Psychiatric injuries often represent some of the most significant—and frequently overlooked—components of damages in personal injury, medical malpractice, employment, disability, and other civil litigation matters. Conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, emotional distress, cognitive dysfunction, personality changes, and other psychiatric impairments can profoundly affect an individual's ability to work, maintain relationships, and function independently.
As a Board-Certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) with extensive clinical and expert testimony experience, Ms. Salerno provides psychiatric expert witness services, case reviews, record analysis, and consultation for both plaintiff and defense counsel. Her expertise combines decades of nursing and healthcare experience with specialized knowledge of psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, psychopharmacology, trauma, and functional impairment.
Psychiatric Expert Services Include:
  • Medical record review and psychiatric case analysis
  • Evaluation of psychiatric injuries and emotional damages
  • PTSD and trauma-related case review
  • Psychiatric malpractice and standard of care review
  • Assessment of causation and psychiatric sequelae following injury or trauma
  • Analysis of psychiatric treatment, medications, and future care needs
  • Review of mental health claims in personal injury, disability, and workers' compensation cases
  • Consultation regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychiatric comorbidities
  • Independent psychiatric opinions and rebuttal reviews
  • Expert reports, affidavits, deposition testimony, and trial testimony
Objective, Evidence-Based AnalysisEffective psychiatric testimony requires more than identifying a diagnosis. It requires a comprehensive understanding of how psychiatric symptoms affect an individual's daily functioning, employability, relationships, quality of life, and long-term prognosis. It also requires careful analysis of causation, preexisting conditions, treatment history, symptom chronology, and the interplay between psychiatric and medical factors.
Our approach is grounded in current psychiatric literature, accepted clinical standards, evidence-based practice, and a thorough review of the available records and facts of each case. Opinions are developed independently and objectively, regardless of which party retains our services.
Complex Psychiatric and Trauma CasesWe frequently consult on cases involving:
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Depression and Anxiety Disorders
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • Catastrophic Injury and Chronic Pain
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Psychiatric Malpractice
  • Sexual Abuse and Institutional Abuse
  • Workplace Trauma
  • First Responder and Military Trauma
  • Disability and Functional Impairment
  • Wrongful Death and Survivorship Claims
  • Emotional Distress and Psychological Damages
Psychiatric injuries can significantly influence medical outcomes, future care needs, vocational capacity, and overall life expectancy. Accurate psychiatric analysis is often critical to understanding the full impact of an injury or adverse event.
Whether retained by plaintiff or defense counsel, our goal is to provide objective, clinically sound, and scientifically supported opinions that assist attorneys, insurers, mediators, and courts in evaluating complex psychiatric issues.