Kanika M. Sims, MD, MPH
DECATUR, GA 30030
I have more than 20 years of continuous inpatient clinical practice as a Board-Certified Internal Medicine physician and hospitalist. I currently practice as an academic hospitalist at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, the largest Level 1 Trauma Center in the Southeast, where I provide direct adult inpatient care and supervise resident physicians. I have also practiced in mid-sized community hospitals (200-400 beds), which allows me to evaluate cases within the practical context in which care was actually delivered, in both academic and community settings.
What most distinguishes my review is my ability to evaluate the adequacy of physician supervision. As an active faculty member who teaches clinical reasoning and supervises resident physicians, I can speak directly to what appropriate attending oversight requires, an issue of growing relevance in hospital-based litigation. I bring this perspective from experience across both large academic medical centers and mid-sized community hospitals. Because I have experience working in both settings, I evaluate each case with attention to the standard applicable to the actual environment in which care was delivered, rather than against an idealized standard that does not fit the setting.
My experience spans the case types most often at issue in hospital-based litigation: diagnostic error and failure to diagnose, failure to rescue, sepsis, venous thromboembolism and anticoagulation management, intracranial hemorrhage following inpatient falls, pressure injury, medication error, and physician supervision of residents and advanced practice providers.
I am available to both plaintiff and defense counsel and provide independent medical record review, standard-of-care and causation analysis, pre-suit case merit evaluation, written expert reports, deposition and trial testimony, and deposition preparation consulting.
- Hospitalist Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- Medical Malpractice
- Wound Care/Pressure Sores
- Wrongful Death
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: MD, Medical College of Georgia;
MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;
Board-Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine (2009, recertified 2019, active); Georgia Medical License (active, 2011);
Chief Medical Resident, University of South Florida;
Residency, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, University of South Florida;
Preventive Medicine Residency, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine - Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
- A: American College of Physicians;
Society of Hospital Medicine;
Society of General Internal Medicine - Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine; daily teaching and supervision of resident physicians and medical students in inpatient internal medicine; Internal Medicine Faculty Teaching Award (2023); prior faculty appointment, Emory University School of Medicine; invited lectures and CME presentations on hospital medicine, patient safety, and clinical documentation
- Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
- A: No
- Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
- A: 10
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Hospital medicine and internal medicine matters, including standard of care analysis, diagnostic error, failure to diagnose, causation analysis, and inpatient clinical documentation. Representative case types include pulmonary embolism, DVT and post-discharge venous thromboembolism, anticoagulation management at discharge, compartment syndrome, sacral pressure injury, intracranial hemorrhage following inpatient fall, diverticulitis, emergency department airway management, and physician supervision of advanced practice providers.
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: 6 years
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: Independent medical record review, standard of care analysis, causation analysis, pre-suit case merit evaluation, written expert reports, deposition and trial testimony, deposition preparation consulting, and expert witness identification consulting.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: $600/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: $600/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: $750/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: $850/hr
- Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)
- A: - Retainer required prior to case review (10-hour standard; 5-hour for brief reviews under 300 pages).
- Deposition: 4-hour minimum, not to exceed $6,000 per day.
- Trial: one-day retainer due two weeks prior to travel.
- Expedited review (under 7 calendar days) billed at 1.5x standard rate.
- Travel expenses (airfare, lodging, ground transportation, meals) reimbursed at actual cost with receipts.
- Invoices due within 30 days.
Available Upon Request