Practice Areas
Sexual Harassment/Discrimination
Performing an IME of the plaintiff claiming emotional damages is always important:
For plaintiff: to ensure an objective evaluation of alleged injury. A treating mental health professional is easily impeachable under cross examination (does not provide an objective assessment of individual).
For defense: to fully determine if evidence of psychiatric diagnosis in accordance with DSM-IV; offer consideration of alternative causation of damages; consider malingering; assess "welcomeness" and catalyst of event at issue
Experienced at assessment of employer policies and procedures for report/investigation of harassment or discrimination allegations
Medical Malpractice
Experienced in medical record review in medical negligence cases. Expert assessment/opinions on the medical decision-making process, informed consent, and presence or absence of capacity to provide medical consent over a variety of situations.
Experienced in Bioethics and end of life issues.
Aviation
Experience as a flight surgeon and aerospace psychiatrist - expert at evaluating the role of Axis I and II disorders in aviation.
Psychiatry
Fifteen years of experience in occupational psychiatry performing evaluations and workplace recommendations. Strict adherence to DSM-IV for diagnosis. Objective assessment and opinion on outpatient treatment, violence (suicide or homicide) risk assessment and documentation, boundary violations, and other issues related to psychiatric practice.
Standards of Care
Can assist determining appropriate standard of care in different specialties using many sources (specialty societies, JCAHO, peer review journals, local guidelines and policies, etc.) It is best to ensure your testifying expert has training and experience similar to that of the defendant physician(s). All states do not have a legal requirement to do this, but it is the proper ethical approach to allegations of negligence (and be wary of a physician who is eager to testify out of his/her area of experience and training).
Alcohol Misuse Disorders
Experienced in assessing all areas relating to alcohol misuse disorders. Will provide objective assessment of involved individual (s), and offer appropriate forensic psychiatric recommendations for cases involving criminal charges and civil claims.
| 
Deborah J. Wear-Finkle, MD, MPA, PA