Medical Expert Witness 

Dysphagia refers to difficulties in swallowing across the oral (mouth), pharyngeal (throat), and esophageal phases, which can lead to serious complications such as aspiration pneumonia, choking, and other adverse outcomes.

Often, prevention of these negative outcomes requires adequate screening, testing, therapy, communication, care planning, and determining the level of assistance and/or supervision required to keep the person safer in all eating and drinking situations. We say “safer,” as one cannot expect that all interventions will be the safest options to prevent negative sequelae 100% of the time. In litigation, it is critical to understand whether the care provided was reasonable and met the appropriate standards to mitigate risks.

Our services cover a broad spectrum of cases involving swallowing disorders, including medical malpractice claims, personal injury cases, and disputes over the standard of care in dysphagia evaluation and treatment. We support both defense and plaintiff cases.

We review the diagnostic and treatment practices in the medical record, comparing them against the accepted practices of competent, reasonably prudent speech-language pathologists. Our evaluation includes a detailed analysis of medical records, documentation, depositions, and the communications among healthcare providers.

We review these records first to determine if we can accept the case. We know it is important to initially form our expert opinions regarding the standard of care prior to reviewing any summary documents created by the plaintiff or defense lawyers.

We cover a wide variety, but to name a few: Neurological events, disorders & diseases (e.g., stroke, dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, etc.); delirium; post-extubation dysphagia; medication-induced dysphagia; radiation-associated dysphagia; sarcopenia; iatrogenic factors (i.e., those cause from the intensive care, intubation, medications, and more).

Often, cases involve multifactorial and complex medical issues, and we specialize in helping the law team and laypeople understand these factors.

The individuals were often in group homes, skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, and acute care hospitals at the time of the event.

Our dysphagia expert witnesses can assist a case even when a speech-language pathologist was not directly involved at that facility.

Karen Sheffler has been practicing clinically since 1996 and has been board-certified in swallowing and swallowing disorders (BCS-S) since 2012. She has extensive expert witness experience since 2016.

George Barnes started training with Ms. Sheffler as an expert witness associate in 2023. He has been board-certified since 2022 and brings a strong background in dysphagia evaluation, management, and clinical research.

Our experts help by offering clear, evidence-based opinions that simplify complex medical issues for juries, judges, and attorneys. We are thorough and very prompt, offering one-on-one meetings to discuss the case.

We then provide comprehensive reports and testimony that clarify the standard of care, evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the evaluations and treatment provided, and determine if any deviations led to negative outcomes.

If you require expert testimony or consultation regarding swallowing disorders, please Contact Us to discuss your case. Our team is ready to provide the support and clarity needed for your litigation process.