Addiction Treatment Center and Suicide Expert

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

John Puls is a licensed psychotherapist, master's certified addiction professional, and qualified expert witness located in Florida. Mr. Puls specializes in substance abuse, mental health, addiction treatment centers, and mental health facilities. Mr. Puls has experience working in all levels of care in substance abuse treatment facilities, mental health facilities, and crisis stabilization units. Additionally, Mr. Puls has created new programming within addiction treatment and mental health facilities that model best practice and standard of care. Mr. Puls has served as an expert witness for marchman act cases for both the respondent and the petitioner in the state of Florida. Furthermore, Mr. Puls is well versed in ASAM (American Society for Addiction Medicine) criteria for determining levels of care in addiction treatment centers. ASAM is considered best practice when determining appropriateness for admission and discharge to specific levels of care in addiction treatment facilities. Mr. Puls has served as an expert witness for both the plaintiff and defense counsel in medical malpractice cases, wrongful death, personal injury, family law, baker act, dram shop, and marchman act cases. This includes cases involving addiction treatment facilities in all levels of care, mental health facilities, baker act receiving facilities, and cases involving individual mental health practitioners. With nearly a decade of combined experience working in addiction/mental health, in all levels of care, Mr. Puls possess the expertise to determine if the standard of care was breached in addiction and mental health cases. This includes cases where the result was a suicide or a drug overdose death. Mr. Puls has extensive experience with suicide cases, suicide prevention, and best practice when working with suicidal patients. Mr. Puls has been retained as an expert on alcoholism by both plaintiffs and defendants in Florida dram shop cases, leveraging his extensive knowledge of addiction science and alcoholism. Florida’s dram shop law is unique in that it generally provides broad protection to alcohol vendors, shielding them from liability for injuries caused by intoxicated patrons. However, there are two key exceptions: vendors can be held liable if they knowingly serve alcohol to a minor or if they knowingly serve a person who is habitually addicted to alcohol. This second exception is particularly complex, requiring expert testimony to establish whether an individual met the legal threshold of habitual addiction and whether the vendor had sufficient knowledge of their condition. Mr. Puls’ expertise is critical in clarifying these issues, helping courts understand the nuances of addiction and its role in dram shop liability cases. Finally, Mr. Puls has served as a mitigation specialist, advocating for reduced sentencing on cases involving substance use and mental health disorders for criminal defendants and their attorneys.