Legal Experts

Welcome to the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences legal expert witness page. Our available experts are listed below with a summary of their credentials. The following policies apply per department regulations:

• Once provider accepts case from a legal firm, department will submit retainer invoice on behalf of provider.
• As the case moves along, provider will keep track of service dates, hours and service description.
• Department will invoice firm periodically or when the case closes based on service hours & fee schedule.

Sanjay G. Adhia, MD, MRO

Sanjay G. Adhia, MD, is board-certified in forensic psychiatry, brain injury medicine, and psychiatry. He sees patients for emotional distress, mental health injuries, and brain injury concerns that may be triggered by factors such as personal injury, undue influence, changed competency, medical malpractice, physical and emotional abuse, violence, or criminal behavior. His clinical focus is treating the neuropsychiatric complications of brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury.

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Jose A. Arriola Vigo

Jose A Arriola Vigo, MD, MPH is a bilingual psychiatrist with fellowship training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. His expertise covers diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders that are comorbid with general medical and surgical illness. His expertise covers psychiatric care in adults with anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders.

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Andreana T. Augustus, PhD

Dr. Augustus provides expertise in the following areas: criminal forensic assessment, civil forensic assessment, threat assessment & violence risk assessment, other forms of clinical assessment, and psychotherapy.

Amanda Helminiak, MD

Dr. Helminiak has expertise in acute psychiatric inpatient hospitalization where she assesses and treats patients who are at risk of harm to self or others or unable to care for themselves due to an exacerbation of their mental health condition.

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Jennifer Hughes, PhD,

Dr. Jennifer Hughes specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma and PTSD in children and adults. She is trained in multiple evidence-based treatments for PTSD, including Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE).

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Lisa Y. Kan, PhD

Dr. Kan is a licensed psychologist in Texas and Virginia. She has expertise in forensic mental health assessments of criminal defendants and detainees undergoing immigration proceedings. She also has experience with psychological evaluations and psychotherapy with adults.

Vinay S. Kothapalli

Dr. Kothapalli is triple board certified in General, Child & Adolescent, and Forensic psychiatry. Additionally, he has clinical expertise working with developmentally disabled individuals as well as individuals in both the juvenile correctional system and the adult correctional system. Dr. Kothapalli has experience conducting criminal forensic evaluations and is also trained to conduct a variety of civil forensic evaluations.

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Deborah M. Little

Dr. Little's area of expertise includes: effects of mild to severe brain injury on cognition and behavior; quantitative assessments of the effects of brain injury on brain structure; traumatic brain injury as a risk factor for depression, degenerative changes to the brain; pre- and co-morbid conditions that impact the ability to document changes to the brain due to trauma.

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Bobby R. Nix, MD

Dr. Nix provides expertise in cases involving patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and co-morbid substance abuse. Additionally, he is experienced with state medical board cases regarding psychiatrists complaints about standard of care. Age range 18-65.


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Salih Selek, MD

Dr. Selek has been working in one of the largest academic teaching hospital as inpatient psychiatrist and specializes in mood disorders, especially treatment refractory mood disorders. He has been certified in Medical Quality designated by American Board of Medical Quality, having practiced medicine in Turkey, Germany, and the United States with diverse patients.

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Lokesh Shahani, MD, MPH, FACP

Dr. Lokesh Shahani is a dual trained and practicing psychiatrist and Internist and board certified by American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and the American Board of Internal Medicine. He serves as the Chief Medical Officer and the Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program at the UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center. His area of expertise include geriatric psychiatry and hospital administration.

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Leslie K. Taylor, PhD

Leslie K. Taylor, PhD is a licensed psychologist in state of Texas and has special expertise in identifying and evaluating trauma in children and adolescents. Her clinical caseload is composed of children and adolescents who have survived sexual abuse, physical abuse, natural disasters, or traumatic bereavements.

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Matara Wright, PsyD

Dr. Wright has experience in providing therapy, assessment, and forensic services to adolescent and adult patients in community mental health, inpatient hospitals, juvenile detention, county jail, and transitional settings. She has also conducted forensic evaluations for county and state criminal, juvenile justice, and family courts. Her clinical and research interests include forensic psychology, trauma, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and mental health disparities.

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