Frequently Asked Questions

I continue to be an active clinician, as I have been for the last 50 years, seeing older people and their family members. I diagnose and treat mental illnesses, as well as consult on challenging cases. I continue to teach at the University of Chicago where I am a Clinical Professor of Clinical Psychiatry.

My first medico-legal experience occurred in the early 1970s when I was a consultant to the Illinois Federal Defender’s program. My activity as a geriatric psychiatry expert consultant began in the late 1980s.

I have been involved as an expert consultant and witness on contested wills. Most cases involve testamentary capacity, which can be impacted by dementia, depression, psychosis, medication effects, medical problems, and end of life issues. At the same time, many of these illnesses or conditions in and of themselves do not necessarily mean someone lacks testamentary capacity. I have also been called upon to testify as an expert in “undue influence” cases.

Yes, certainly. I have been called on to evaluate older people regarding decision-making capacity for person, property and other capacities. I have been asked to conduct evaluations regarding competency to stand trial, including a nationally prominent case.

Yes – in cases of elder abuse, murder and white collar crime.

I have received the principal awards for excellence in geriatric psychiatry from the three major organizations in my field: the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and the International Psychogeriatric Association. I have been listed regularly in Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors, and have been elected by my peers for inclusion in Best Doctors in America from 1992 to the present.

Besides Illinois I have consulted on cases in other states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado, Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Nevada, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Maryland, Louisiana, and the Virgin Islands.

I have served as an expert for both plaintiff and defense attorneys.

Yes. This is an increasingly important area. There have been cases involving physicians, nursing homes and hospitals.

I have been retained in cases in which older people have been involved in automobile accidents or other injuries. Further, I have been involved in liability cases in which a pharmaceutical company product is alleged to have injured an older person.