Sanjay Adhia, MD

Dr. Adhia is Triple Board-Certified in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Brain Injury Medicine, placing him among a select few physicians with this cross-over expertise.

He assesses complicating medical and psychiatric conditions, brain injuries, TBI, concussion, stroke, Dementia, and emotional distress, PTSD, Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, Depression, and alleged disabling psychiatric conditions.

In addition, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Kerry Mendes, MD with asses in this unique subspecialization with Adhia & Associates.

Recent cases include Multi-Plaintiff, Mass Tort, Toxic Tort cases (chemical exposure; oil spill) Capital mitigation, drug-facilitated sexual assault (date rape drug), medical malpractice involving medications, motor vehicle accidents & DBA cases involving TBI & PTSD, wrongful death, Testamentary Capacity, and Competency to Stand Trial complicated by organ failure. He conducts Fitness for Duty evaluations (exemplar: recently he assessed an employee whose position qualified him to carry firearms; he began presenting with erratic behavior.)

Dr. Adhia is skilled in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of brain injuries and psychiatric disorders. His perspective and experience the ong term outlook for recovery are relevant to damages. Case studies are found on his website.

Brain Injury is discussed on his website as well as specific practice focus on Psychopharmacology, Mood Disorders, PTSD, Psychosis, Suicidology, and Criminal cases. He has consulted and/or served as a disclosed expert, and testified in civil and criminal cases. He conducts skilled Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs), review of records producing a thorough report.

Currently, Dr. Adhia works in a top national neuro-rehabilitation center, TIRR Hermann Memorial Research Center, where his focus is the neuropsychiatric sequelae of brain injury, concussions, stroke, and spinal cord injury. He also works at a community health center treating psychiatric patients with substance abuse. Previous experience includes serving as Medical Director of a psychiatric clinic, a prison psychiatric hospital and a Death Row unit, an IDD (formerly mental retardation) & Autism state facility. He is licensed to prescribe suboxone for opioid dependence.

Dr. Adhia has been appointed for two terms running to the Governor's Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments. Dr. Adhia volunteers with Physicians for Human Rights evaluating victims of Human Trafficking and torture.

Dr. Adhia is a certified Medical Review Officer (MRO) and has expertise in alcohol & drug testing.

Services

Sanjay Adhia, MD, MRO and Kerry Mendes, MD provide forensic expert witness services for plaintiff and defense, civil and criminal jurisdictions, prosecutors, courts, employers, and insurance companies:

Independent Medical Examination (IME), Video and Face to Face
Review of medical and legal records
Medical-Legal opinion by written and verbal report
Testimony
Consultation to attorneys
Including:
Emotional Trauma
Competency and mental state
Diminished capacity and legal Insanity (NGRI)
Testamentary capacity
Fitness for Duty (Occupational Psychiatry)
Undue Influence
False Imprisonment
Informed consent
Risk of violence assessments
Suicide risk assessment
Sexual harassment
Sexual assault or exploitation
Mental and physical abuse
Extreme violence, physical and mental abuse, kidnapping
Independent medical examination / psychiatric disability
Personal injury / pain & suffering / emotional distress
Workplace violence assessments
Brain injuries (Dr. Adhia)
Fitness for Duty
Discrimination
Evaluations Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Title IX
Psychiatric medical malpractice
Institutional psychiatric malpractice: hospital, psychiatric hospital, prison, addiction rehab
Failure to diagnose, Failure to treat
Negligent use of medication
Medication side effects, interaction and interactions with drugs of abuse, prescribed or illegal, alcohol, opioids (heroin, crack, cocaine)
Addiction
Negligent failure to prevent patients from harming themselves or others
Violations of civil rights
Restraints and Seclusion
Toxic tort
Traumatic Brain Injury
Wrongful Death
Correctional Cases
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Dr. Mendes)

Litigation Support Services

Dr. Adhia works with attorneys as an Expert Witness, Consultant, conducting Evaluations and associated review of records, rendering opinion by report and testimony. Early assessment of the merit of a case and possible outcome is provided by Dr. Adhia as a consulting non-disclosed Expert / medical-legal specialist.

He has testified in depositions and trials retained by both Plaintiffs and Defense.

Adhia & Associates' Dr. Mendes adds Fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, including assessment. He routinely conducts IMEs and reports. Drs. Adhia and Mendes are available to testify nationwide. Dr. Adhia has been retained most recently in cases in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and the Southwest.

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Medicolegal Assessment, SSRIs, Military Court, Title IX, Title 9, Longshore, DWI, Occupational Exam, Somatization, Schizoaffective Disorder, Workman's Compensation, Workers Comp, Disability, Defense Base Act, DBA, Human Trafficking, Asylum, Torture, Tobacco Addiction, Vaping, Smoking, Heroin Addiction, Heroin Abuse, Opioids, Opioid Addiction, Opioid Abuse, Opioid Withdrawal, Methamphetamines, Methamphetamine Abuse, Methamphetamine Addiction, Methamphetamine Dependence, Cocaine, Cocaine Dependence, Cocaine Abuse, Cocaine Addiction, Cannabis, Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault, Court Martial, Rape, Child Pornography, Kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, Infant Abduction, Fetal Abduction, Forensic Neuropsychiatry, CTE, Sports Psychiatry, Date Rape, Fear of Imminent Death, Fear of Pre-imminent Death, Will Contest, Xanax, Criminal Offenders, Hallucinations & Delusions, Suicidology, Mass Tort, Capital Crime, DFSA, Sexual Assault.

Profile

Dr. Adhia is a triple Board Certified Forensic Psychiatrist in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Brain Injury Medicine. He evaluates emotional distress, competency, incapacity, sexual harassment, victims of violent crime, medical malpractice and standard of care in institutions, wrongful death, severe mental illness, and addiction.

He assesses Depression, Anxiety, brain function and rehabilitation, PTSD, TBI, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, IDD (mental retardation) Autism, and Bipolar Disorders. Malingering is always considered.

Dr. Adhia is skilled in psychopharmacology, medication interactions, and addiction to prescription drugs, opioids, and alcohol.
Dr. Adhia and has recently provided medico-legal opinions in this area.

Dr. Adhia has treated a wide variety of patients; from victims to perpetrators. Currently, he works at a renowned neuro-rehabilitation center where he cares for those with TBI and other neurological injuries. He has treated psychopathic offenders on Death Row, directed a private practice, assisted those with opioid and alcohol withdrawals, worked on an inpatient Competency Restoration Unit treating severe psychosis and neurocognitive disorders (dementia), and assisted those with severe mental retardation (IDD) and autism at a state residential facility.

Dr. Adhia serves on the faculty of the University of Texas Health and Science Center. In the past, he taught Psychiatry residents at the University of Texas Medical Branch Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Adhia serves as an appointed and Texas senate-confirmed member of the Governor of Texas to the Governor's Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairment since 2019 (current in 2023.)

Dr. Adhia provides forensic assessment, pro bono, for Physicians for Human Rights in Asylum and Human Trafficking cases. PTSD and anxiety disorders are often present in such cases.

Areas Served

All States, and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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Professional Experience

Sanjay Adhia, M.D., PA and dba Adhia & Associates. Forensic Psychiatrist in private practice individually and with its practice group (2014-Present)
Psychiatry Consultant treating brain, stroke and spinal cord injury patients, nationally-recognized The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Memorial Hermann (2019-Present)
Independent Contractor for Fpamed Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP (2020-Present)

Previous Positions

Psychiatrist, Avenue 360 Health & Wellness (an FQHC clinic treating the Homeless, LGBTQ, Substance Use Disorders, & those with HIV) (2020-2022)
Medical Director, PACE Mental Health Clinic, Sugar Land, TX (2018-2019)
Psychiatrist, U.S. District Court, Southern District, Houston, TX (2018-2019)
Psychiatrist, UTMB-CMC Jester IV Prison Hospital, Richmond, TX (2016-2018)
Attending Psychiatrist, University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center, Competency Restoration Unit, Houston, TX (2015-2016)
Psychiatrist, Texas State Department of Aging and Disability Services (IDD and Autism), SSLC, Richmond, TX (2014)
Inpatient Attending Psychiatrist. University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center, Houston, TX (2012-2013)

Licenses

Texas Medical License, Board of Medical Examiners, Lic. Q0720, Active
Board-Certified in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #67625), (2014-Active))
Board-Certified in Forensic Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #2127), (2015-Active))
Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #101), (2018-Active)

Other Certifications and Licenses
Medical Review Officer (MRO), Medical Review Officers Certification Council, (2020-Present)
Florida Medical Doctor Expert Witness Certificate #7683 (2020)

Legal Experience & Services

Dr. Adhia acts as a forensic expert in civil and criminal cases, civil commitment proceedings, and administrative hearings. He consults to attorneys nationwide in criminal and civil cases, plaintiff, defense, and prosecution. He has qualified to testify in Civil and Criminal cases in Federal and State venues.

Affiliations

American Psychiatric Association
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, (Forensic Neuropsychiatry Committee, Media Committee, Human Rights & National Security Committee)
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Physicians for Human Rights - Asylum Network
Brain Injury Association of America

Qualifications

Board Certified in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #67625), (2014-Current)
Board-Certified in Forensic Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #2127), (2015-Current)
Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Certificate #101), (2018-Current)

Other Certifications:
Medical Review Officer (MRO), Medical Review Officer Certification Council, (2020-Current)
Florida Medical Doctor Expert Witness Certificate #7683 (2020-Current)
Buprenorphine Waiver, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, to prescribe and treat Opioid Use Disorders with Buprenorphine (2018-Current)

Awards & Honors

Editor-In-Chief of Brain Injury Medicine - Stat Pearls

Seminars & Training

Presentations
2020 Bad Medicine: Psychiatric Malpractice, Resident Lecture, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, December 2020, Houston, Texas
2020 Bad Medicine: Psychiatric Malpractice, Houston Psychiatric Society, November 2020, Houston, Texas
2020 Forensic Psychiatry: An Introduction Resident Lecture, University of Texas Health Science Center, July 2020, Houston, Texas
2017 Clinical Decision Making, Non-Emergency Compelled Medications, 6th International Conference on Forensic Research & Technology, September 2017, Houston, Texas
2015 Civil Forensic Psychiatry Resident Lecture, University of Texas Health Science Center, May 2015, Houston, Texas
2015 Forensic Psychiatry: An Introduction Resident Lecture, University of Texas Health Science Center, May 2015, Houston, Texas
2014 Introduction to Forensic Psychiatry Lecture, Willamette University College of Law, 2014, Salem, Oregon
2014 Psychiatry 101 Lecture, Willamette University College of Law, 2014, Salem Oregon
2012 Treatment-Resistant Depression Grand Rounds, University of Texas Health Science Center, 2012, Houston, Texas

Publications

Tyler Durns, MD; Austin W. Blum, MD, JD; and Sanjay G. Adhia, MD, fMRI in the Courtroom: A (Very Brief) Overview, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Newsletter, Spring 2021

Fatima Masumova, DO and Sanjay Adhia, MD, Revisiting Human Trafficking: A Brief Review, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Newsletter, Fall 2022. 47(3), 13, 26-27.

Professional References

Shiva P Gill, Esq.
Address: 2200 Southwest Fwy # 320, Houston, TX 77098
Phone: (713) 333-8370
[email protected]
Competency to be Deported

Lynn Messer, P.C.
Van Stean Messer Attorneys At Law
Competency to Stand Trial
(281) 770-9998
[email protected]

Feroz Merchant
The Merchant Law Firm, P.C.
Competency to Stand Trial,
Criminal Responsibility
(713) 224-8200
[email protected]

UA Piccolo Lewis
The Lewis Law Group, PLLC
Psychiatric Malpractice (Standard of Care)
(713) 570-6555
[email protected]

Laura Porter
Tom Rhodes Law Firm, P.C.
Psychiatric Malpractice (Medication Error)
(210) 225-5251
[email protected]

Joel Holt
Joel Holt Esq. P.C.
Stress of Pre-Eminent Death & Grief
(340) 773-8709
[email protected]

Education

Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon (2014)
Psychiatry Residency, University of Texas-HSC, Houston, Texas (2012)
Psychiatry Internship, Kansas University-MC, Kansas City, Kansas (2009)
Medical Degree: M.S, Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, India (2004)