Child abuse cases are emotionally driven for everyone involved. Expert review for both sides is imperative to ensure that the facts of the case are brought to light. The healthcare providers are emotionally connected to…
“What symptoms of Heroin withdrawal would affect the defendant’s ability to form intent?” Heroin use is a common thread within the criminal system and can become relevant in cases where the defendant’s ability to form…
I am often called to testify in assault cases in which great bodily injury is an enhancement. In these cases I try to determine the severity of the injury based off of the medical records…
I just got back from the DUI Defense Lawyers Association’s Mile High Summer Seminar 2016 in Denver where I presented on Medically Acceptable Blood Draws. The case law for this issue is from Cuevas and…
Detection Time of Methamphetamine: Compared to cocaine, methamphetamine’s effects can be more intense and last longer. The half-life for methamphetamine (the time period required for the body to decrease the blood level of methamphetamine by…
Blood concentrations for methamphetamine use as a prescribed medication are typically in the range of .02-.05 mg/L for a person taking methamphetamine prescribed for attention deficit disorder, weight loss or narcolepsy. Drug abuse with methamphetamine…
Screening: Methamphetamine is typically detected through urine and blood screens that offer positive or negative (“qualitative”) results. A positive result on a screen often leads to a confirmatory test that will use more sophisticated laboratory…
Methamphetamine use has physical manifestations that heighten suspicion of use and lead to a drug screen. The category of stimulants, which includes methamphetamine, methylphenidate and cocaine, all produce dilation of pupils and the pupils appear…
The last thing I want to cover is abbreviations. Reading a doctor’s handwriting alone is hard enough, and it is so much harder if it’s filled with unknown abbreviations. It is literally impossible to understand…
For more information on the hospital course, other documents to look for include: Operative reports: These are generated if the patient undergoes any surgeries, and a separate report will be generated for each operation. Look…
When performing a medical records review, if you’re looking for a list of injuries, as you commonly are in criminal law, you will look at the emergency department (ED or ER) reports and/or the ambulance…
If you’re looking for the “story” of how the patient entered the hospital and what happened while he/she was there, go to the Discharge Summary (Caution: This is different than the Discharge Instructions, which are…
Submit New Case:
Sign up for:
Submit New Case:
Sign Up For:
