, Hospice Care, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility, Medical Malpractice, Motorized Mobility Scooter Collision, Nursing Homes, Post-Acute Care, Safety, Suicide, Pressure Injury, Pressure Ulcers, Wound Care, Wrongful Death
19+ years practicing Internal Medicine, 13+ years practicing as an attending physician in post-acute care. Expert in long-term care medical and administrative oversight (8 skilled nursing facility medical directorships; 1000+ resident chart reviews for safety and quality control). Expert in assisted living medical and administrative oversight (5 assisted living facility medical directorships; 500+ resident chart reviews for safety and quality control). Expert in hospice medical and administrative oversight (2 hospice agency medical directorships; average daily census 400+ hospice patients, 3 Midwestern states). Five years teaching Internal Medicine residents and nurse practitioners about nursing home and residential care. Medical consultant for one of the largest Catholic Long-Term Care/Senior Living companies in the United States (26 skilled nursing facilities comprising 2,100+ beds, 28 assisted living facilities comprising 2,100+ units, 5 Midwestern states). Holds active medical l...
View Full Profile

GEORGE BARNES

Speech-Language Pathologist / Dysphagia & Choking

SwallowStudy & Associates, LLC

Maplewood, New Jersey
Speech-Language Pathology, Nursing Homes - swallowing, swallowing disorder, dysphagia, aspiration, pneumonia, choking, asphyxiation, medically complex, frail, elderly, geriatric, physical medicine, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, slp, medical complexity, oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, choke
George Barnes, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, has been a certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) with his Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association (ASHA) since 2013 after completing his Clinical Fellowship Year in 2012-2013. He obtained his Board Certification as a Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S) from the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (AB-SSD) in 2022. He has earned 7 ASHA ACE awards for far exceeding the required hours for continuing education through presenting and attending conferences/webinars. George is the founder/CEO of an SLP company that provides mobile endoscopic swallowing tests in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He specializes in dysphagia evaluation and management in various clinical settings, collaborating with a team of medical professionals to provide comprehensive care for people with dysphagia and their caregivers. George authors research-based articles via ASHA a...
View Full Profile

Bret Vaks, MBA

Autism & IDD Wrongful Death & Abuse/Neglect Expert

Scranton, Pennsylvania
Developmental Disabilities, Social Work - Autism, IDD, Wrongful Death, Abuse and Neglect, Group Homes, Day Programs, Day Habilitation, Adult Day Care Centers, Sheltered Workshops, Insufficient Staffing Levels, Medicaid Waiver Regulations, State Licensing Standards, Choking, Prader-Willi Syndrome , Down Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Behaviors , ABA, PBS
Expert Witness for the Plaintiff Specializing in Abuse & Neglect Cases and Wrongful Death Cases Involving Individuals with IDD, Autism and or Mental Illness. I have 36 years of experience operating Group Homes and Day Programs/Day Habilitation Treatment Programs/Adult Day Care Centers/Sheltered Workshops and ABA Behavioral Programs (Day Programs) for people with Autism, Intellectual Developmental Disabilities as well as people with Mental Illness. I provide expert testimony specific to individuals that reside in Group Homes or individuals who attend Day Programs. I have a full understanding of State and Federal Medicaid Waiver regulations that Group Home and Day Program Providers must follow when providing service delivery. I provide expert testimony specifically on when Social Service Agencies do not follow State and Federal Medicaid Waivers leading directly to Abuse and Neglect and Wrongful Death. With my experience and MBA, I provide expert testimony on how ofte...
View Full Profile

Elizabeth P Turner

Speech-Language Pathologist- Swallowing Expert

UVA Medical Center

Charlottesville, Virginia
Speech-Language Pathology, Geriatrics - swallowing, dysphagia, choking, feeding, traumatic brain injury, geriatrics, aspiration, tracheostomy, aspiration pneumonia, hospice, stroke, aphasia, intubation, communication, airway, nursing home, rehabilitation, communication, asphyxiation, larynx
Elizabeth Turner is a highly respected and experienced Speech-Language Pathologist with over 16 years of clinical expertise in acute care, critical care, and instrumental swallowing assessment. Currently serving as a Level IV Clinician at the University of Virginia Medical Center, one of the nation's top academic hospitals, Ms. Turner brings unmatched depth in the evaluation and management of complex swallowing, communication, and cognitive-linguistic disorders. Her clinical focus includes extensive work with critically ill populations, including tracheostomized and ventilator-dependent patients, post-extubation dysphagia, head and neck cancer, neurogenic swallowing disorders, and patients recovering from lung transplant and COVID-19-related respiratory failure. Ms. Turner is certified in both MBSImP and FEES, and has completed thousands of instrumental swallow evaluations throughout her career. She also has expertise in aphasia, cognitive-lingusitic deficits, stroke, and brain inj...
View Full Profile

Kristine Carlson

Speech-Language Pathologist -- ADULT SWALLOWING

Charlottesville, Virginia
Speech-Language Pathology - dysphagia, aphasia, cognitive-linguistic deficits, swallowing, swallowing disorders, stroke, aspiration, aspiration pneumonia, choking, swallow strategies, aspiration precautions, tracheostomy, brain injury, TBI, asphyxia, hospice
Kristine Carlson is an ASHA-certified and Virginia-licensed medical Speech-Language Pathologist currently working in the acute care setting at University of Virginia with over 20 years of experience. Over the course of her career, she has also worked in the skilled nursing, sub-acute, long-term acute care, acute rehab, and outpatient settings with adults 18+ with primary focus on dysphagia, aphasia, cognitive-linguistic disorders, and dysarthria. As an acute care speech-language pathologist in an academic medical center, Kristine conducts comprehensive swallowing evaluations on medically complex patients patients to determine the safety of PO intake while minimizing aspiration risk. She possesses strong clinical decision-making skills with critically ill patients with a myriad of diagnoses including but not limited to lung/heat/lung transplant, stroke, TBI, acute respiratory failure. Her expertise also extends to patients with speech, language, or cognitive deficits. She has wo...
View Full Profile

A. Keith Wesley, MD, FACEP, FAEMS

Emergency Medical Services Expert Witness

Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Emergency Medical Services - Emergency Medical Services, EMT, Paramedic, Standard of Care, Prehospital, Inter-facility Transport, Ambulance, Cardiac Arrest, Airway Management, Choking, Spinal Injury Management, Excited Delirium, Patient Restraint, Refusal of Care, Failure to Transport, Patient Safety
* Residency trained and Board Certified in Emergency Medicine (Retired) * Board Certified in Emergency Medical Services * Minnesota State EMS Medical Director 2007 - 2010 * Wisconsin State EMS Medical Director 2006 - 2008 * Chair, National Council of State EMS Medical Directors 2006 - 2008 * EMS Physician Advisory Committee, Wisconsin DHFS 1993 - 2004 * Author of two ECG texts and Medical Advisor to two Emergency Medical Responder textbooks * Editorial Board member Journal of Emergency Medical Services 2007 - 2020 * Medical Director M Health Fairview EMS (St. Paul MN) 2008 - 2020 * Medical Director United Emergency Medical Response (WI) 2007 - Present * Medical Director Ashland Bayfield County (WI) 2006 - 2012 * Medical Director Eau Claire Fire Department (WI) 1994 - 2004 * Assistant Medical Director Janesville Fire Department (WI) 1989 - 1993 My experience in direct oversight of EMS agencies and development of state-wide policies and protocols attests to my ability to evaluate t...