Demonstrative Bodily Injury Evidence · Expert Witness Testimony
À la carte expert witness services.
Select items by category. Scope of engagement and report determine final pricing — testify via Zoom or in person.
QME/AME evaluations are billed under the California OMLFS. PPD evaluations are billed under Nevada NRS 616C.260.
Testimony available via Zoom or in person. Item selection determines scope of report.
Engagement Type — select one
Testifying Expert Engagement
Full menu available, including evaluation/examination.
Non-Testifying Consulting Engagement
Record-based categories only — excludes evaluation/examination.
Non-testifying engagements are prepared as confidential attorney work product; whether that protection holds depends on how the analysis is subsequently used and is not guaranteed by this designation alone.
Service Selection Guide
Records Review or Examination?
Not every opinion requires an in-person exam. Use this guide to match the service to the opinion your case needs, so the report holds up on cross-examination.
Records & Imaging Review
No exam needed
- CausationBuilt from mechanism of injury, timing, medical records, and imaging.
- Independent reading of the filmsAOMSI, acute versus degenerative findings, and comparison with pre-crash studies.
- Aggravation of a pre-existing conditionWhen pre- and post-crash imaging or records are available to compare.
- Reasonableness & necessity of past treatment
- Timeline analysisOnset of symptoms, gaps in care, and intervening events.
- Rebuttal of another expert’s methodology
- Chiropractic standard-of-care opinions
- Spine impairment rating from FDA-cleared AOMSI analysisRating derived from FDA-cleared biomechanical and imaging diagnostic protocols.
Examination Required
In-person evaluation of the plaintiff
- Current condition or diagnosis“Has radiculopathy” or “has ongoing instability.” Records describe the past, not the body today.
- Permanence / MMIRequires confirming the person has plateaued, not just stopped treating.
- AMA Guides impairment ratingRequires the evaluator’s own measurements.
- Future care needsOften the largest damages figure, and the first opinion challenged on cross.
- Work restrictions & functional limits
- Prognosis
- Symptom magnification or non-organic findingsWaddell signs and inconsistency must be tested directly. A records review can only point to inconsistencies others documented.
Gray zone — recent treating exam. If a treating provider recently documented current findings, the report can rely on that exam and will say so. The opinion then reaches only as far as the treater’s findings, and only while they remain recent.
Rule of thumb. If the opinion includes an AMA Guides number or a statement about the person’s present condition, an exam is needed (except spine ratings derived from FDA-cleared AOMSI biomechanical analysis). If the opinion is about causation from the records and films, a review is sufficient, and the report states that it is records-based.
Retention Setup
How We Set Up Your Retention
- 01
Tell us the opinions you need. We’ll confirm whether a review or an exam fits.
- 02
If you need permanence, future care, or a rating, the retention letter will note “exam required”: a DME on the defense side, or an arranged exam on the plaintiff side.
- 03
If an exam can’t be arranged, the report is limited to causation and past care, and that limit is stated clearly in the report.
- Limited Records
- Complete Record Review
- Telehealth evaluation/history
- Telehealth observational/guided examination (CA only)
- Physical examination — in person (CA only)
Telehealth across state lines may require licensure in the examinee's state — all other services on this menu are record-based and available nationwide.
- Color-coded body chart (pain, numbness, tingling, weakness)
- Spreadsheet of bodily injuries — pre-injury findings
- Spreadsheet of bodily injuries — post-injury findings
- Disc age analysis
- Injury timeline consistency analysis
- Single-level colorized MRI
- All-levels colorized MRI
Includes sagittal, axial, and STIR sequence with referenced demonstrative imagery language.
- 1 spinal region (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar)
- 2 spinal regions
- 3 spinal regions (full spine)
FDA-cleared digitized biomechanical analysis of flexion-extension X-rays. Quantifies intersegmental angular and translational motion to AOMSI threshold per AMA Guides (5th & 6th Ed.). Each region analyzed independently; report includes measured instability values, AMA Guides classification, and defensible WPI opinion where threshold is met or prorated under Almaraz/Guzman.
- Low-speed/low-impact biomechanical analysis (Delta-V, crash severity)
- Clinical correlation to MRI
- Assessment of mechanism of injury and correlation to subjective complaints and objective findings
- Differential etiology analysis (traumatic vs. degenerative/pre-existing causation)
- Temporal relationship / onset analysis (symptom onset and treatment-seeking consistency)
All causation opinions rendered to a reasonable degree of medical/chiropractic probability.
- Causation opinion — general (mechanism of injury to claimed diagnosis)
- Causation opinion — specific (crash severity, Delta-V, occupant kinematics)
- Apportionment of injury to subject incident vs. pre-existing condition
- Treatment reasonableness and necessity review for subrogation demand
Record-based; no examination required. Available nationwide. Reports are structured to support subrogation recovery demands and withstand cross-examination on causation and damages.
- Whole person impairment rating (AMA Guides, 5th & 6th Ed., including AOMSI classification)
- Percentage of impairment/disability attributable to subject incident
- Percentage of impairment/disability attributable to pre-existing/degenerative condition
- Duties Under Duress (DUD)
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life (LOEL)
- Emotional effects of injury
- Reasonableness of treatment
- Necessity of treatment
- Reasonableness of charges
- Life care plan / future medical needs projection
- Rebuttal/responsive report (critique of opposing expert's report or opinion)
- Treating provider documentation review (diagnosis, coding, and charting consistency)
- Standard of care / breach
- Causation — general
- Causation — specific
- Damages / permanency
- Apportionment
- Early post-incident injury assessment (within 72 hours)
- Biomechanical analysis of crash severity and occupant loading
- Causation and injury correlation report
- Reserve-setting opinion for fleet/TPA claims management
Early assessment captures objective findings before treatment gaps or intervening events complicate causation. Designed for fleet operators, TPAs, and commercial carriers managing high-frequency MVA exposure.
- Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) — workers' compensation
- Independent Medical Evaluation (IME) — liability/civil
- Neutral expert opinion for mediation or arbitration
- SB 171 / SIBTF AME designation
Available in CA and NV. AME designation requires mutual agreement of parties. All ADR evaluations include a comprehensive written report suitable for settlement, mediation, or arbitration proceedings.
All fees are billed in 15-minute increments at $600/hr unless a flat rate applies.
Engagement scope, report complexity, and record volume determine final pricing. A written fee agreement is provided prior to commencement of work.
Testimony available via Zoom or in person. Travel outside Northern California and Northern Nevada billed at cost.
All services are billed under Dickman Chiropractic Corporation.
Robert Dickman, D.C., F.P.S.C., Q.M.E. — Available in California and Nevada.
