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Experienced National Expert

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

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CREDENTIALS AND METHODOLOGY Courtesy introductory consultation with legal team to determine suitability for your case. I have authored over 70 papers, textbook chapters, and educational presentations. Topics have covered a wide range of subjects including fundamentals of ophthalmology, glaucoma, cataracts, uveitis, oculoplastics, cornea, oculo-dermatology, and retinal disease. I have dual fellowships in oculoplastics and cataract surgery and am board certified. Graduate education and post-graduate training were at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Wills Eye Institute, McGill University, and the University of Montreal. Faculty appointments were at the Illinois Eye Institute, Loyola University, and the University of Chicago. I assumed a leadership role and served as department chair at Weiss Memorial Hospital. Honors include magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Illinois, and Castle Connolly Top Docs 2007-2010 & 2015-2016. I was recruited by the Illinois Eye Institute to start its cataract program and also taught general ophthalmology there for eight years. An interest in glaucoma detection led to a systematic approach utilizing intraocular pressure, visual field testing, pachymetry, OCT imaging, and other tests. I presented this diagnostic paradigm for detection of pre-perimetric glaucoma to colleagues and industry leaders at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. My early career research interest in glaucoma continues to inform my expert work on glaucoma-related cases. Pterygium surgery and radiation therapy was another subspeciality interest, with an emphasis on good cosmetic outcomes while minimizing recurrence. After obtaining a license from the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety to perform Strontium-90 therapy, Over time I was doing a high volume of pterygium cases using a combined surgery and radiation approach. I also developed a modification of a traditional auto-grafting technique and publishe my findings. The approach was innovative in that it combined the use of tissue adhesive with suturing to simplify tissue handling. Leading surgeons visiting Chicago from Miami and Brisbane,Australia came to my office to watch surgery and view preoperative and postoperative patients. METHODOLOGY Case review is not a passive reading of the records. Theories are analyzed and stress-tested against timelines, symptomatology, nursing documention, operative reports, imaging studies, and patient narratives. In cases with multiple treaters and endpoints, timeline construction can resemble three-diminensional chess. Not uncommonly, the "obvious" causation theory must be set aside in favor of one better supported by the evidentiary record. Proper documentation often provides important context during a retrospective review. At the same time, gaps in the medical record may lead a reviewer to question omissions or unexplained sequencing. What is not documented can be as important as what is recorded. The discipline of chart review requires mindfulness that hindsight is not the legal benchmark. The relevant question is: "Without the benefit of knowing the outcome, what would a reasonably competent practitioner have done at the time under similar circumstances?" Composing reports and rendering opinions requires the same discipline as scientific writing: accuracy, clear reasoning, and when appropriate references to the medical literature. Reports often serve as the basis for filings and deposition testimony. CONTACT INFORMATION I have provided expert witness services in 15 states with many from word-of-mouth referrals. My deposition skills have been praised by hiring attorneys. Additional information including sample fee arrangment is available at ophthalmologyexpert.net. I may be reached on my mobile phone at 773-899-1032 or by email at lstone@stoneeyecenter.com.