Wheelchair & Stretcher Accidents/Standard of Care

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Mr. Berkowitz is a passenger transportation consultant and expert witness with more than four decades of experience in public, private, and healthcare transportation operations. His areas of expertise include Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT), paratransit, wheelchair and stretcher securement, ADA compliance, passenger safety, standard of care, policy and procedures, driver training, fleet operations, broker/provider operations, transportation technology, taxicab, limousine, ride-share/TNC, and mass transit systems. Mr. Berkowitz began his transportation career in 1982 with MTA New York City Transit, where he served in operations and planning roles involving paratransit development, wheelchair securement safety protocols, scheduling systems, labor relations, compliance, drug and alcohol testing, and interaction with city, state, and federal transportation matters. He later held senior leadership roles in Florida transportation companies, including President of Tropical Non-Medical Transportation and Vice President/General Manager of Southeastern Florida Transportation Group, where he developed safety programs, training systems, standards of care, fleet maintenance programs, paratransit service models, and compliance procedures. He is Vice President/Managing Partner of H&S Personal Car Service & Consulting, Inc., providing consulting services to passenger transportation and NEMT companies in business operations, compliance protocols, ADA compliance, safety, software, vehicles, driver training, fleet management, marketing, call center development, network development, and operational budgeting. His consulting background also includes work with Alivi/EPICNEMT, where he helped develop broker operations, credentialing standards, provider network procedures, training standards, and NEMT policy and procedure systems. As an expert witness, Mr. Berkowitz reviews matters involving wheelchair and stretcher transportation incidents, securement failures, passenger injury, driver conduct, duty and standard of care, ADA compliance, NEMT operations, paratransit, broker/provider responsibility, policy compliance, training, vehicle operations, and safety practices. His expert witness services include case review, document analysis, expert opinions, report preparation, deposition and trial testimony, and advisory support for plaintiff and defense matters. Mr. Berkowitz’s professional affiliations and training include service with the Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Accreditation Commission, Palm Beach County Vehicle for Hire Task Force, International Association of Transportation Regulators Accessible Transport Committee, Florida Limousine Association, National Limousine Association, Taxi, Limousine and Paratransit Association, Community Transportation Association of America, and NTSB Accident Investigation training. He has served as a NEMTAC speaker and Master Instructor, including NEMTAC-related wheelchair and stretcher securement training, and has presented on NEMT business development and industry best practices. His education includes Business Administration/Management at SUNY Farmingdale. He is certified as a Master Instructor for wheelchair securement and operations and stretcher securement and operations through NEMTAC-related national training.