Boarded in Toxicology & Emergency Medicine

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

My educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from John’s Hopkins University, doctor of medicine from the State University of New York, Syracuse, emergency medicine training in Morristown, NJ, and medical toxicology with Emory University and the CDC in Atlanta, GA. I am board certified in both emergency medicine and medical toxicology. Publications include multiple peer reviewed articles on numerous toxicology subjects, including in journals such as Annals of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Toxicology, Journal of Medical Toxicology, and Journal of Emergency Medicine. My practice includes over 20 years of experience in emergency medicine, and toxicology is an integral piece of this practice. I have also done bedside private toxicology consulting and have served as an emergency department medical director over a period of more than 6 years in two departments. I have extensive experience in emergency department operations, peer review, and interdepartmental relations regarding emergency medicine. Throughout my career I have been engaging in teaching both at bedside and in lecture format. I am currently emergency medicine faculty at the Creighton University School of Medicine Phoenix, Arizona campus, and my teaching focuses on emergency medicine and medical toxicology. I have several years of experience in legal expert witness services, serving both as an emergency medicine and toxicology expert. Often this combination of dual specialty expertise serves to enhance both my and my clients understanding of complex issues that may involve emergency medical care, overdoses, pharmacologic effects, withdraw syndromes, adverse medication reactions, and combinations thereof. This also allows for greater breadth in case review and subject expertise. My legal case experience has included an almost equal part defense/ plaintiff mix in civil cases. Expertise in medical toxicology in conjunction with emergency medicine in medical malpractice actions serves to enhance the evaluation and assessment of cases where issues regarding medication use, medication errors, pharmaceutical interactions, and causation issues involving pharmacodynamics (drug effects on the individual) and pharmacokinetics (the body’s metabolism and clearance of drugs). However, as a toxicologist I have provided service in not just medical malpractice actions but also criminal law (review of substance use/ toxicology testing), family law (cases whereby parties require toxicology expert review of urine drug tests, etc), dram shop cases, and personal injury cases (traffic incidents with drug/ alcohol impairment questions). Other areas of law may also require toxicology expert needs, such as in cases of environmental and occupational law where chemical / toxics exposure may be at issue. I actively practice and teach emergency medicine and toxicology in Phoenix, AZ. I find that my active medical practice enhances my expert witness skills; conversely my expert witness work enhances my medical care delivery and teaching. I am happy to discuss cases or questions with you. Please reach out to me anytime.