Patrick Ngo, MSW LCSW
I am a California Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW #76279) and mental health expert witness focused on the standard of care for discharge and aftercare planning from psychiatric hospitals and emergency settings. I provide case screening and consultation, medical-record review, expert reports and declarations, and deposition and trial testimony for both plaintiff and defense counsel, nationwide.
For more than a decade I have worked in acute locked inpatient psychiatric units and hospital settings, where discharge planning, safety planning, and aftercare coordination are core clinical social work responsibilities. In these roles I have assessed patients in crisis, coordinated safe discharge and appropriate level of care across the full continuum (inpatient, IMD, residential, and outpatient), cared for patients on involuntary psychiatric holds (5150), and presented at LPS certification hearings (5250/5260/5270) on danger to self, danger to others, and grave disability. I have also practiced in county and community (Medi-Cal) behavioral health and maintain an outpatient private practice, and I provide clinical supervision to associate clinicians.
I review matters involving post-discharge suicide and self-harm, premature or negligent discharge, inadequate discharge planning and failed aftercare linkage, level-of-care decisions, elopement and against-medical-advice discharges, and clinical documentation. My focus is the clinical social work standard of care in the discharge process — distinct from, and complementary to, physician testimony on admission and medication decisions.
- Community Mental Health
- Emotional Distress
- Medical Malpractice
- Social Work/Social Services
- Wrongful Death
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), California Board of Behavioral Sciences, License #76279 (issued April 4, 2017)
Master of Social Work (MSW), San José State University, 2014 (Mental Health Initiative Stipend Program recipient)
B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz, 2005
A.A., De Anza College, Magna Cum Laude, 2003 - Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Provided clinical supervision for BBS-registered associate clinicians. Trained, onboarded, and supervised new psychiatric social workers and MSW student interns.
Routinely presented at LPS certification review hearings as the hospital social worker on behalf of the facility — setting out the clinical and psychosocial basis for continued involuntary psychiatric detention (danger to self, danger to others, grave disability; California Welfare & Institutions Code §§ 5250, 5260, 5270), before a hearing officer and subject to questioning by patient advocates and counsel.
Co-author, peer-reviewed publication on social work education (Whanake, 2017).
Subject matter: discharge and safety planning, involuntary holds and conservatorship, crisis intervention, mental health diagnosis, and clinical supervision. - 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: New to expert witness practice; currently accepting retentions.
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Psychiatric discharge and aftercare standard of care; clinical social work standard of care.
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?
- A: N/A; Available to both plaintiff and defense.
- Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?
- A: N/A
- Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?
- A: N/A
- Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?
- A: 0 as a retained expert
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: New
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: Case screening and consultation; medical-record and chart review; expert reports and declarations; deposition and trial testimony. Available nationwide, plaintiff and defense.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: $400/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: $400/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: $500/hr
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: $500/hr
- Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)
- A: Initial retainer $4,000. Travel time billed portal-to-portal at $500/hr. Deposition/trial minimums apply (virtual deposition 2-hr; local deposition 4-hr; out-of-town deposition 8-hr; local trial 8-hr; out-of-town trial 2-day), prepaid. Retaining counsel is responsible for all reasonable out-of-pocket and non-refundable travel costs. Cancellation fees per schedule.
References upon request.