Critical Care Medicine (ICU) Expert Witness

A Critical Care expert witness is a physician who testifies about ICU topics such as ventilator use, infection, septic shock, and central lines. Critical Care Medicine, also known as Intensive Care Medicine, is a medical subspecialty dealing with day-to-day management of critically ill patients such as those in a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Patients requiring a Critical Care specialist typically include those with extreme illnesses such as unstable blood pressure, respiratory failure requiring ventilator management, renal failure, multiple system organ failure, sepsis, or cardiac arrhythmias. Non-critically ill patients may be admitted to the ICU when they require intensive monitoring and serial examinations. This typically occurs following major surgery or during an illness that has the potential of becoming catastrophic. Critical Care specialists perform all aspects of Critical Care, including endotracheal intubation and placement of intravenous central lines.

Although litigation focusing on critical care in the ICU is infrequent, allegations may arise involving improper treatment, procedural complications, or delayed diagnosis. An experienced Critical Care expert witness is necessary to address standard of care, and they may also testify on causation involving the management of critically ill patients in the ICU.