Expert Witness Services in Geriatrics and Elder Care
Pippa Schnee, M.D.
Pippa Schnee, M.D., is a board-certified family medicine physician with over a decade of experience caring for elderly and chronically ill patients in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice settings.
She provides unbiased, expert medical review and testimony for plaintiff and defense teams seeking clear, clinically grounded evaluations of medical issues that can arise in long-term care settings.
Services
Injury and Death Causation
Dr. Schnee offers expert medical analysis to determine whether an injury or death resulted from natural disease progression or substandard care. Her analysis focuses on establishing—or refuting—a causal link between the actions of healthcare providers and patient injury or death.
She assists attorneys by:
- Evaluating medical preventability of injuries, hospitalizations, or death based on accepted standards of care
- Distinguishing natural disease progression from harm caused by inadequate monitoring, missed diagnoses, treatment delays, or neglect
- Analyzing care timelines to determine whether earlier intervention would have prevented injury or death
- Reviewing the consistency of clinical findings with alleged causes of death or injury
- Identifying contributing vs. primary causes in patients with multiple long-term conditions
Nursing Home and Assisted Living Neglect
Dr. Schnee conducts objective evaluations of medical care provided to elderly or chronically ill patients in institutional settings in long-term care settings such as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. She assesses whether patient care met accepted medical standards or whether neglect or malpractice caused patient injury or death.
She is available to consult on cases involving:
- Pressure ulcers (bedsores) resulting from immobility and inadequate repositioning
- Malnutrition or dehydration, including inadequate tracking of nutritional intake
- Infections and sepsis resulting from delayed diagnoses or missed warning signs
- Falls and physical injuries tied to poor fall risk assessment or lack of preventative measures
- Delayed hospital transfers or failure to escalate care appropriately
- Medication mismanagement including overdosing, underdosing, or failure to administer necessary medication
Capacity, Consent & Cognitive Impairment
Dr. Schnee provides expert analysis of how a patient’s dementia or cognitive decline may have affected their ability to participate in care, report harm, or make informed decisions.
Her years of experience caring for patients with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments allows her to assist in cases involving:
- Decision-making capacity, including whether a patient could understand or consent to medical treatment or facility placement
- Cognitive impairment and reporting, such as how dementia may have affected a patient’s ability to report abuse, follow medical instructions, or communicate changes in condition
- Interpretation of clinical records, including provider notes, mental status exams, and cognitive assessments
- Advance directives and DNR orders, including whether documentation supported the patient’s expressed wishes or reflected capacity to execute the advance directive or DNR order
About Dr. Schnee
Pippa Schnee, M.D.
Medical Expert Witness & Consultant – Geriatrics and Elder Care
Dr. Schnee has been practicing family medicine with a focus on geriatric care for over 10 years. She currently serves as medical director for several hospice organizations in Houston and maintains a private practice in which she provides ongoing care to elderly patients in long-term care facilities.
She is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and licensed to practice medicine in Texas.
Case Types Handled
- Alleged nursing home neglect resulting in injury or death
- Falls and adequacy of fall-risk precautions
- Pressure ulcers and wound care practices
- Infections or sepsis tied to delayed recognition or treatment
- Medication management, including dosing and administration errors
- Capacity and consent in cognitively impaired patients
- Delayed escalation of medical treatment and hospital transfer decisions
- Disputes over DNR orders and advance directives
Services Offered
- Medical record review
- Causation and standard-of-care opinions
- Expert reports and affidavits
- Deposition and trial testimony
Contact
Let’s Talk About Your Case
Dr. Schnee is available for case review, consultation, and testimony in Texas and nationwide.