Expert Information
Currently engaged in clinical practice: Yes
Degree: MD, MSC
Specialty / Subspecialty:
- Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Area of Expertise: Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Heart Valve Surgery, Aortic valve replacement, Mitral valve repair, Mitral valve replacement, Aortic surgery, Arrhythmia/Atrial fibrillation surgery, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Year of Medical Training Completion: 2010
City of Practice: Orange
State of Practice: California
Previous Experience As Expert Witness: Yes
Type of Practice: Academic
- Deposition(s) Given For the Defendant: 1
- Deposition(s) Given For the Plaintiff:
- Testified in a Trial For the Defendent: 1
- Testified in a Trial For the Plaintiff:
Available to Review Cases: Yes, for either the defendant or the plaintiff
Available to Be Deposed: Yes, for either the defendant or the plaintiff
Available to Testify In Trial: Yes, for either the defendant or the plaintiff
Training and Additional Credentials
Medical School: -
Year of Completion: -
Residency: -
Year of Completion: -
Fellowship: -
Year of Completion: -
Academic / Leadership Information
Highest Academic/Leadership Position Achieved: -
Current Academic Affiliation: -
Distinguishing Achievements
Awards: -
Number of Publications on PubMed: -
Professional Organizations: -
Fee Schedule
Medical Record Review:
Review of Medical Records, Review of Additional Materials, additional office consultation
- $400
- $2000
Independent Medical Examination:
Independent Medical Examination with written report
- Per Hour: $425
Deposition in office:
Deposition: Discovery/Evidence
- First two hours: $800
- For each Additional hour or any portion thereof: $200
- Retainer (due 14 days prior to scheduled disposition): $2000
- Cancellation fee (less than 7 days notice): $1500
Trial (InState):
- Initial day: $2000
- Cancellation fee (less than 72 hours notice): $1500
- For each additional day: $2000
- Cancellation fee (less than 72 hours notice): $1500
- Retainer (due 14 days prior to scheduled trial): $2000
Trial (Out of State):
- Initial day: $2000
- Cancellation fee (less than 72 hours notice): $1500
- For each additional day: $2000
- Cancellation fee (less than 72 hours notice): $1500
- Retainer (due 14 days prior to scheduled trial): $2000
Case Responses
CABG complications and bacteremia death (Case #203)
- Medical Probability: 8 / 10
- Medical Error Summary: The two biggest red flags from this summary include the fact that the patient had significant postoperative bleeding and was not taken back sooner for re-exploration/washout. The second is mention of...
- Causation Probability: 8 / 10
- Causation Summary: If the patient did indeed have postoperative bleeding leading to tamponade and cardiogenic shock, then that would explain the multi system organ failure and other complications leading to death.
- Expert Summary: I have 10 years of experience as an attending cardiac surgeon at academic and non-academic hospitals including University of Washington, University of Southern California, and in my current role as Ch...
- Similar Summary: Routinely. There will need to be a review of the medical records to determine if there was a delay in bringing this patient back to the OR.
Coronary AV fistula after CABG x4 (Case #261)
- Medical Probability: 9 / 10
- Medical Error Summary: Without reviewing the file, it is not a definite yes, but it is extremely likely that the sequential saphenous vein graft was accidentally sewn/attached to a coronary vein instead of an artery. This s...
- Causation Probability: 5 / 10
- Causation Summary: This is more difficult to prove. Attaching the bypass graft to a vein should not lead to a NSTEMI/myocardial ischemia. However, not bypassing the intended target (coronary artery) will leave that arte...
- Expert Summary: I have been in practice for 11 years at academic medical centers and am chief of my academic division currently. I have performed over 1300 heart surgeries in my career, the majority of which are CABG...
- Similar Summary: This is a very rare complication that I have only heard about but have never seen.
- Medical Probability: 6 / 10
- Medical Error Summary: This type of nerve injury and loss of motor function is not a common complication nor is it often even quoted as a rare complication of femoral cannulation. Injury to the femoral nerve and its cause w...
- Causation Probability: 6 / 10
- Causation Summary: As I previously stated, this is very unusual and unexpected for this complication to occur. The mechanism is hard to explain and will depend on how cannulation was performed and how the femoral vessel...
- Expert Summary: I have been an academic cardiac surgeon in practice for 14 years and am currently division chief at a public, academic institution. I am the director of minimally invasive cardiac surgery at my center...
- Similar Summary: I have been doing minimally invasive cardiac surgery and valve surgery including minimally invasive mitral valve surgery for over 10 years. I have never encountered this complication in my practice.
