Cases covering emergency medicine, wilderness medicine, environmental injuries, marine injuries, standard of care, cause of death analysis, diagnostic failure, incapacitation assessment, pain and suffering analysis, mechanism of injury, hypothermia, sepsis, EMS transport protocols and trauma.
Two defendants were charged with murder after a fellow party-goer was found dead in a hotel pool. Expert analysis established that the decedent could not have drowned within the observed 17-second window, citing physiology of hypoxia, airway spasm response, and time-to-hypoxia. Testimony also addressed the decedent’s alcohol use and cardiac risk profile. Both defendants were successfully acquitted.
Practice Areas Used:
Prosecution of a paramedic accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious patient during transport. Expert testimony defined the standard of care for paramedic conduct and explained the Glasgow Coma Scale to establish the patient’s level of incapacitation, a GCS of 3, equivalent to that of a deceased individual. Testimony addressed why the examination performed was outside any recognized clinical protocol. Prosecution was successful.
Practice Areas Used:
An elderly, cognitively impaired patient escaped a nursing home during winter and was found unresponsive in a nearby parking structure. Expert analysis explained the relevant mechanisms of hypothermia (conduction, convection, and radiation) and reconstructed the physiological sequence leading to cardiac arrest, including why being helped to his feet precipitated a fatal arrhythmia. Temperature was never formally documented at the hospital; expert testimony established the hypothermia diagnosis through circumstantial and clinical evidence. Case settled favorably.
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Practice Areas Used:

Jordan S. Powell
Passen Powell Jenkins
411 North LaSalle, 2nd Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60654
(312) 527-4500
jpowell@passenpowell.com
Stacy Goad
Goad Law
1111 Bull Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
(912) 209-9000
https://notguiltysavannah.com
Chris Cardenas
Kane Personal Injury
1018 East Amador Avenue
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
(575) 526-5263
chris@kane-injury.com
Michael P. Bonner
Bonner Law
201 Sevilla Avenue, Suite 301
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
(305) 676-8800
mbonner@bonner-law.com
Emergency, Wilderness & Dive Medicine Expert
Yes. Dr. Swanson accepts cases on both sides of litigation. His opinions are based on the medical record, established clinical standards, and the available evidence, not on which party is retaining him. Attorneys on both sides of emergency medicine cases have retained him for chart review, expert reports, deposition, and trial testimony.
Yes. Some of the most clinically complex cases involve conditions the treating team never identified. Dr. Swanson’s approach reconstructs the clinical picture from available records, lab values, imaging, environmental data, and the physiological sequence of events. A formal diagnosis in the chart is not a prerequisite for a well-supported expert opinion.
Both. Dr. Swanson has provided expert testimony in criminal proceedings, including successful defense of defendants in a drowning death case and prosecution testimony in a case involving assault of an incapacitated patient. His criminal case work requires the same standard of medical rigor as civil matters.
Dr. Swanson’s case experience spans emergency medicine standard of care, environmental and wilderness injuries (hypothermia, heat stroke, high-altitude illness), drowning and marine incidents, freestanding ED care, EMS and transport decisions, and airway management. He has also addressed pain and suffering, mechanism of injury, and causation questions in civil matters involving motor vehicle crashes, nursing home incidents, and product liability.
Dr. Swanson analyzes the full clinical timeline: the patient’s presentation, diagnostic workup, hospital course, and the physiological processes unfolding over hours or days. Where the medical record is incomplete, he draws on clinical literature and established guidelines to support his reasoning. His opinions identify what the evidence supports and where it does not support a competing theory.
Yes, and this is a core part of his value in litigation. Dr. Swanson has extensive experience as a clinical educator and has testified on subjects ranging from the physiology of drowning and hypothermia to GCS scoring, sepsis treatment protocols, and the mechanics of airway management. He translates technical medicine into clear, accessible language without sacrificing accuracy.
No. Dr. Swanson operates independently through Swanson Emergency Medical Services, PLLC. He is not a panel member for any plaintiff or defense firm and does not receive referrals through agency arrangements. His availability and case acceptance decisions are his own.

If you have a case involving emergency medicine, wilderness, or dive medicine, call 904.219.7375 or send a message. I review civil and criminal cases for both plaintiff and defense attorneys and can give you a quick assessment of the medical evidence. I usually respond within an hour.