Independent orthopedic opinion, from panel exam to expert testimony.

Comprehensive independent medical examinations for Washington's Department of Labor & Industries, self-insured employers, third-party administrators, and defense counsel — spanning both workers' compensation and motor-vehicle accident and personal-injury matters. Each examination addresses the specific questions posed by the retaining party and is documented in a report structured for claims and litigation use.

As a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with deep foot, ankle, and lower-extremity expertise, Dr. Reed brings genuine subject-matter command to the exam room — not a general review, but a specialist's evaluation.

Beyond Washington's state system, Dr. Reed performs independent evaluations under the federal and maritime compensation schemes — the Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), the Defense Base Act, and FECA, as well as Jones Act and other maritime injury claims. These are available in person in Washington and California, and as records-only reviews nationwide.

The report addresses

• Diagnosis & causation — current condition and its relationship to the claimed event.
• Work-relatedness — whether the condition arose out of or was aggravated by employment.
• Treatment review — reasonableness, necessity, and proposed future care.
• Impairment & work status — maximum medical improvement, rating, and restrictions.

Qualified Medical Evaluator reports for the California workers' compensation system, prepared in accordance with the Division of Workers' Compensation requirements and the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition.

QME engagements demand both medical precision and procedural exactness. Dr. Reed delivers reports that are substantively sound and compliant with the formatting, timing, and disclosure rules the system requires.

The report addresses

• Apportionment — causation distributed among industrial and non-industrial factors.
• Whole-person impairment — rated under the AMA Guides, 5th Edition.
• MMI & future medical — permanent & stationary status and anticipated care.
• Work restrictions — functional capacity and return-to-work considerations.

Retained expert services for personal injury, medical negligence, and product liability matters involving the foot, ankle, and lower extremity. Engagements range from an early, candid case assessment to written opinions, declarations, and testimony at deposition and trial.

Dr. Reed accepts work from both plaintiff and defense. An honest read of a case — including its weaknesses — is more valuable to counsel than a foregone conclusion, and more durable under cross-examination.

Engagement types

• Case screening — early, confidential merit assessment of the orthopedic issues.
• Standard of care — opinions on whether care met the accepted orthopedic standard.
• Causation & damages — injury mechanism, permanency, and life-care implications.
• Testimony — Rule 26 reports, declarations, deposition, and trial.

Consulting for orthopedic implant and device companies that benefit from a surgeon who also speaks the language of engineering. With a mechanical engineering degree and fourteen years implanting hardware in the operating room, Dr. Reed bridges the bench and the bedside.

The result is feedback that is clinically grounded and mechanically literate — useful in early design conversations, in failure investigation, and in translating surgeon needs into engineering requirements.

Areas of contribution

• Design review — surgeon-side input on geometry, fixation, and instrumentation.
• Failure analysis — clinical-mechanical assessment of implant or hardware failure.
• Clinical translation — converting surgeon workflow into engineering requirements.
• Litigation crossover — device-related expert support where engineering meets medicine.