Clinical Experience Behind the Opinion

Brian E. Bernhardt, MD

Triple Board-Certified Anesthesiologist & Interventional Pain Medicine Specialist

Triple Board-Certified Anesthesiologist
and Interventional Pain Medicine Specialist

Dr. Bernhardt is a physician, medical director, educator, and medical-legal consultant whose career has centered on the evaluation and treatment of complex pain, spine, and musculoskeletal conditions.

He is board certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, and Interventional Pain Management and maintains an active clinical practice caring for patients with complex acute and chronic pain conditions.

Clinical Experience That Matters

Dr. Bernhardt’s clinical experience spans the spectrum of interventional pain medicine, including:

Medical-legal cases involving pain and musculoskeletal injury are rarely defined by an MRI finding alone. Symptoms, examination findings, prior treatment, functional limitations, underlying pathology, and the natural history of disease must be considered together.

✓ Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine disorders
✓ Musculoskeletal and joint conditions
✓ Neuropathic and peripheral nerve pain
✓ Complex regional pain syndrome
✓ Epidural and selective spinal injections
✓ Facet and medial branch procedures
✓ Radiofrequency ablation
✓ Sacroiliac joint interventions
✓ Spinal cord stimulation
✓ Intrathecal drug delivery
✓ Vertebral augmentation
✓ Image-guided musculoskeletal and peripheral nerve procedures

This experience provides an important clinical foundation for evaluating whether a diagnosis is supported, whether treatment has been appropriate, what functional consequences reasonably result from an injury, and what future medical care may be required.

Academic & Leadership Experience

Dr. Bernhardt currently serves in academic and clinical leadership at LSU Health Shreveport, where he directs interventional and chronic pain services and maintains an active clinical and procedural practice.

His responsibilities include clinical leadership, physician oversight, program and clinic operations, and medical education. He teaches physicians and medical students and remains engaged in research and scholarly publication in pain medicine.

His academic work has included research involving sacroiliac joint treatment, cervicogenic pain, regenerative medicine, and ultrasound applications in chronic pain.

Medical-Legal Experience

Dr. Bernhardt’s medical-legal experience includes Qualified Medical Evaluations, independent medical evaluations, medical record review, expert consultation, deposition testimony, and litigation support.

He evaluates matters involving:

✓ Diagnosis and injury
✓ Medical causation
✓ Permanent impairment
✓ Apportionment
✓ Functional limitations
✓ Treatment appropriateness
✓ Prognosis
✓ Future medical care
✓ Image-guided musculoskeletal and peripheral nerve procedures

His experience includes work involving both plaintiff and defense matters.

A Clinician’s Approach to Medical-Legal Analysis

The purpose of an independent medical opinion is not simply to reach a conclusion. It is to explain how and why the medical evidence supports that conclusion.

Dr. Bernhardt approaches each case by integrating the available medical records, diagnostic studies, history, physical examination, treatment response, functional consequences, and applicable medical evidence.

Opinions are developed independently and to a reasonable degree of medical probability, regardless of the retaining party.

Independent Analysis. Clear Reasoning. Clinical Perspective.

EPIONE Pain Institute provides medical-legal evaluation and consulting for attorneys, insurers, claims professionals, employers, and medical-legal organizations

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