Lawrence Amsel, MD, MPH Expert Witness
Curriculum Vitae

Publications


Contact this Expert Witness

  • Company: Columbia University
  • Phone: 212 592 3804
  • Cell: 917 576 8172

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

General Specialties:

Forensic Psychiatry and Psychiatry

Keywords/Search Terms:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide Prevention, Psychiatric Malpractice, Law and Psychiatry, Criminal Mitigation, Medical Decision Making, Hospital Practice, Statistics and Causal Analysis, Grief and Mourning, Pediatric Psychiatry, Family Loss, Neuropsychiatry, Behavioral Economics/Game Theory,

Education:

BA, 1979, Columbia University; MD, 1988, Yale University School of Medicine; MPH 1989, Columbia University

Years in Practice:

29

Additional Information

Dr. Amsel serves as an expert witness in matters related to psychiatry, with a focus on Malpractice, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Suicide, Grief, Medical Decision Making, Hospital Psychiatric Care, and appropriate Evidence-based Standards of Care. Excellent references from multiple law firms are available on request. Dr. Amsel's expertise in dealing with the interface of legal and psychiatric issues is based on 28 years of experience in clinical practice, academic psychiatry, research, and public health, as well as his experience as an expert witness. Dr. Amsel studied mathematics at Columbia University before entering Yale University School of Medicine. After completing residency training he joined the Columbia faculty completing two prestigious National Institute of Mental Health research fellowships and obtained an Masters in Public Health (MPH) specializing in mental health statistics, and Child Psychiatry Research. As an expert on the effects of traumatic experiences, especially after 9/11, Dr. Amsel co-directed the Trauma Studies and Services Division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He has been extensively involved in treating victims of 9/11 and their families, in doing research on the effects of the 9/11 attacks on the survivors and First Responders, and in training clinicians in cutting edge treatments for PTSD and Complicated /Traumatic Grief. This has given him a strong foundation as an expert on PTSD and other psychological effects of various types of trauma. It has also made him an expert on malpractice cases in this area. Dr. Amsel was one of the early champions of the application of Decision Science, Game Theory and Behavioral Economics to psychiatric research, including to suicidal behavior, another important area of his expertise. Dr. Amsel has applied his extensive clinical and research expertise to many different types of complex legal issues involving psychiatry.