Dual-Boarded PM&R and Pain Management Physician

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Merna Naji, MD is a dual-board-certified physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Pain Medicine, offering a unique, function-focused and evidence-based perspective in medical-legal cases involving pain, injury, and disability. Her dual certification allows her to evaluate not only pain generation and treatment, but also functional impairment, recovery trajectory, and long-term outcomes—an expertise combination particularly valuable in complex personal injury, workers’ compensation, and disability matters. Dr. Naji completed her Interventional Pain Medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where she served as Chief Fellow, and her PM&R residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of California, Davis, where she is actively involved in teaching pain fellows and PM&R residents. Her PM&R background provides a strong foundation in neurologic injury, functional assessment, rehabilitation, and long-term outcome analysis, allowing her to evaluate both pain generation and its impact on physical function, recovery, and disability. Her Interventional Pain Management background makes her highly skilled in interventional pain procedures, including fluoroscopic- and ultrasound-guided spine injections, radiofrequency ablation, neuromodulation, and advanced pain interventions. She routinely evaluates the appropriateness, reasonableness, and medical necessity of pain treatments, with particular expertise in medical causation, aggravation of pre-existing conditions, impairment, and future medical needs. Dr. Naji has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters, has presented at national meetings, and remains actively involved in clinical research and quality improvement initiatives. She is known for providing clear, objective, and well-supported opinions, grounded in current medical evidence and real-world clinical practice, and for communicating complex medical issues in a manner that is accessible and credible to attorneys, judges, and juries. Clinically, Dr. Naji has extensive experience in the evaluation and management of: Spine Conditions, Injuries, & Surgical Complications -- Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine injuries -- Spinal stenosis -- Disc herniation and degenerative disc disease -- Facet-mediated pain -- Radiculopathy -- Failed back surgery syndrome Interventional Pain Management -- Epidural steroid injections -- Facet joint injections and medial branch blocks -- Radiofrequency ablation -- Spinal cord stimulation and neuromodulation -- Ultrasound- and fluoroscopic-guided pain procedures Trauma & Neurologic Injury -- Spinal cord injury (paraplegia, quadriplegia/tetraplegia) -- Traumatic brain injury -- Hypoxic/anoxic brain injury -- Post-traumatic pain syndromes -- Polytrauma and catastrophic injury -- Falls and trauma-related disability -- Skilled nursing facility (SNF)/ assisted living facility (ALF) accidents Chronic & Complex Pain Conditions -- Chronic pain syndromes -- Neuropathic pain -- Central sensitization -- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) -- Myofascial pain syndrome -- Persistent pain following injury or surgery Musculoskeletal & Functional Conditions -- Degenerative musculoskeletal conditions -- Soft tissue injuries -- Joint-related pain disorders -- Functional impairment and disability -- Gait dysfunction and mobility impairment Limb Loss & Rehabilitation -- Amputations -- Pain and functional issues related to limb loss -- Rehabilitation considerations following amputation Objective Diagnostic & Functional Evaluation -- Future medical cost projection -- Impairment and disability ratings -- Causation analysis -- Return-to-work capacity and restrictions