Editor:
Cyril H. Wecht, MD, JD, FCAP, FASCP received his MD degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his JD degree from the University of Maryland. Certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology, he is also a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and the National Association of Medical Examiners. Formerly he was the Chairman of the Department of Pathology and President of the Medical Staff at St. Francis Central Hospital in Pittsburgh. He also served as the elected Coroner of Allegheny County for a total of 20 years. He is now actively involved as a medical-legal and forensic science consultant, as an author - with over 525 publications to his credit -and lecturer.
Dr. Wecht's achievements extend to academia where, in addition to lecturing at Yale Medical School, Harvard Law School, at the FBI Academy, and the Medical Division of the CIA, he is a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health; he is Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University Schools of Law, Pharmacy, and Health Sciences; Distinguished Professor of Anatomy and Pathology, Carlow University; Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University School of Law; Past President of the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and former Chairman of both the Board of Legal Medicine and the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation. He has served as Vice Chairman of the American Board of Disaster Medicine and is a Charter Diplomate of both the American Board of Legal Medicine and the American Board of Disaster Medicine.
Called to testify in more than 1,000 civil, criminal, and workers compensation cases throughout the United States and abroad, he has also appeared on numerous TV and radio shows to give his evaluation of the medico-legal and forensic scientific aspects of high profile cases ranging from the assassinations of Pres. John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy to the deaths of JonBenét Ramsey, Amadou Diallo, Laci Peterson, Anna Nicole Smith, Daniel Smith, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, and Chandra Levy, among many others.
About the Contributors:
Leonard Berlin, MD, FACR. Former Radiology Chairman at Rush North Shore Medical Center, Skokie IL; current Vice-Chairman at North Shore University Health System, Skokie, IL Hospital; Professor of Radiology at Rush University Medical College in Chicago; Past President of the Illinois Radiologic Society and the Chicago Radiological Society; Consultant to malpractice insurance companies; past Chairman of the American College of Radiology's Ethics Committee, and current Chairman of the Radiological Society of North America's Professionalism Committee; Awarded the Gold Medals for distinguished service to Radiology by both the American Roentgen Ray Society and the Chicago Radiological Society; Has presented more than 300 lectures nationally and internationally on risk management; Author of Malpractice Issues in Radiology and of more than 300 scientific articles.
Mary M. Carrasco, MD, MPH. Director, International and Community Health, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System; Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Board Certified in Pediatrics; Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Licensed in Pennsylvania; Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Member of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Medical Legal Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect.
K. Ryan Connolly, MS, MD. Chief Resident-Department of Psychiatry Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
L. Jean Dunegan, MD, JD, FCLM. Diplomate, American Board of Surgery; Fellow, American College of Legal Medicine; Director, Ann Arbor Pain Consultants; Adjunct Faculty and Moot Court Judge, Ave Maria and University of Michigan Schools of Law; Medico-legal Consultant and Educator.
Logan A. Griffin, AB, MD. Board-certified anesthesiologist (retired), Las Vegas, NV; He received his Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree from Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, and obtained his MD degree from the State University of New York Medical School at Buffalo, NY. He took his rotating internship at Mount St. Mary's Hospital, Niagara Falls, NY and residency in internal medicine at Knott Hospital, Schenectady, NY. He subsequently served for two (2) years in the US Air Force as a Medical Officer. He took his Anesthesiology residency at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Bronx, NY. He also took Fellowship in Anesthesiology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada; Fellow of the American College of Anesthesiologists.
Matthew L. Howard, MD, FACS. Staff Head and Neck Surgeon Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Santa Rosa, CA (retired); Sole Practitioner Social Security Disability Law (retired); Admitted to practice in the State of California, the Northern District of California, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court; Graduate of UCLA School of Medicine and the Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley); Winner of the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives.
James C. Johnston MD, JD, FCLM, FACLM. Consultant Neurologist and Attorney at Law, Texas and Washington, USA; Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand; Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; Additional Certification in Neurorehabilitation; Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine, Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine, Member of the New Zealand Law Society.
Julius Landwirth, MD, JD. Associate Director, Yale University Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics and Donaghue Initiative in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Ethics; Former Vice President for Medical Affairs, Newington Children's Hospital, Newington, Connecticut; Former Chief, Department of Pediatrics, Bridgeport and Hartford Hospitals; Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine and Associate Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
Thomas D. Maher, MD. Director of Quality and Surgical Outcomes in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery for the West Penn Allegheny Health System, Pittsburgh, PA. He holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Maher earned his medical degree and completed his residency in General Surgery at Georgetown University, and went on to complete a residency in Thoracic Surgery, and began practice at Allegheny General in 1981. Dr. Maher is attending Cardiac Surgeon at the Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute specializing in complex coronary artery revascularization, repair of aortic aneurysms, valve repair/replacement and atrial fibrillation surgery.
William J. Mangold, Jr., MD, JD. Contractor Medical Director for Medicare Part B for Arizona, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, prior Family Physician and for sixteen years conducted a solo practice of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in Tucson, AZ; Former Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and President & CEO of Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona (MICA); Licensed in Medicine in Arizona and Texas; in Law in Texas; Fellow, American College of Legal Medicine and Diplomate American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians.
Darren P. Mareiniss, MD, JD, MBe. Received his MD from the NYU School of Medicine, where he was a member of the AOA Honor Medical Society. He did his internship in General Surgery at NYU Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital and continued residency training in General Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He obtained both his JD and a Masters in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, Dr. Mareiniss is a Senior Consultant at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Dr. Mareiniss has published and lectured on bioethics, medicolegal issues and disaster issues. Licensed in Medicine in New York, New Jersey and Maryland; Licensed in Law in Texas; Member, American Academy of Disaster Medicine; Fellow, American College of Legal Medicine and Chair, Education Committee; Deputy Editor, Legal Medicine Perspectives; Member, University of Texas at Austin IRB.
Ernest H. Neighbor, MD, JD. Medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas in 1966; He obtained his JD from the University of Missouri--Kansas City Law School, Kansas City, Missouri in 1971. He took his rotating internship and subsequently residencies in general surgery and orthopedic surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center from 1966–1974. He is Board Certified in Orthopedic Surgery and Legal Medicine. He is a member of the State Bar of Kansas and the Federal District Court of Kansas. He was a Captain in the US Air Force and a Vietnam Veteran. He is Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and has taught and published extensively in the areas of Orthopedics and Legal Medicine.
Matthias I. Okoye, MD, JD. Practicing Physician and Lawyer, Director of the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences, Inc., and Nebraska Forensic Medical Services, PC; Clinical Associate Professor of Forensic Pathology at Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska; Adjunct Professor of Forensic Medicine and Pathology at several universities abroad; Formerly the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia, Washington,; He is a Consultant Forensic Pathologist with the State of Nebraska's Office of the Attorney General and serves as a coroner's physician and forensic pathologist for several Nebraska counties; Member of the Bars of Pennsylvania, US Supreme Court, and several federal courts; Member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Board of Legal Medicine; Member of the National Association of Medical Examiners and a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists. He has lectured and published extensively in the fields of forensic sciences, legal medicine, forensic medicine and pathology.
Jeffrey P. Phelan, MD, JD. Chairman and Director of Quality Assurance, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Citrus Valley Medical Center, West Covina, California. Member of San Gabriel Valley Perinatal Medical Group, Inc., West Covina, California; President and Director of Clinical Research, Childbirth Injury Prevention Foundation, City of Industry, California. Author of numerous medical/legal articles and Editor of Critical Care Obstetrics, currently in its fourth edition.
Julius S. Piver, MD, JD, Obstetrician and Gynecologist in private practice, Chevy Chase, Maryland; Board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Clinical Chairman, Department of Obstetrics, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC; Fellow: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Surgeons.
Paraluman Q. Ravano, MD, FCAP, FASCP. Diplomate, American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology; Pathology Consultant, Cyril H. Wecht, MD, JD and Pathology Associates; Private Hospital Pathology Practice, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA and Altoona Regional Health Center, Altoona, PA.
Robert L. Sadoff, MD. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania; Director, Center for Studies in Social-Legal Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania; Board certified in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Legal Medicine; Licensed in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; Member of the American College of Psychiatrists (Fellow); American College of Legal Medicine (Fellow); American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (Past President).
David L. Samani, MD. Board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon. He obtained his MD degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA and then took his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, Kansas and subsequently a Fellowship in Trauma Surgery at the University of California--Davis, Sacramento, CA. Dr. Samani was on active duty and training and deployment with the US Air Force from 1980 through 1991. He has won several military medals and decorations including the Presidential Unit Citation and National Defense Medal. Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and since 1997 has been an examiner for the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery.
S. Sandy Sanbar, MD, PhD, JD. Consultant and Lecturer in Legal Medicine; President, Royal Oaks Cardiovascular Clinic; Medical Consultant, Disability Determination Division, SSA, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Fellow, American College of Legal Medicine; Diplomate, American Board of Legal Medicine; Past President, American College of Legal Medicine; Chairman and CEO, American Board of Legal Medicine; President, American Board of Medical Malpractice; Editor, ACLM Textbook Legal Medicine, Elsevier Publisher; Editor, ACLM Medical Malpractice Survival Handbook, Elsevier Publisher; Editor, The ABLM Board Review Exam & Study Guide.
Richard S. Wilbur, MD, JD, FCLM, FACP, FACPE, FRSM, FICD(H). Chairman, American Medical Foundation for Peer Review and Education; Board Certified in Medicine and Gastroenterology; Past President of American College of Legal Medicine, American College of Physician Executives, National Resident Matching Board and American Board of Medical Management; Recipient Defense Dept. Distinguished Service Medal; Member, Institute of Medicine and County, State and National Law and Medical Associations; Licensed in Medicine and Law in Illinois.
Bruce L. Wilder, MD, MPH, JD. Practicing Neurological Surgeon; certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery; admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and before the United States Supreme Court; graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health; Counsel to the law firm of Wilder & Mahood in Pittsburgh.
